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Professor Adds A Fake Question In His Exam To Catch Cheaters & Catches 14 Students Red Handed
I was one of those weird kids in school who never cheated during a test. Just the idea of being caught sent a chill down my spine. It was a bit too much to handle for my tiny anxious brain.
However, this did not stop any of my classmates from cheating. There were often mini-competitions for whoever had the smallest handwriting or the best way of hiding their cheat sheets. It got gradually insane with every test they took. If anything, they seemed like adrenaline junkies now that I think about it.
RELATED:
Engineering students underestimated their “of age” professor’s cheating detection…
Image Credit: Ccarlstead (Not actual photo)
A Reddit user by the name of Mwxh recently shared a story about how their engineering professor took cheating detection to the next level. The students underestimated their “of age” professor, who took a modern approach to solving modern problems.
Bored Panda got in touch with Mwxh, the Reddit user who posted the story. He is currently a 4th-year Engineering Major at a Division 1 College.
… resulting in this impressive story By Mwxh on Reddit
A lot of people were left surprised that students are allowed to leave the exam for a bathroom break just like that. “As I said in the only comment I made in that thread, classes in my department generally just let people leave in the middle of the exam and come back, which I have a serious problem with,” explained Mwxh. And who wouldn’t—it opens up a horizon of ways for people to cheat, which is by no means fair to other students.
What is worse, nobody seemed to have any clue as to this being a trap: “I don’t think anyone thought it was a trap since it’s relatively common in this department. He didn’t say anything about it until he e-mailed us after the exam,” said the Reddit user.
Even though the professor meant well, this, in turn, lead to the question of ethics. Was the professor allowed to, effectively, publicly shame students for cheating, when educational institutions generally have a more respectful way of dealing with them? “I think it’s unethical for sure since it would have been much easier for him to just ban students from leaving the room,” elaborates Mwxh. “Though, I don’t know if the department has a specific rule about it or not. Anyway, even if not, I have no sympathy for the cheaters and hope they kicked out of the school.”
We asked the Reddit user whether there were any developments in the story. He had this to say: “I e-mailed the professor the link to this thread when it blew up and also pointed out that some comments said that sharing the names of students would violate FERPA. I haven’t heard back from him. And I haven’t heard anything else in real life about it since he sent the e-mail out.”
As the years go on and technology advances, cheaters will surely find new and more efficient ways to cheat. However, the lesson to be drawn from this story is to never underestimate the opposition—professors have degrees for a reason. Don’t underestimate their power to detect cheating. Even if it is unethical.
Do you have a cheating story to share? Why not talk about it in the comments below?
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What do you think ?
John C 5 years ago
To all those claiming "entrapment" or why didn't the teacher just disallow phones/bathroom breaks - I would argue that the teacher is TEACHING by doing this. He's doing the cheaters a favor by allowing them to learn this lesson while the stakes are relatively low. Well done.
deanna woods 5 years ago
My Comedy class professor just took up all of our phones before the exam began, problem solved. If I was a professor I would also take up smart watches as well. Just a thought.
Parmeisan 5 years ago (edited)
Pretty easy to bring two phones, though. One as a decoy to hand over, the other to secretly keep with you.
Load More Replies...
John C 5 years ago
I remember 3 students suddenly not being there in our pharmacy school class one day. They had worked out a nifty way of cheating on their A&P lab practical where the whole class rotated through stations - they wrote down the answer on the black lab bench surface with pencil (almost invisible except from a certain angle). Problem was the last one forgot to erase some of the answers off the bench. Not sure how the professor sorted it out but BOOM - they were gone. The kicker is this was grad school! Why roll the dice when the stakes are so high?!?
Magpie 5 years ago
@ glorytherainwing What percentage of your doctors' exams are you happy for them to cheat on ?
Rose the Cook 5 years ago
Or the lawyer representing you on a charge you are innocent of, the electrician who wired your home or the mechanic who fixed your brakes. The list goes on.
Load More Replies...
Yehudit Hannah Cohn 5 years ago
Each semester, I had 4-7 sections of a Humanities Studies course, which included critical thinking skills. Final was take-home: a week to work on multiple choice and essays. Study groups allowed--I couldn't stop it, had planned for it. I wrote four different versions, changing question/answer order, rewording, taking from different parts of the text--all designed to build on the material and skills. I collated the versions and numbered the tests; sections got a mix and I actually knew who had which test. None was easy--students had to work for answers. The groups had it harder because they'd discuss but couldn't agree . . . because they found they didn't all have the same test. Pay-off: I collected them, asked if they noticed anything, and saw the looks of those who had simply copied friends' tests. I said, "if you have been in my class all this time, and still think that I am dumb enough to give the same take-home to 300-400 people, you deserve your "F".
Elaine Dodge 5 years ago
Only those who have cheated or plan to cheat complain about entrapment. If you're honest, it's never a problem. As the saying goes, "You can't con an honest man."
Tim Douglass 5 years ago
A lot of commenters seem to have missed that the students had signed an "academic honor pledge", which is common in some universities. It is simply a legally binding contract that says they will not cheat and usually sets out that if they do cheat they will be expelled. That's the reason that they are allowed to leave the room during the test, they've contractually agreed that they won't cheat. This is a bit like not making your car payment and then having your car repossessed. If you sign a contract you had better be willing to stick to it - that's what contracts are about. Count this as an important educational experience.
Victoria Swift 5 years ago
"Was the professor allowed to, effectively, publicly shame students for cheating". Yes. The answer is yes. They all should be called out for being scumbags. It's a good lesson. I hope in their embarrassment they will straighten up and be better students. Especially if it's engineering. That's not something you can fake your way through.
Sinkvenice 5 years ago
The ethics surrounding shaming the cheaters?? How about this? Just don't cheat. This happened in America right? The only place where no matter what someone does, they seem to always be treated as a victim. They were caught and then called out for cheating? Diddums ^rolls eyes^
Marnie 5 years ago
For once, I don't think cheating is worse in the US than in all other countries. It is rampant in India, for example. The parents often help.
Load More Replies... John C 5 years ago
To all those claiming "entrapment" or why didn't the teacher just disallow phones/bathroom breaks - I would argue that the teacher is TEACHING by doing this. He's doing the cheaters a favor by allowing them to learn this lesson while the stakes are relatively low. Well done.
deanna woods 5 years ago
My Comedy class professor just took up all of our phones before the exam began, problem solved. If I was a professor I would also take up smart watches as well. Just a thought.
Parmeisan 5 years ago (edited)
Pretty easy to bring two phones, though. One as a decoy to hand over, the other to secretly keep with you.
Load More Replies... John C 5 years ago
I remember 3 students suddenly not being there in our pharmacy school class one day. They had worked out a nifty way of cheating on their A&P lab practical where the whole class rotated through stations - they wrote down the answer on the black lab bench surface with pencil (almost invisible except from a certain angle). Problem was the last one forgot to erase some of the answers off the bench. Not sure how the professor sorted it out but BOOM - they were gone. The kicker is this was grad school! Why roll the dice when the stakes are so high?!?
Magpie 5 years ago
@ glorytherainwing What percentage of your doctors' exams are you happy for them to cheat on ?
Rose the Cook 5 years ago
Or the lawyer representing you on a charge you are innocent of, the electrician who wired your home or the mechanic who fixed your brakes. The list goes on.
Load More Replies... Yehudit Hannah Cohn 5 years ago
Each semester, I had 4-7 sections of a Humanities Studies course, which included critical thinking skills. Final was take-home: a week to work on multiple choice and essays. Study groups allowed--I couldn't stop it, had planned for it. I wrote four different versions, changing question/answer order, rewording, taking from different parts of the text--all designed to build on the material and skills. I collated the versions and numbered the tests; sections got a mix and I actually knew who had which test. None was easy--students had to work for answers. The groups had it harder because they'd discuss but couldn't agree . . . because they found they didn't all have the same test. Pay-off: I collected them, asked if they noticed anything, and saw the looks of those who had simply copied friends' tests. I said, "if you have been in my class all this time, and still think that I am dumb enough to give the same take-home to 300-400 people, you deserve your "F".
Elaine Dodge 5 years ago
Only those who have cheated or plan to cheat complain about entrapment. If you're honest, it's never a problem. As the saying goes, "You can't con an honest man."
Tim Douglass 5 years ago
A lot of commenters seem to have missed that the students had signed an "academic honor pledge", which is common in some universities. It is simply a legally binding contract that says they will not cheat and usually sets out that if they do cheat they will be expelled. That's the reason that they are allowed to leave the room during the test, they've contractually agreed that they won't cheat. This is a bit like not making your car payment and then having your car repossessed. If you sign a contract you had better be willing to stick to it - that's what contracts are about. Count this as an important educational experience.
Victoria Swift 5 years ago
"Was the professor allowed to, effectively, publicly shame students for cheating". Yes. The answer is yes. They all should be called out for being scumbags. It's a good lesson. I hope in their embarrassment they will straighten up and be better students. Especially if it's engineering. That's not something you can fake your way through.
Sinkvenice 5 years ago
The ethics surrounding shaming the cheaters?? How about this? Just don't cheat. This happened in America right? The only place where no matter what someone does, they seem to always be treated as a victim. They were caught and then called out for cheating? Diddums ^rolls eyes^
Marnie 5 years ago
For once, I don't think cheating is worse in the US than in all other countries. It is rampant in India, for example. The parents often help.
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