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Old Surrender
Joined: 01 Jun 2009
Posts: 393
Location: The World's Largest Tobacco Factory
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 Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 6:25 am Post subject: New Cheating Method? |
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One of the copy shops on my campus has been selling copies of final exams printed there. I don't know how you guys are printing your finals, but keep your eyes on your machine and make sure that your final exam is off your machine's RAM. You can easily erase it by copying something else after you print your exam.
On a side note: Has anyone heard of this happening at their school? |
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the_otter
Joined: 02 Aug 2010
Posts: 134
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 6:36 am Post subject: |
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| I haven't heard of it happening, but thanks for the tip. I'll have my exams printed in the city instead of in the campus shops. |
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therock
Joined: 31 Jul 2005
Posts: 1266
Location: China
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 7:55 am Post subject: |
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| I highly doubt students are going to go through that much trouble to cheat on their foreign teachers exam. They already know they are going to pass. |
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xi.gua
Joined: 15 Jul 2010
Posts: 170
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 9:49 am Post subject: |
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| therock wrote: |
| I highly doubt students are going to go through that much trouble to cheat on their foreign teachers exam. They already know they are going to pass. |
Pretty much this. Even if they do, knowing the topics or whats on my final beforehand isn't going to magically improve their English. |
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Lister
Joined: 27 Apr 2007
Posts: 264
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 12:10 pm Post subject: |
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I wonder what would happen if you printed some fake exams at the on campus shop, and the real exams off campus...
The campus shop would probably get some very outraged students in there, causing all sorts of trouble for the shop (assuming they don't all get automatic passes ). May make them think twice about selling exams in the future. |
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Ariadne
Joined: 16 Jul 2004
Posts: 960
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 12:28 pm Post subject: |
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Copies of finals, very common. Folks up and down the line make cash on the deal. I used to always print my own exams on my dime off campus, but this school insists that I submit the tests to the English Department before giving them. Once you send out a copy of an exam to anyone it's pretty hard to pin down who snags the exams and who makes the copies and who makes the money. I've decided to put in some questions that will be slightly altered on the day of the exam, just to throw a wrench into the works. It will be a Listening exam.. I'll read the questions, the students will write the answers. (Oh my, did I read that question differently than I had typed it? So sorry, but the answer really must be to the question I actually asked, not to the question you thought it would be.)
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Teatime of Soul
Joined: 12 Apr 2007
Posts: 905
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 2:42 pm Post subject: |
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One way to minimize cheating is to use exam software that pulls random questions from a larger pool of questions. Then shuffle the questions and the possible responses within each question.
You can actually even print a different exam for each student from the same pool of questions.
It puts students in an embarrassing spot to complain their tests are all different.  |
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MisterButtkins
Joined: 03 Oct 2009
Posts: 1221
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 10:18 pm Post subject: |
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| I'm worried about this now. Me and several other teachers teach the same Business English Course and I wrote the final for all of us. I sent it to the department at my school for them to make the copies, now I'm wishing I'd done it myself. I know some of my kids get scholarships depending on their grades in the foreign teacher's class. |
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clownshow
Joined: 19 Dec 2010
Posts: 181
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| Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 2:49 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| You can actually even print a different exam for each student from the same pool of questions. |
This could bring about objections from administration that the exams were not presented on equal footing.
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| I wonder what would happen if you printed some fake exams at the on campus shop, and the real exams off campus... |
Actually a variation on this could be the answer. Several test models are printed and only one is chosen the day of the examination. In the end, a test is only as good as the support given by the an organization and it is the duty of the teacher to administer the test and not to provide security as to the legitimacy of the test. |
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Silent Shadow
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 380
Location: A stones throw past the back of beyond
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| Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 3:14 am Post subject: |
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| clownshow wrote: |
| Quote: |
| You can actually even print a different exam for each student from the same pool of questions. |
This could bring about objections from administration that the exams were not presented on equal footing.
| Quote: |
| I wonder what would happen if you printed some fake exams at the on campus shop, and the real exams off campus... |
Actually a variation on this could be the answer. Several test models are printed and only one is chosen the day of the examination. In the end, a test is only as good as the support given by the an organization and it is the duty of the teacher to administer the test and not to provide security as to the legitimacy of the test. |
That depends on how you view your role as a teacher, and to what degree you wish your students to benefit from learning.
Some teachers may feel that the final exam is still an opportunity for students to learn. Taking a paper that they haven't seen in advance would obviously test their thinking skills and ability, better, than a pre-seen exam would. It would also give the student an accurate picture of their learning needs (this being particurly more important to a teacher if it was a mid-term paper).
A teacher's "duty" is relative to his concern for his student's learning needs. |
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clownshow
Joined: 19 Dec 2010
Posts: 181
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| Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 3:22 am Post subject: |
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| A teacher's "duty" is relative to his concern for his student's learning needs. |
With all due respect, the teacher doesn't have the authority to determine their roles as it is the authority of the administration that provides the employment, students and the position. Working within the guidelines of administration is the primary duty of the teacher. If the institution doesn't provide the necessary safeguards to prevent "cheating", the administrator of the test does have the obligation to inform management but doesn't have the authority to step outside guidelines in creating, producing or administering testing procedures. |
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The Edge
Joined: 04 Sep 2010
Posts: 455
Location: China
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| Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 3:25 am Post subject: |
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| therock wrote: |
| I highly doubt students are going to go through that much trouble to cheat on their foreign teachers exam. They already know they are going to pass. |
This. |
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The Great Wall of Whiner
Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Posts: 4946
Location: Blabbing
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| Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 3:48 am Post subject: |
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| clownshow wrote: |
| Quote: |
| A teacher's "duty" is relative to his concern for his student's learning needs. |
With all due respect, the teacher doesn't have the authority to determine their roles as it is the authority of the administration that provides the employment, students and the position. |
With all due respect, unless it is explicitly mentioned in the contract that the teacher should allow cheating and/or not interfere with the quite normal cheating process and corruption in the Chinese school system, I was taught while learning to be a teacher that it has always been an educator's ethical and moral responsibility in time in memorium to ensure that every safeguard and effort is made in order to deliver the highest quality education possible and this includes the areas of examinations.
| Quote: |
| Working within the guidelines of administration is the primary duty of the teacher. |
I was taught something quite differently. When I was learning to be a teacher, I was told that the proper delivery of education and ensuring your students learn what is being t aught is the primary duty of a teacher.
| Quote: |
| If the institution doesn't provide the necessary safeguards to prevent "cheating", the administrator of the test does have the obligation to inform management but doesn't have the authority to step outside guidelines in creating, producing or administering testing procedures. |
And if there are no guidelines or the guidelines are grey, there is room for flexibility. When ordered to give two apples to Sally, unless you are explicitly told "Give Sally two apples and nothing else" then there is nothing preventing you from giving her two apples and an orange.
Likewise, if a department wants to see the exam before you administer it, I would sit down with those wishing to see it and go over it. There is no need to copy it. Imagine if that happened with the University entrance exams?
Sorry, but no. Why should a teacher spend so much time making an exam only to have some corrupt officials divvy up the plunder from his or her hard work by selling the exam to parents/students?
Who really believes the line we are told that we foreign teachers make much more than Chinese teachers? It's a lie.
Chinese teachers make TENS OF THOUSANDS OF YUAN during exam times and Spring Festival times.
I can't fathom why someone would defend this behaviour unless they have some vested interest... |
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Old Surrender
Joined: 01 Jun 2009
Posts: 393
Location: The World's Largest Tobacco Factory
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| Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 6:41 am Post subject: |
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For the record, I'm allowed to fail kids at my school. The class, as an average, has to have an average between 68-82 percent. I have students retaking my class because they failed it last year (from a different teacher.)
In essence, for the kids I fail, I have to make sure some other kids are doing well to iron it all out.
My school wants me to have most of my kids to fall in the 70s. If they get in the 80s, they're eligible for scholarships that the school has to pay! Some teachers are finding themselves deflating grades in order to make this happen.  |
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7969
Joined: 26 Mar 2003
Posts: 5782
Location: Coastal Guangdong
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| Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 8:26 am Post subject: |
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| clownshow wrote: |
| Working within the guidelines of administration is the primary duty of the teacher. |
working within the guidelines of administration (and therefore not thinking outside the box) is the primary duty of brain dead bureaucrats, many of whom are employed in education ministries.
| The Great Wall of Whiner wrote: |
| I was taught while learning to be a teacher that it has always been an educator's ethical and moral responsibility in time in memorium to ensure that every safeguard and effort is made in order to deliver the highest quality education possible and this includes the areas of examinations. |
i agree with this.
| clownshow wrote: |
| Quote: |
| You can actually even print a different exam for each student from the same pool of questions. |
This could bring about objections from administration that the exams were not presented on equal footing. |
as long as every question on every exam was something covered in class I would place a bet that any such objections/student appeals wouldn't pass muster.
| clownshow wrote: |
| Quote: |
| I wonder what would happen if you printed some fake exams at the on campus shop, and the real exams off campus... |
Actually a variation on this could be the answer. Several test models are printed and only one is chosen the day of the examination. In the end, a test is only as good as the support given by the an organization and it is the duty of the teacher to administer the test and not to provide security as to the legitimacy of the test. |
unfortunately this is impractical and a massive waste of resources. Schools simply wont allow the printing of several exams if only one is to be used.
regarding the support given by an organization re: exam security, if the school admin do not maintain the chain of security from the time the exam enters the school printing system to the moment the student sees the exam during the exam session, then the teacher should assume that responsibility. Failing to do so taints the entire process and renders the exam pointless.
Fortunately the school where I work seems to take the exam seriously and to my knowledge (and the exam marks reflect it) the individuals responsible for printing my exams have never sold copies of them to any students. |
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