Julia G. Thompson

January 1, 1970

“A 2002 survey by the Josephson Institute of Ethics of 12,000 high-school students found that 74 percent of students had cheated on an exam at least once in the previous year. That's up from 61 percent a decade before.
A 2001 Rutgers University study had similar findings: Of 4,500 high schoolers surveyed, 74 percent had cheated at least once on a test, up from 50 percent in 1993. More than half of the respondents admitted that they had plagiarized work from the Internet for written assignments.” (www. findarticles.com)

In addition to the statistics above, there have been several recent, spectacular incidents of academic cheating. Involving hundreds of students across the nation, the recent wave of cheating incidents have involved students breaking into schools, buying term papers online, passing down a school master key from student to student, and other brazen activities.

Still other reports indicate that cheating is a commonly accepted practice among students of all ages. Classroom teachers know all too well how easy it is for students to cheat and, even though it may be easy to catch them, how difficult it is to deal with the aftermath of the incident. All too often parents justify the activity and sometimes are even involved as participants.

In fact, one of the biggest changes that veteran teachers note is that parents are not longer as supportive of teachers and school policies when their children are caught cheating. Instead, often parents become angry at teachers and school officials even when the case against the student is clear.

Because of the widespread nature of the issue, take time to safeguard your classroom as much as you can. In this issue you will find ways to deal with cheating in your classroom and to help your students be honest.

“The first and worst of all frauds is to cheat oneself.” ~Philip James Bailey

To Learn More

An excellent resource to learn more about the epidemic of cheating in modern American school is this one sponsored by ETS (Educational Testing Service). Use the phrase Cheating Is a Personal Foul as a search term to access this site. Here you will learn about the background of academic cheating, who is cheating, and how it is likely to manifest in your classroom.

Watch Out! Here’s How Your Students May Be Cheating

• Stealing a copy of a test
• Helping someone else cheat
• Stealing a test key
• Pretending to sharpen pencils while looking for answers instead
• Passing notes during a test
• Telling classmates who have not taken a test what was on it
• Copying answers during a test
• Plagiarism
• Listening to headphones
• Writing answers on a water bottle or gum or candy wrapper
• Writing answers on the desk
• Sitting on a cheat sheet
• Hiding cheat notes under the bill of a baseball cap
• Hiding cheat notes under a watch
• Turning in someone else’s essays or papers
• Using an online site to purchase a research paper
• Writing answers on clothing or shoes
• Putting cheat sheets on the floor or under a classmate’s desk
• Copying homework
• Wearing sunglasses to hide wandering eyes
• Texting information during a test
• Programming a calculator
• Getting notes out of a book bag or purse
• Having a parent do the work
• Reading summaries instead of an assigned book

Adapted from First-Year Teachers’ Survival Guide

Conduct Rules for Tests and Quizzes

“When your students take quizzes and tests, they should not cheat and they should not disturb others who may be struggling with an answer. You can prevent both of these from invalidating an assignment by teaching and enforcing rules for your students to follow while taking a quiz or test. These rules will make it easier for you to give quizzes and tests.

Don’t allow students a few minutes to study before a test. Ill-prepared students may take advantage of this opportunity to write cheat notes.
Use scrap paper to provide students with a cover sheet to allow them to keep their answers hidden from other students seated near them during the test. Have students turn in their cover sheet with their paper. Some teachers encourage recycling by having students use the same cover sheet all term.
Limit the materials on students’ desks to the minimum of necessary paper and one or two writing utensils. Students with extra paper can use it to hide cheat notes. If students want to pad their paper to make writing easier, allow them to fold papers in half.
Before giving an assignment, have students neatly stow their belongings under their desk and not beside it. All notes and loose papers should be inside a binder. If your students have cell phones, remind them to turn their phones off. Check to make sure that materials are ready before you begin.
Require students to sit facing the front with their knees and feet under the front of their desk. Allowing students to sit sideways during a quiz or test increases the chances that cheating will occur.
If students need extra paper, pens, or pencils while they have a test paper, require them to ask permission before searching their book bag.
Monitor your students carefully until all papers are in. If students have a question, teach them to raise their hand and wait for you to come to them. Do not allow them to walk to you.
Do not allow any talking until all students turn in their test paper. If you allow talking, other students could be disturbed and you will find it impossible to control cheating.
Once students turn in their work, don’t allow them to retrieve their paper to add answers.
Set a reasonable but firm time limit. Students who take much longer than others to take a test have more opportunities to cheat and may cause the rest of the class to become restless while waiting for them to finish.
Take time to check for cheat notes on your students’ hands, desk, clothing, and shoes. Students who know you will check will be less apt to attempt cheating.
Be sure to erase the board to remove any information that will be on the test.
Make sure that you do not leave an answer key where students can see it.

What to Do When You Suspect a Student of Cheating

When you suspect a student of cheating, be certain you have enough evidence before you speak to the student. Begin by speaking privately with the child. Do not be confrontational; instead, remain calm as you present your point of view.
If, after talking with the student, you are still sure that cheating has taken place; you must follow your school’s guidelines for handing cheating incidents. The guidelines will likely direct you to contact the child’s parents, inform an administrator, and withhold credit for the assignment.
If you suspect that several students are involved in a single incident of cheating, you still need to speak to students individually and handle the problem one student at a time. In such a case, it is important to involve an administrator early in the process because you will need support in order to deal with all of the students involved.”