How to Protect your Mid-Term from Cheating Activity

Test Cheating Prevention:

  • Book an appropriate room for the test, e.g., a room large enough to space the students out; a flat floor room is best; a room with numbered seating is helpful
  • Prepare a test that works well according to the room, e.g., if you have to book a room with sloped seating and plan on having a multiple-choice test, a multiple-version test is recommended (see the Multiple Choice Exams section)
  • All personal belongings should be left at the front of the room (including cell phones, any kind of electronic device, etc.)
  • Require students with baseball hats to turn the brim to the back (the brim is a common place to keep a cheat sheet)
  • Keep a seating plan
    • if the room does not have numbered seating, create your own seating plan
    • have students sign in (if you catch students collaborating, proving where they sat is often a critical part of later charging them with dishonesty)
    • for large classes it is recommended that Mac ID is mandatory, that invigilators check for impostors, and that the signature is correct
  • Change test questions frequently
  • Protect the security of your tests, e.g., lock your office door, protect your computer files, etc.
  • Keep track of how many copies of a test are made, how many are handed out at the test and how many are handed back in so you know if one is stolen
  • Use a randomized assigned seating – post student ID numbers and the seating arrangements outside the test room or on an overhead in the room. This is a good strategy if you suspect a group of students are cheating together and you want to spread them out.
  • Have students write tests in pen rather than pencil so answers cannot be changed later and re-submitted for more marks (Scantron sheets require pencil for the multiple-choice section however)
  • When marking tests, draw a line through any blank space following an answer so a student cannot later add material and claim it was not marked
  • Use a consistent style when marking tests so that if a student alters your grades you may notice it
  • If you suspect a student is tampering with his or her test after it has been marked and is re-submitting it for a higher grade, photocopy the test before returning it
  • If you receive a note from the Faculty Office approving a student to make up a missed test, first check the sign-in sheets to ensure the student was not present at the scheduled test date – if they were, the student should be charged with academic dishonesty (contact the Office of Academic Integrity)