Teachers: What is the most eyeraising form of cheating you have come across in your career?

Question

I just read an article about cheating and was curious. Last year at school the older kids would go to the bathroom and text the answers to the other class. They were actually being busted for something entirely different when they gave this away. a duh.

Answer 1

The story I had happen according during the 1995-1996 school year - my first year teaching at the school I teach at now. It occurred duing a U.S. History class that I had that year. It was the largest and really the only major case of cheating I ever had on a test in one of my classes. The student I teach are at an inner-city school that are labelled at-risk for graduating high school (and staying out of trouble). The school's academic reputation has improved greatly over the past eleven or so years with this school over the time I have been there. During that year the school was really know as a school of last resort with most of the students need five or more years to graduate high school, over 90% were eligible for federal free-lunches, mostly minorities, and high percentage immigrants, most "white" student were special needs students, and we had the highest percentage of students of any school in the state of Rhode Island who had been behind bars at the state's juvenile hall (call the R.I. Training School). On top of that the school's location had changed three times during the 1995-1996 school year. To say that this had been an unusual year would be an understatement.

During that year I had this one rather unusual of roughly 20 students taking U.S. History with me. One side of the class the students were very focused on their students, were mostly in school every day, and the lowest of the students were receiving most D's and C's, poor attendence, and were easily distracted in class. I became very concerned about this and said one day when I was review for this test how it was like I was teaching to two different classes. What I did not know at the time was that the low proforming part of the class thought that they had it all figured out. They had acquired a copy of one of my tests from a student in another class and they were all memorizing the correct answers in the multiple choice area of the test.

The day of the test these particular students (10) in all were acting very confident about this test and I was very suprised by their behavior. I handed out the test and many of the stundents finished the test very quickly, but some of them have very worried faces, but they finished the test anyway. By the end of the class I had collected all the test and I started grading them. I was very suprised by the results.

The students who normally got A's and B's again received there A's and B's. However, the students from the other group were really surprising - their grades were worse. All of the students failed the test with only one student recieving a grade above a 50 out of a possible 100 pts, and many students having grades in the single digits. What was really weird was that a large number of students on question 13 had choosen choice E as the correctiong answer - there was no choice E (answers are labeled A, B, C, D)

I informed the school administration, support staff, and other teachers (we are a small staff back then of only 12 adults) and told them I would have a meeting with these students to get the what happened. I told the students if they wanted any chance to change there grade they needed to show up the next day after school.

The day of the meeting not all of them showed up, but those that did were very quiet and all of them had their heads down. I knew they had all decided to cheat but I needed to know (if just for myself if for no one else). I told the students that if they told me what had happened I would let them retake the test but on the make-up they would not be allowed to receive a grade above a 75 (C). At first all the kids just looked at each other and the room was silent which was probably less than a minute - but it seemed longer. Finally one of the students - the only girl who showed up to the meeting began to speak. She told me how they had acquired copy of this test from another girl in another one of my classes.

My reaction was immediate to the young lady and I said to her why would you do that - that girl is taking Western Civilization with me and you are in my US History class. She had taken a completely different test. I had a copy of the Western Civilization test still with me and look - and low and behold - the answer to question 13 on the Western Civilization test was "E." She said they all realized it now. I think I let out some of the loudest laughter I remember ever have had with the students. The students started laughing too. We discussed the issue and they were concerned I would go back on my word. I said the one thing I never do is go back on my word and we made a deal.

The kids the next day after school did the retake on the test and most of them still failed it - but their marks were much higher. Alot of those kids still ended up failing my class for that year, but even when I see them sometimes 10 years later we still talk about that class and laugh. The main thing that happened from that class - the lesson that this kids learned - was they need cheated again in my class - even the one's who fail were actually proud because they new the work they did for the rest of the year was actually their own and most of them later on went on to retake the course and gradulate high school. I don't know where others might judge what happened - but in the long run it was a positive learning experience for these kids and that is what I know I am in education for in the first place.

Answer 2

Every single year I have a multiple-choice test. I leave my answer key on an empty desk in the front row. Every single year, someone needs a Kleenex, then needs to sharpen a pencil, then needs to go to the restroom, then needs some other excuse to stroll by the answer key, remember what's there, then write down their answers on their test.

Every single year I catch someone cheating this way. The thing is, I write a false answer key... D for A, C for B, B for C, and A for D... or every answer a letter or two off... and the kid that cheats scores between 0 and 20% from all the wrong answers he's copied. Works every time, especially on freshmen.

I do drop the low test score a student has each semester, so it doesn't count against their grade, but it makes every other test the student takes count... plus the phone call home to say I'm concerned because a student scored so low is always a fun one. Needless to say, by the time the 9th graders make it to becoming upperclassmen, they don't cheat on their papers... at least not in my class!

Answer 3

In high school some of my friends told me about the test they were allowed to make in their AP History class. The teacher told them that they were to come up with multiple choice questions for a test and then LEFT the classroom while they did it. Well, they were all bright kids (not in AP for nothing, ya know), so they quickly formed a plan of action: The front row's answers would all be A, the second row's would be B, the third row's C, and so on. The teacher asked that they put their initials next to the questions they designed so that the students could see who came up with what questions (I'm assuming to show accountability and creativity). Needless to say, everyone made A's on the test.

Answer 4

The most amazing cheating was done for a geometry test in the school where I teach. After school, the son of one of our teachers (and two friends) moved the ceiling tile out in a stall in the boy's bathroom. They climbed up through the ceiling crawl space and got to the geometry room. Then they dropped down and stole a copy of the next days' test. They found the answer key and copied down all the answers, then went back the same way they got there.

This stolen test was then copied in the faculty work room and given to all of their friends. No one knew until the teacher got suspicious of all the "A"s on the test. Then someone snitched.

Answer 5

my school we dont go to the bathroom to text the answers we just text em in the middle of the test. ive also seen people get a hold of the final by simply goin into the class room at lunch and gettin the test out of the teachers desk then just use a phone to either take pics of it or video of it. ive seen cheat sheets in the caps of pens where one class would take the test and write down the anserws on a sheet and put it in a pen cap... or if it was a longer test in a high lighter... theres a gap in the top that if u put plastic in u can put large items into or u can hollow it out... just FYI this is also how students get drugs in to schools and even if there is a drug search they dont look in high lighters so the students just keep the high lighter in thier pockets and when u have to empty pockets all the person searching sees is a high lighter

Answer 6

I gave a very lengthy homework assignment covering The Odyssey. All of the answers were fill-in-the-blank. I gave the students a week to complete the assignment. I was hoping they would fill in some of the answers when I was going over The Odyssey during class. One girl had a very "flowery" handwriting style that I had learned to read. Unfortunately, her class mates couldn't read it! The correct answer was Greek soldiers. All but one student wrote GREEN soldiers. The assistant principal and I met with many parents who swore their child would not cheat, and that when I was going over things in class, I must have said GREEN soldiers!
Another time I watched a student taking a Romeo and Juliet test. It was evident that he had answers written on his hand. When he handed in the test, he handed it to me with the hand with all the information on it!

Answer 7

In the college I went to, there is a certain ethnic group. they stick together like glue & take pride in how well they cheat/steal. I've heard them bragging about it.
They have 2 ways.
1. There are members of this ethnic group who work in the copy center. When a teacher turns in a test to be copied, they run off a few extras & give them ot members in the class that will take that test.
2. This has only happened once that I know of. A class was taking a math test. They formed a circle w/ only this group. The studetns who were better in math helped the rest. The teacher broke them up & failed a few. The next semester, her classes were full of this ethnic group who started making all sorts of unfounded complaints about her. She was fired. The rest of the teachers in that school now are not as strict w/ this group, they are allowed to talk during tests. One teacher would let them make up tests, even if they only wanted to go to the beach on test day. Then the students sit in on the review of the test they are about to take!

Answer 8

The ol' internet cut and paste has gotten old. The guy who tried a similar technique of "paraphrasing" another student's work from the turn-in basket was a little more brazen, but I have never seen anything so ridiculously bold as the girl who tried to copy her definitions right onto her desk, right in front of me, right before the vocabulary test. She tried to cover her arm with it then furiously erase it when I approached her and denied, denied, denied!

I worry for their future sometimes.

Answer 9

I have seen students with written information on their thighs and clothing. Students doing exams for their friends. Students exchanging papers and filling in the answers for their friends and trading back the papers. You have two friends , one writes with the left hand and the other with the right hand. They sit beside each other in the exam room and writes extra bold so that they can copy from each other. Students are very innovative when it comes to cheating on my side of the world.

Answer 10

One where the teacher actually gives the students test questions to study at home (around 15+ pages worth), and tells them that some unspecified portion of the same (identical) questions will be asked on the actual, in-class final.