I completely bombed a very important test

[carnation]

As a professor, I definitely want to know if a student is cheating in my classes. It's not fair for the honest students--especially if their grades are directly affected by the dishonest students' cheating.

This affected several other students and me when we were undergrads. In several classes, we had plant tests in which the professors would walk around town and we'd have to write down the names of the plants they pointed out. There was this little clique headed by a guy whose parents were in the nursery industry and when he realized which plant the professors were walking up to, he'd whisper its name to his friends.

His buddies wouldn't miss any. The rest of us would miss one. They got A's, we got B's. They made Gamma Sigma Delta, the ag honorary, the rest of us didn't...well, at least I did years later in grad school. We tried to report it to the professors who were involved but they were, shall we say, very senior citizens and couldn't believe that students at our university would do that.

Years later, I became an assistant professor there and the professor who was still teaching told me that he had indeed found out they'd been cheating. I don't know how, I don't know if they were punished. But yes, cheating by other people can adversely affect your grade...especially if there's a curve and if the cheaters get some "reward" (higher grades, honor societies, professional school) due to their cheating--and you don't.

[phisigduchesscv]

I fully understand about freezing up on exams, I never used to and now this past year in grad school I seem to do it everytime. Go talk to the professor about it, explain to him it is the first time you've had that happen to you. ask him for suggestions on ways to help study for the next exam so that you aren't so totally stressed about it. He may or may not have suggestions for you but he knows you're trying at least.

Before you go meet with the professor, print out this thread and highlight (or cut out) the small section about your concern about people cheating in class. When you get ready to leave give him the paperwork in a sealed envelope. Explain to him this isn't about your grade but about academic integrity of your fellow students and then leave.

Probably if you look in your school catalog there is going to be a section about academic integrity in it. read that and maybe it will help you make up your mind about whether to tell the professor. I personally think your professor needs to know that there is the possibility it may be occuring.

Good luck, let us know what happens

Carolyn

[Rudey]

And if someone told you they saw someone cheating and had no proof other than their word, then what?

And have you ever adjusted a student's score beyond what the grading requirements were?

-Rudey

Originally posted by carnation
As a professor, I definitely want to know if a student is cheating in my classes. It's not fair for the honest students--especially if their grades are directly affected by the dishonest students' cheating.

This affected several other students and me when we were undergrads. In several classes, we had plant tests in which the professors would walk around town and we'd have to write down the names of the plants they pointed out. There was this little clique headed by a guy whose parents were in the nursery industry and when he realized which plant the professors were walking up to, he'd whisper its name to his friends.

His buddies wouldn't miss any. The rest of us would miss one. They got A's, we got B's. They made Gamma Sigma Delta, the ag honorary, the rest of us didn't...well, at least I did years later in grad school. We tried to report it to the professors who were involved but they were, shall we say, very senior citizens and couldn't believe that students at our university would do that.

Years later, I became an assistant professor there and the professor who was still teaching told me that he had indeed found out they'd been cheating. I don't know how, I don't know if they were punished. But yes, cheating by other people can adversely affect your grade...especially if there's a curve and if the cheaters get some "reward" (higher grades, honor societies, professional school) due to their cheating--and you don't.

[Rudey]

I think your idea of getting people to buy the books might be better but it's really hard to stop cheaters. For example, one of the cheaters had a crib sheet on the floor you said and not in the book. Cheating gets more and more advanced as the stakes rise too. I've heard of kids breaking into a grader's office to change their answers prior to getting a grade. I think the best way to succeed is to push yourself so you know the material to the point that you can get a better grade than a cheater and if you see a cheater in class to ask that the prof have more TAs patrol the classroom.

-Rudey
--Good luck

Originally posted by texas*princess
first off I want to say thanks for everyone who has replied.

For the record, the whole cheaters thing is not my primary concern here. I started this whole thread b/c I felt like I felt I was prepared for the test, paniced and ended up doing terrible. From what some of my friends tell me, it happens. And this is honestly the very first time it's happened to me, so I didn't know how to react. I *KNOW* that bombing the test was my fault.. so I'm not trying to point the blame of my poor preformance on someone else.

When I was discussing the exam with some people in my project group for that class and one of them openly admitted to me that he cheated it did make me angry.

I believe at our school nothing can really happen about cheating unless you are caught (although I haven't read the University Code of Conduct in awhile, so I could be wrong)

I basically want to make sure the cheating doesn't happen again. If it means we have to go to the bookstore and buy those blue books for test taking, then so be it.. In my eyes spending a buck or two is a pretty good investment if it means cheaters can't hide their notes in them.

Thanks so much for everyone's posts

[carnation]

Originally posted by Rudey
And if someone told you they saw someone cheating and had no proof other than their word, then what?

And have you ever adjusted a student's score beyond what the grading requirements were?

-Rudey

I would watch that student like a hawk during the next test. I'd also change the seating and make it clear that I was doing so because I'd had reports of cheating. And if I caught someone, they'd get a zero.

What do you mean by "adjusting a student's score"?

[Rudey]

Originally posted by carnation
I would watch that student like a hawk during the next test. I'd also change the seating and make it clear that I was doing so because I'd had reports of cheating. And if I caught someone, they'd get a zero.

What do you mean by "adjusting a student's score"?

You should be watching everyone during a test but basically you can't do a single thing for what happened, just what might possibly happen in the future.

As for adjusting a score say someone came to you and said "Hey Carnation, I really messed up on this final and don't think it's indicative of what I've learned in this course. Would you be willing to look more at my midterm and problem sets when determining my grade?" That is something that happens all the time. It is a deviation from a standard that gives an unfair advantage to some. Sometimes the student doesn't even have to say it. The prof rewards the kid for raising his hand and coming to office hours.

-Rudey

[carnation]

It hasn't happened to me. I have no clue why.

The only time I ever adjusted a grade was when our valedictorian was in a horrible wreck her last year and not expected to live. Somehow she did and somehow she made it back to school. She was fabulous-- had never made a B in her life and she managed to make an 89 in my class despite her brain injuries. I could not be the one to give her the only B she ever had. I gave her the A.

[AchtungBaby80]

I tend to agree with what polarpi has said. The cheating needs to be addressed, no matter what. I know it goes on all the time, but so what? If you've got the chance to catch the lazy SOBs who'd rather think of creative ways to not study and pass than actually put in the time to learn the material, go for it. Chances like that don't come along every day. Cheaters tick me off. Really bad. Some say cheaters may not even get very good grades, but in my experience a lot of them do. That's why they do it in the first place! Report them.

[Rudey]

Originally posted by carnation
It hasn't happened to me. I have no clue why.

The only time I ever adjusted a grade was when our valedictorian was in a horrible wreck her last year and not expected to live. Somehow she did and somehow she made it back to school. She was fabulous-- had never made a B in her life and she managed to make an 89 in my class despite her brain injuries. I could not be the one to give her the only B she ever had. I gave her the A.

And I consider that the equivalent of "cheating". Grades are not about emotions but tracking your performance.

-Rudey

[carnation]

I don't consider it cheating. Who's to say I graded all her essay questions correctly during the term? A point here, a point there--they all add up.

Her A in no way affected anyone else's grade. I will always be confident that I did the right thing. I was there, you weren't.

[Rudey]

Originally posted by carnation
I don't consider it cheating. Who's to say I graded all her essay questions correctly during the term? A point here, a point there--they all add up.

Her A in no way affected anyone else's grade. I will always be confident that I did the right thing. I was there, you weren't.

A point makes a difference. A point/dollar/vote moves you into a percentile guaranteeing you a shot at college in china/a tax bracket that costs you millions of dollars/a president that you would never vote for. Of course if a point made no difference, then it would have made no difference for you to leave her score where it was.

I ask about how you graded this girl's score, and you bring up how you might have made errors grading other students' score. OK.

I wasn't there but I have my opinion. People weren't there during the civil war and have theirs.

-Rudey
--And if I was "there", and had known, you would have been taken to as many deans as I could mange, as well as had your name in the campus media; but you were there, and I wasn't.

[carnation]

And the dean knew about it and so did his boss, the vice president of academics. They approved.

My name in the campus media? Big whoop.

[Rudey]

Originally posted by carnation
And the dean knew about it and so did his boss, the vice president of academics. They approved.

My name in the campus media? Big whoop.

That's fine. Sorta like Enron?

-Rudey
--All sorts of people approved there too

[Lady Pi Phi]

Teacher/professors adjust grades all the time.
My highschool math teacher gave me 50% in a class I know I failed. I assumed he felt sorry for me. I didn't ask for it I didn't talk to him. I worked hard, I went to him for extra help. I just suck in math. So I assumed it was a pity grade. But I got the credit so I didn't have to take it summer school. I never took math again.

[Rudey]

Originally posted by Lady Pi Phi
Teacher/professors adjust grades all the time.
My highschool math teacher gave me 50% in a class I know I failed. I assumed he felt sorry for me. I didn't ask for it I didn't talk to him. I worked hard, I went to him for extra help. I just suck in math. So I assumed it was a pity grade. But I got the credit so I didn't have to take it summer school. I never took math again.

Kids cheat on their exams all the time. They may get "50% in a class [they] know [they] failed."

-Rudey