The end of each term, unit, or semester brings along tests or examinations with them. Some students pay their fullest of attention in the classes and give their tests responsibly. But many students do not pay that much attention in their classes or are sometimes unprepared for the exams. So the one way that can get them passing in the exams is cheating.
The exam halls are always set up with invigilators to monitor any mischief or unfair means of passing the exam. But the students being students find some or the other way to cheat from their friends. It is interesting to know that how far students can go to cheat in exams. They can use the traditional methods of making slip chits for cheating to slipping their phones in their bag packs. There are endless ways for students to cheat for their exams, but these need to be controlled for the sake of children only.
The teacher or the invigilator can follow some steps to prevent cheating of the students to a particular level.
Steps to follow
- No access to the learning materials
The primary step to prevent the students from teaching in the exams is limiting their study material in the classroom. Many students hide books or other study material in their desks and bags and cheat from them as soon as they get a slight chance. Make sure that the students don’t have access to previous test papers or any other learning material from which they can cheat.
- Make sets of question papers.
Making sets of the question paper can prove to be of great help in preventing cheating by students. Questions papers with jumbled questions and different sections will make it difficult for the children to discuss it. Make the paper pattern the same to stop it from being recognized from a distance. This will stop cheating to a particular level from the neighbor’s sheet.
- Create high order thinking questions
Make question papers in a way that will require high thinking by a student to search for its answers. This will make it difficult for them to search for simple linings in their textbooks or other cheating slips. You can modify the questions in your language that will require high thinking by the students and make it very difficult for them to cheat on each other.
- Make them clear with the cheating penalties.
When a student comes into a class, the first thought in his mind is how he can cheat to pass the exam. But as a teacher, you have to brief them with the punishments they have to face if they are caught cheating. This creates a psychological effect on the student’s mind, and they will hesitate in cheating or discussing the paper with his neighbor student. This fear of getting caught and facing penalties can prevent cheating by students to a great extent.
- One question at a time
This measure is effective for the new trend of online teaching. Children sitting at their homes have all the means to cheat for their exams. Also, they have no one to look upon them and scold them for the mischief. So a preventive measure for cheating in online exams is showing only one question at a time. This will prevent children from surfing the net, looking for all the questions, and seeing the textbook’s answers. The non-availability of every question in the question paper will help in the prevention of cheating by students effectively.
Final thoughts
Students being students will always find some or the other way to cheat in the exams. But not doing anything can always make them cheat more. So the teacher always has to go with the preventive measures to help the children from cheating. Being strict with the children in the classroom will only prevent children from cheating to a small extent. They need to be made a realization that they have to face problems if they are caught cheating, and eliminating the use of things they can use for cheating in the examination can be the best measure.