Universities vs. the high-tech exam cheats

By | February 3, 2010, 6:45am PST

Summary: High-tech equipment is being bought by pupils and students to cheat their exams. Should schools and universities fight fire with fire?

Schools are resorting to buying specialist equipment to trace or disrupt devices such as mobile phones and other exam cheating technology to battle the dishonest student. But with the wide ranging technology available, from mobiles to MP3 players, iPhones and handheld devices with wireless and 3G access to the answers, perhaps the traditional exams are no longer feasibly possible?

Ofqual, the qualifications watchdog in the UK, undertook a study which showed more students were penalised for bringing unauthorised materials - which can range from high-tech devices to crib notes written on the inside labels of drinks bottles.

My opinions on exams are clear cut and to the point. I don’t like exams, and only seem relevant to testing the memory holding ability of the student. In schools, pupils are taught to pass exams whereas at university the general consensus is that students are taught because they want to learn. With dissertations being more often than not optional, an undergraduate bachelor’s degree can only be justified with a written dissertation, in my opinion, entirely negating the need for exams.

Mobile phone jamming equipment is illegal in the UK and US as it could interfere with other equipment. However there is a possibility for change with the rising number of phones being smuggled into prisons. Body language detectors could be installed to monitor the expressions and activities of students undertaking exams, similarly to those in airports looking out for suspicious persons.

Or maybe fight fire with fire. In my first year as a computer science student, I was allowed to bring in my textbook with my notes to write a written programming examination. The exam wasn’t to test memory but rather to test the research technique. Use technology openly by using resources such as the Internet to research the appropriate exam question - which tests research gathering and studying technique instead of memory.

But even with all the technology in the world, a good old fashioned Biro and your non-writing arm seems to be the best technique for university cheats.

What are your thoughts?

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Topics

Zack Whittaker, a criminologist who studied at the University of Kent, Canterbury, is a journalist, writer and broadcaster.

Disclosure

Zack Whittaker

I worked briefly with Microsoft UK in 2006 but no longer have any connection with the company. Regardless, I remain impartial and unbiased in my views.

I don't hold any stock or shares, investments or industrial secrets in any company, but have signed confidentiality agreements with a number of UK and U.S. organisations, whose names I am not at liberty to disclose.

I was involved with Kent Union, the University of Kent's student union, undertaking voluntary, non-salaried, elected positions between early 2009 and mid-2010.

No other company, body, government department, non-governmental organisation or third sector organisation employs me or pays me a salary in any capacity whatsoever.

As a freelance journalist, whenever expenses are given and taken by a company that is not CBS Interactive, these will be disclosed in each relevant post to ensure transparency.

I currently work with a UK law enforcement unit, but this is an entirely separate position which bears no connection to other work.

(Updated: 23rd October 2011)

Biography

Zack Whittaker

Zack Whittaker, criminologist who studied at the University of Kent, UK, is a journalist, writer and broadcaster.

After studying criminology at university, though still in his early-20's, he has already had a series unconventional work and voluntary positions. He has worked with researchers studying neurological illnesses like Tourette's syndrome (which he suffers from), has given lectures on the nature of disabilities in the public community, and occasionally ends up speaking on television and radio discussing the events of the day.

He first had academic work published at the age of 22, then still an undergraduate, and has been cited by a wide range of publications: from the Huffington Post, Business Insider, AllThingsDigital, The Atlantic Wire and CBS News.

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what's the latest highest tech?
gsbby 26th Jun 2010
I heard of the invisible 305 earpiece long before, why so many people use the old gadget like this http://simenibiz.com/electronics-gadgets/859-invisible-wireless-mini-spy-earpiece-special-exam-fraud-tool.html
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Naked, Faraday cage
davebarnes 3rd Feb 2010
1. The exam is held inside a Faraday cage. The NSA can help with this.

2. Every exam taker has to strip down to naked.
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It's co-educational.
Robert Carnegie 2009 4th Feb 2010
And someone else has to sit in those chairs next time.
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An easy solution
cd2_z 3rd Feb 2010
If schools and professors want to stop (or at least minimize) cheating on tests, there are two easy changes that can be made:

1. Make up your own test questions - don't use the "test bank" which comes with textbooks. Students can trivially construct a database with multiple test banks from every text which is used anywhere for comparable courses (and almost certainly already have) by compiling the questions/answers over the internet using a free plug-and-play solution such as phpMyAdmin or customized ones. This takes longer to grade, but that's why the professors make the big bucks wink.

2. Give each student a unique test, where the question order is randomized, numerical problems have random (but reasonable) values for variables, and not all questions are used in any one test. Students use a (school-owned and reset before each test) tablet PC (or non-tablet if entering equations or drawing figures is not necessary) with WiFi and USB ports disabled for reading and answering test questions. If an open-book test is given as in your blog, the PDF of the book can be on the PC. Test answers can be collated for grading and then reordered (with comments, if wanted) to return electronically to the student.

Don't let anyone convince you that either of these is impossible, the first just takes a little more time and thought by the professor, and the second just takes a relatively minor monetary commitment from the school, the technology is trivial.
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Could not disagree more
Economister Updated - 3rd Feb 2010
You said: "I don't like exams, and only seem relevant to testing the memory holding ability of the student."

During my many years of university, most of my exams were "open book" You could bring and look up anything you wanted. The only problem was that unless you already had a very good UNDERSTANDING of the material being tested, there was no way you could learn it and apply it during an exam. You would fail miserably.

In some courses memory undoubtedly plays a significant role. At the university level however, you should be tested on your understanding and not your memory.

Finally, exams act as a strong motivator to study as well as an important measure of the effectiveness of the teaching as well as the learning. Facing only a final "test" for graduation will be a rude shock to a lot of students, with no realistic way to salvage their multi-year university education.

Maybe you have just been exposed to too many professors who got lazy and did not put much effort into their exam/test writing.
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As a former College Proferssor ...
mheartwood 3rd Feb 2010
I learned a thing or two about exams from the professors I studied under. The hardest but most comprehensive exam I ever took was Professor Gus Klee's Physics exam. The rules were simple:
1) Open book. You can bring any material in to the exam you want.
2) Unlimited time. You have as much time to complete the exam as you want, but if I (the professor) see you staring out into space for a protracted period of time, I'll take your paper away.

Professor Klee's logic behind this was that he really did want to see what you really knew. The questions were always problems which the writer thus had to solve thereby showing that they truly understood the underlying concepts.

[e.g. Which is more difficult to understand, Relativity or wave-particle duality? Explain.]

When I started giving my own exams, I followed the same model.
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So how much time did you spend? (nt)
Economister 3rd Feb 2010
nt
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what's the latest highest tech?
gsbby 26th Jun 2010
I heard of the invisible 305 earpiece long before, why so many people use the old gadget like this http://simenibiz.com/electronics-gadgets/859-invisible-wireless-mini-spy-earpiece-special-exam-fraud-tool.html

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