3 Tips for Preventing Cheating on Tests

No teacher wants to believe that his or her students are cheating. Unfortunately, cheating may be more common than many educators want to believe. Now that the new school year has finally arrived, it’s the perfect time for teachers to take a stand against cheating in their classroom. Here are a few quick and easy tips you can use to reduce cheating this semester.

• Establish a clear policy. Students need to know that cheating is never okay. Establish a classroom policy after a student is caught cheating and stick to it. No matter if the end result is a zero on an assignment or a phone call home, students are less likely to cheat when they know the consequences.
• Get a writing sample. Many teachers like to ask students for a short essay early in the year. This helps them understand how their students write without plagiarism or the assistance of essay mills. Make one of your first assignments an essay and pay close attention to your students’ writing styles. Tech-based professional development for teachers in Montgomery County can help you learn how to use software to detect plagiarism and cheating later in the year as well.
• Make your own tests. Using online or textbook-issued exams can be tempting. However, today’s students are tech experts, and they often know how to get ahold of these materials ahead of time. Reduce cheating and challenge your students by creating your own tests. When creating your test, you may also want to create multiple copies of the exam. Even if you only switch one or two questions around, this is usually enough to deter students from lifting answers off their neighbors.

The Teacher’s Academy knows that education is a landscape that’s constantly evolving. That’s why our catalog of online professional development for teachers in Montgomery County is always offering new courses and areas of practice. To learn more about the many Act-48 approved classes currently available, please reach out to us now!