Carol Rentas and Marcia Firmani
Lunch and Learn
January 14, 2015
Cheating During
Exams: It Happens
more than we all care to think
Cheating Methods
Key Factors in Prevention of
Cheating
• Consistency
• Environment
Consistency
• Policies
o clearly defined
• Consequences
o immediate and substantive penalties (even on
smaller assessments)
• Learning
o students are learning over time through formative
assessments
Test Environment
Most effective way to reduce/induce cheating =
modify the environment of the task
• Environment includes:
o
o
o
o
o
o
Curriculum requirements
Course design
Classroom design
Classroom practices
Administration of assignments and assessments
Student relationship with instructor
Blackboard – Steps Before
Exam
1. Clearly define academic dishonesty in syllabus as it
relates to your course
2. Promote early and consistent learning
3. Openly endorse practices which promote academic
integrity
Clearly define academic dishonesty
in syllabus
1. Describe academic dishonesty
2. Outline possible consequences of cheating
3. Define permissible and non-permissible
collaboration
4. Include expected time for coursework
5. Include late work policies
6. Include missed test and test retake policy
7. Include any dropped quiz or test policy
Promote early and consistent
learning
• Use smaller, frequent, formative quizzes to increase
learning before high-stakes exams
• Provide students with a map of objectives
• Use a discussion board to field questions before and
after an exam
Openly endorse practices which
promote academic integrity
• Post a letter in your course to:
o Discuss how you will support student learning to avoid
academic dishonesty
o State your commitment to ensuring fairness and
integrity
• Create an assignment which allows for discussion on
issues of academic integrity
Blackboard – Steps in Exam
Setup
1. Blackboard exam settings
2. Exam Questions
3. Exam Environment
Blackboard Exam Settings
• Clarify academic dishonesty policy in exam
instructions
• Randomize questions and answers
• Test availability
o
Recommend one day
• One attempt only
• Timed exam
o Making timing very stringent. For MC questions, rule of
thumb is 45 seconds per question
• Forced Completion
Exam Questions
• Include constructed response questions in
addition to MCQs
• Include higher levels of difficulty
• Use a large pool of questions
• Use different questions on different exams
each semester
• Use random pools to create different exams
with different questions for different students
Creating an Exam From Pools
1. Pools allow for a wider selection of questions each
time an exam is created
2. Pools can be used to randomize questions for
different students on the same exam
3. Random Blocks or Question Sets allow questions to
be randomly selected from a batch of questions
and/or presented to test-takers in random order.
Randomizing Questions From
Pools
1. Random Blocks – Questions..
•
•
Can only come from one pool
Are selected based on the format of the questions
(multiple choice, short answer,…)
2. Question Sets – Questions…
•
•
Can be gathered from multiple sources
Are selected based on question format or metadata
tags, such as category or level of difficulty.
Exam Environment
• Prevent internet/browser surfing
o Utilize programs that lock down
computer/browser
• Proctor Exam
• Use remote proctoring utilities to
ensure exam integrity
Show less feedback to
discourage cheating
High-Stakes Test Settings
High-Stakes Test Settings
Blackboard – Steps After Exam
1. Do not share answers with students on high-stakes
exam
2. To review exams with students:
 Face to face: Have students review exam in class or in
office hours and not allow pen/paper and make them turn
exam back in
 Online: Perform an item analysis and only do a review of
the questions that students had trouble with or have a
telephone meeting with student to review ONLY the
questions or areas that they had difficulties
Scenario and Method
Possible Mode of Cheating and the Methods available to reduce it
(these are on printed handout)
Students obtain old exams


Do not send out electronic files of the exam
Change your exams regularly
Students obtain answers to the exams before taking the
exam

Do not post the answers to the exam until the exam
deadline is over
Students copy the exam while they are taking it (copy
and paste into a word doc or make a screenshot) and then
distribute to others in class

Do not keep your exams available or open for
extended periods of time so that students don’t have
time to look up answers to questions before they take
the exam.
Present exam questions one at a time as opposed to
having all questions posted. This makes it more
difficult to make a screenshot. Students would still be
able to copy and paste each question into a word doc
or screenshot every question individually.

Students have a web browser open in another page and
look up answers to questions while taking an exam


Do not allow students that much time. The exam
should be timed and only allow enough time for
students who know the material to answer the
questions without looking up answers online or in
notes.
Do not allow backtracking so that students cannot
quickly go through the exam and then go back and
start looking up the answers to all of the questions.
Students have all of their notes open in another
window and do a search (i.e. find) in their notes to look
up answers as they are taking the exam

Time the exam more stringently. Only keep the
exam open long enough for students who know the
material to answer the questions based on what
they know and not by looking up answers.
Students who are friends can be taking the exam
together either at the same time in the same room or on
the phone together or one takes it while another looks
up answers and then the other takes it


Randomize the questions and answers
Have a pool (i.e. question bank) of exam questions
so that students will not have the exact same exam
Stringent time limits so that students don’t have
enough time to look up answers
Students consistently have “computer issues” and ask
for you to re-open their examination after they either
spent 20 minutes in the exam reviewing every question
or they submitted the exam and then received all of the
answers to each question (if you have it set up where
they get the correct answer when the exam is
submitted)




Make suggestions in the syllabus that students
should not use wireless internet connections to take
their exams
Suggest that students take the exam at a local or
university library
Have a rule stated in the syllabus that you will not
re-open exams
Live Demo