This problem is a good reason to avoid high-stakes tests, and make the student's grade depend on other factors.

I use tests to encourage memory of facts and procedures, but I use critical thinking essays and case study analysis to test for higher-order thinking. My tests, at most, are 20% of the final grade for the semester.

Hello,

It is very disheartening to a teacher to find that his/her students are cheating, but they probably are. Today, cheating is one of the realities of the educational scene. If the students spent more time on studying than figuring out how to cheat, teachers would see more satisfactory performance profiles. Cheating is primarily relative and is culture specific. When I was in America, the students did not cheat even when there were no proctors around. Nonetheless, teachers should leave no stone unturned when it comes to cheating. In point of fact, there are certain things teachers can do to lessen cheating. For instance, teachers should learn about their students and the ways they might cheat and change how they test. They should develop a clear examination policy of rules telling students in advance – whether cheating on the test will lead to points off the test, a zero, or a letter home. Finally, teachers should develop multiple versions of the same test to make it more difficult for the students to cheat because they will not be able to copy the learner sitting next to them.

Best regards,

R. Biria

Dear Paul

Cheating is a bad behavior may be practice among some students, and in case of no protection or punishments may separate and become normal practice in the class.

This bad behavior will combine the student personality after graduation and be a cheating man in his career and be a harmful element in the community, so it is an important issue for the teacher to monitor and prevent the cheating, besides improving the culture to refuse to cheat in the student community.

Good Luck

This problem is a good reason to avoid high-stakes tests, and make the student's grade depend on other factors.

I use tests to encourage memory of facts and procedures, but I use critical thinking essays and case study analysis to test for higher-order thinking. My tests, at most, are 20% of the final grade for the semester.

I create a "black list" - students who are caught cheating have to do some extra work before they can take the test again. They hate it and therefore don't cheat.

By giving open notes examination.

Do the students really learn with an open-notes exam? Why don't you make it an open-book exam, too?

Defining examination policy, like what Reza have stated above, helps. It may seem redundant but reminding the students what is acceptable during evaluation gives the students a sense of responsibility. Instead of starting the procedures with "Don't do this!", I prefer saying "These are the acceptable behaviors during tests". Another one is sharing with the students the real scope (I mean, the real) of the exam, especially for semester exams. Lastly, laying out the rubrics days ahead and the time left during an exam helps the students delegate their focus in an organized manner...my two cents.

First, an examination should not consist off the total grade, try to split it. E.g test 20%, class attendance and participation 20%, presentation 20%, exam 40% (This is just an example). The student quickly understands that doing well in the other elements can boost their grade. They get busy trying to do well in attendance. A student who attends lectures is more likely to understand the topic making the exam easier.

For the exam, several methods can be used but I think the most effective will be

1. Make multiple versions of the Test. You're making it harder for them to cheat because they can't copy and paste the person next to them (Be sure that you keep track of what test version each student has )

2. Students should enter exam hall empty with no pen or any other item. Allow students to use only items that you provide.

3. Make compulsory students to show a student ID to take a test.

4. Don't sit and wait for them to finish the exam. Watch the students carefully during testing. If you are teaching a large class, get teaching assistants that are helping with your class watch the students during testing, so that more of the room can be watched at one time

5. Have no mercy when a cheat is caught. Take out the maximum punishment on them so other students with intentions to cheat next exam get your message. Trust me, this message will spread so fast.

6. Finally, teach them well so they understand, take time out to explain if they come to you before the exam and be nice with grading. After all, why will someone cheat if you are so sweet?

We had policies in place that dealt with cheating and plagarism. If caught they would receive a 0 mark on that exam and a second mistake would result in failing the course and a third was a dismisal from the program.

We also tried to instill a sense of professionalism where by cheating is unacceptable i any instance. Hope this helps,

The best ways to prevent cheating in examination are:

Make open-book exams. Any question that can be answered by merely opening a book (or Google) is not worth to be an examination question. Looking things up related to worthy questions in books tends to be very time consuming. Develop questions that do not ask facts. Instead your questions should check for the understanding gained. That works even in Thailand at universities :-)

The “Information Literacy Framework” (http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework) considers the topic “information has value” among many other intersection themes.

I also would suggest that the understanding by present students of their own possible damages in a professional future, may also contribute to reducing some of their ethical malpractices today.

I also agree with the highlighting of educational approaches that facilitate critical thinking versus passive and memorizing teaching and learning.

I believe that they also are major contributes to this issue.

Beyond ethical students, such approaches will hopefully generate more informed and conscious world citizens.

I know this is not applicable to all fields, so you may have to reconsider what is the best for your students based on what type of knowledge they need to develop... But in my area, courses in Humanities and Social Sciences, I agree completely with Michael Marek, Ulrich Werner and Manuela Prates (and partially with Flourish Itulua-Abumere - except for #2 and 3), on dividing the total grade in many different activities (including attendance) and changing the educational approach altogether by making your test more than just names, number and facts.

'Memorizing' is not a skill we should be fostering and assessing in our students. Similarly, instilling this fear/panic of exams and of failing shouldn't be our goal either. We must create an environment in which students understand they shouldn't cheat because it's unethical and that it means they haven't learned. We do that by shifting our focus from grades and exams to the learning process itself. If we plan a syllabus that forces them work hard all the semester (with smaller assignments throughout the course, attendance, presentations, seminars, etc), they don't have to risk it all by cheating in one or two tests.

For the theory-based courses I teach in which more formal ways of assessment are required (aka tests/exams), I usually give open-book tests because knowing the authors' names and their theoretical concepts is just a small part of it. Just knowing who said what, when and where isn't enough. They have to actually use that information in an applied critical analysis or problem solving question.

This way, I hope that I can foster and assess critical thinking and research skills (as they have to at least know where to look for reliable information - and it usually is not easily found on a simple Google search).

It takes time to plan this type of syllabus and tests as they have to be very well thought and planned. And it takes even longer to correct and grade them (but it becomes very easy to spot the plagiarism and I am very strict with it - they get a 0 on that test and there is no discussion). But I believe it's worth it.

Dear Paul, thank you so much for asking this most important question. I would like to tell you that I agree completely with Reza Biria, Flourish Itulua-Abumere and Harry Barton Essel. According to the policy of my country if a student is caught cheating during the exam he or she will be sanctioned to be one year out of the educational system.

Best regards,

Litart

Discussing with students on the importance of carrying oneself with integrity but also having a very stringent examination policy. If a student is caught cheating, they are expelled from the university.

The student who cheats may need to be guided and guided. .... The college has to put strong laws and penalties for the student who cheats.

If the exam answers among students look similar one will suspect would-be cheaters and monitor them closely during the next exam.

However, my university in Canada -believe it or not - actually encourages cheating. They created an office who "helps" supposedly "disadvantaged" students. If the students opt to write their exam under the supervision of this office, they will leave the room and go somewhere else and write under the supervision of this office. Here is what happened. When the exam was over this office "forgot" to return their exams to the instructor. When their exams were returned the answers were almost identical!! Did this office supervised the students, or the students were left unsupervised and copied each other? I knew the weak students copied the answers of the better students. The Dean refused to investigate the matter. Since then that "office" has expanded from 2 employees it has 5 now (due to high demand). The end of the world is coming...