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cheating on writing tests and exams
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Grendal



Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Posts: 861
Location: Lurking in the depths of the Faisaliah Tower underground parking.

PostPosted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 7:49 am    Post subject: cheating on writing tests and exams Reply with quote

Hi all!

Just want to get a discussion going on cheating. I know this has been discussed before but would like to know any new breakthroughs in cheating technology that other teachers have noticed. I am lost in the latest fad here. These students know the prompts of a writing test even before the teacher takes them out of the sealed envelope to administer the writing test. Shocked

Grendal
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feverpitch



Joined: 01 Feb 2011
Posts: 32

PostPosted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 10:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Grendal,

If you are in a situation where "students know the prompts of a writing test even before the teacher takes them out of the sealed envelope to administer the writing test", then there's little you can do.

Online or computer based exams are good for certain types of courses where the questions and answers can be randomized, but obviously this won't work for writing.

I would talk to the person writing the test and find out why students know things ahead of time.
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 1:31 pm    Post subject: Re: cheating on writing tests and exams Reply with quote

Grendal wrote:
These students know the prompts of a writing test even before the teacher takes them out of the sealed envelope to administer the writing test. Shocked

Grendal

If the students know the exam before you give it to them, it sounds like your problem is in the faculty/staff/management, not the students.

VS
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Grendal



Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Posts: 861
Location: Lurking in the depths of the Faisaliah Tower underground parking.

PostPosted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 2:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

feverpitch wrote:
Grendal,

If you are in a situation where "students know the prompts of a writing test even before the teacher takes them out of the sealed envelope to administer the writing test", then there's little you can do.

Online or computer based exams are good for certain types of courses where the questions and answers can be randomized, but obviously this won't work for writing.

I would talk to the person writing the test and find out why students know things ahead of time.


I am the person writing the tests.... Shocked Shocked

I was trying to get info on how to avert this kind of situation in the future.

Grendal
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 2:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ah HA!! Now we know... (does anyone have to approve them?)

So, are the students getting access to your office? I might start writing exams at home... in the closet... by longhand, not computer.

VS
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Heaton



Joined: 02 Jan 2012
Posts: 35

PostPosted: Tue Apr 30, 2013 5:06 am    Post subject: Psychic Cheating Reply with quote

If your students are psychic, then there's no way to stop them. Maybe you should just make your writing prompts less predictable.
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jaffa



Joined: 25 Oct 2012
Posts: 403

PostPosted: Tue Apr 30, 2013 9:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sudanese teachers at Aramco were known to accept payment for this type of information and an American accepted 'payment' of a different sort, negotiated in a toilet cubicle.
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AbeCross



Joined: 21 Jun 2012
Posts: 191

PostPosted: Tue Apr 30, 2013 12:42 pm    Post subject: Re: cheating on writing tests and exams Reply with quote

Grendal wrote:
Hi all!

Just want to get a discussion going on cheating. I know this has been discussed before but would like to know any new breakthroughs in cheating technology that other teachers have noticed. I am lost in the latest fad here. These students know the prompts of a writing test even before the teacher takes them out of the sealed envelope to administer the writing test. Shocked

Grendal


At Shabak in Hofuf(as of 2012) the students were usually given the writing questions by their teachers several days before the test. The instructors then typically helped them memorize a suitable paragragh. The students' pass rate on the writing section of the weekly exam improved. The inept hockey coach-who masquerades as an academic manager-took the credit for enhanced academic performance!
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lcanupp1964



Joined: 12 Dec 2009
Posts: 381

PostPosted: Tue Apr 30, 2013 2:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

During the paper-based exam days (two years ago), I caught three students outside the building with a set of their English course books. Two were looking up "answers" while the other one was texting those answers to his friends.

Now that we have computer-based exams, I have caught students taking a photo of their computer screen with cell phones. The reason? They are going to send the picture to a friend to see if they can get an answer to one of the questions on the computer screen.

I feel the strongest way to help curb all the cheating that goes on everywhere is to be 100% tough on not allowing the students access to their cell phones. I know this sounds like a no-brainer of an idea, but teachers that walk around and monitor what all the students are doing during an exam is more likely to have less cheating then teachers that sit at his/her desk not paying close attention.
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plumpy nut



Joined: 12 Mar 2011
Posts: 1652

PostPosted: Wed May 01, 2013 6:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Where I work the students don't know the prompts prior to the test and the faculty is (or appears to be) committed to ending cheating. However if you were to give F's to every Saudi cheating on a test (looking at other test papers, talking) you would fail 80% of the class, lots of luck doing that.
In the US this sort of cheating is dealt with by using cover sheets over the answer sheet, but do I open a Pandora's box by suggesting they force the students to use cover sheets? Maybe again just how dedicated is the school?
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Azad



Joined: 13 Jul 2010
Posts: 10

PostPosted: Wed May 01, 2013 2:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

plumpy nut wrote:
Where I work the students don't know the prompts prior to the test and the faculty is (or appears to be) committed to ending cheating. However if you were to give F's to every Saudi cheating on a test (looking at other test papers, talking) you would fail 80% of the class, lots of luck doing that.
In the US this sort of cheating is dealt with by using cover sheets over the answer sheet, but do I open a Pandora's box by suggesting they force the students to use cover sheets? Maybe again just how dedicated is the school?


i say go for it! after all, what's the worst that can happen Smile
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Grendal



Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Posts: 861
Location: Lurking in the depths of the Faisaliah Tower underground parking.

PostPosted: Wed May 01, 2013 2:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

lcanupp1964 wrote:
During the paper-based exam days (two years ago), I caught three students outside the building with a set of their English course books. Two were looking up "answers" while the other one was texting those answers to his friends.

Now that we have computer-based exams, I have caught students taking a photo of their computer screen with cell phones. The reason? They are going to send the picture to a friend to see if they can get an answer to one of the questions on the computer screen.

I feel the strongest way to help curb all the cheating that goes on everywhere is to be 100% tough on not allowing the students access to their cell phones. I know this sounds like a no-brainer of an idea, but teachers that walk around and monitor what all the students are doing during an exam is more likely to have less cheating then teachers that sit at his/her desk not paying close attention.


I totally agree to a no cell phone policy during tests and exams. But, unfortunately one student got his iPhone stolen from a cell phone collection box and this policy was scrapped. Now they are required to keep their phones in their pockets on silent mode. This is useless unless invigilation is done as you say, cannupp. Most teachers during writing exams are invigilating their own class and this leads to biased behavior on part of the teacher. All it takes is one photo of the prompt and 12,000 students will have the information.

Grendal
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EYEBALL



Joined: 17 Apr 2013
Posts: 34

PostPosted: Thu May 02, 2013 7:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's cultural, take your money and run. It's been going on since long before you got here and will continue long after you leave. What, you think you'll actually change something here?!? This place is corrupt from top to bottom and an ESL teacher or two won't change anything! Rolling Eyes
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Grendal



Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Posts: 861
Location: Lurking in the depths of the Faisaliah Tower underground parking.

PostPosted: Thu May 02, 2013 5:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

thanks eyeball I didn't know that

Grendal
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EYEBALL



Joined: 17 Apr 2013
Posts: 34

PostPosted: Thu May 02, 2013 6:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Grendal wrote:
thanks eyeball I didn't know that

Grendal


That's what I thought.

Seriously, there are teachers that try to be hardasses just before the end of the semester and actually think they're going to make a difference. Talk about making it hard for yourself. Go thru the motions and smile all the way to the bank!
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