how to prevent cheating on homework

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How Do I Stop Students From Copying Each Other’s Homework Assignments?

Five steps that worked for me.

My students, like students everywhere, are smart and funny and creative and wonderful in so many ways. Also like students everywhere, they constantly seem to be looking for shortcuts on their homework. One of the bus drivers told me last year that the kids openly ask her to turn the interior lights on so they can finish copying homework before they get to school! Sigh. At least they’re motivated enough to copy, right?

This year, I made it a major goal to stop students from cheating. I put this five-step process in place, and it really cut down on the homework copying in my classroom. Here it is. 

Step 1: Check the quality of your assignments.

First of all, it’s worth taking a close look at the kind of homework you assign. If you do a lot of worksheets, you might find those work better for in-class activities. Instead, try focusing homework on in-depth writing assignments and individual written responses.

If you’re a math teacher, having kids respond in writing about how they solved a problem always works, as does having them write their own problems or exemplars for what they’ve been learning. Anything that requires student-generated content is automatically going to be harder to copy.

Step 2: Check the quantity.

Of course, this creates a lot more grading than worksheets, which led me to reflect on the amount of homework I assigned. At first, I found myself overwhelmed. I had to wonder if this was how my students felt when they looked at a night’s homework load. If there had been someone whose grading I could have copied, I probably would have done it!

The result? I assigned a lot less homework as the year went on. Put your homework to this test: If it’s not worth your time to grade carefully, it’s not worth the students’ time to do it.

Step 3: Explain the changes.

Once you’ve started assigning less homework, you’ll want to make your reasons explicit to your students. “I’m assigning less homework because I don’t want to waste your time. That means that anything I do assign is really important, and it’s important for you to actually do it on your own.” This speech went a long way with many of my students, but I had another trick up my sleeve.

Step 4: Allow time to learn and make mistakes.

You might also want to try a few get-out-of-jail-free cards when it comes to homework. My middle schoolers are still in the process of learning how to budget their time and stay organized, and sometimes they make mistakes. I gave each kid three one-day extensions that they could use over the course of the year to avoid a penalty for late homework.

There were certain assignments on which these could not be used, like rough drafts we needed to edit or group projects. It lowered the general stress level and set a culture of respect and accountability that encouraged my kids to plan ahead. For the naysayers who say, “The real world won’t give them extensions,” I would respectfully offer my disagreement. What? You’ve never posted your grades after the deadline?

Step 5: Bring the pain.

Although this cut down on copying substantially, kids will always test your limits. That’s when you move on to the final step. It works like this: Read every word of every assignment. Make sure you grade an entire class at once so you’ll know if a phrase or a creatively spelled word seems familiar, and then hunt back through 35 other papers until you find the one it’s copied from. It is important that you identify when students cheat and that your justice is swift and merciless.

I had an escalating system of consequences for cheating. First time, you split the grade. If the assignment gets a 90, each person gets a 45. Second time, each person gets a zero and a lunch detention. Third time, it’s a phone call home in addition to a zero and an after-school detention. Not a single kid made it to the third offense. They have to believe that you’re documenting this and you’ll follow through. Let them see you putting their names in your file so they know you know what offense they’re on. It is a logistical pain, but it’s effective.

So did my kids ace the standardized test because they had done their homework all year? Not to brag, but their writing scores were pretty high. And I don’t think they missed out on many valuable educational experiences when I stopped assigning worksheets. After all, they’d have just copied them anyway!

How do you stop students from cheating? Come and share  in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group  on Facebook. 

Plus, check out  how to give meaningful homework, even when it’s not graded ..

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How to Give Meaningful Homework, Even When It’s Not Graded

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Why Students Cheat on Homework and How to Prevent It

One of the most frustrating aspects of teaching in today’s world is the cheating epidemic. There’s nothing more irritating than getting halfway through grading a large stack of papers only to realize some students cheated on the assignment. There’s really not much point in teachers grading work that has a high likelihood of having been copied or otherwise unethically completed. So. What is a teacher to do? We need to be able to assess students. Why do students cheat on homework, and how can we address it?

Like most new teachers, I learned the hard way over the course of many years of teaching that it is possible to reduce cheating on homework, if not completely prevent it. Here are six suggestions to keep your students honest and to keep yourself sane.

ASSIGN LESS HOMEWORK

One of the reasons students cheat on homework is because they are overwhelmed. I remember vividly what it felt like to be a high school student in honors classes with multiple extracurricular activities on my plate. Other teens have after school jobs to help support their families, and some don’t have a home environment that is conducive to studying.

While cheating is  never excusable under any circumstances, it does help to walk a mile in our students’ shoes. If they are consistently making the decision to cheat, it might be time to reduce the amount of homework we are assigning.

I used to give homework every night – especially to my advanced students. I wanted to push them. Instead, I stressed them out. They wanted so badly to be in the Top 10 at graduation that they would do whatever they needed to do in order to complete their assignments on time – even if that meant cheating.

When assigning homework, consider the at-home support, maturity, and outside-of-school commitments involved. Think about the kind of school and home balance you would want for your own children. Go with that.

PROVIDE CLASS TIME

Allowing students time in class to get started on their assignments seems to curb cheating to some extent. When students have class time, they are able to knock out part of the assignment, which leaves less to fret over later. Additionally, it gives them an opportunity to ask questions.

When students are confused while completing assignments at home, they often seek “help” from a friend instead of going in early the next morning to request guidance from the teacher. Often, completing a portion of a homework assignment in class gives students the confidence that they can do it successfully on their own. Plus, it provides the social aspect of learning that many students crave. Instead of fighting cheating outside of class , we can allow students to work in pairs or small groups  in class to learn from each other.

Plus, to prevent students from wanting to cheat on homework, we can extend the time we allow them to complete it. Maybe students would work better if they have multiple nights to choose among options on a choice board. Home schedules can be busy, so building in some flexibility to the timeline can help reduce pressure to finish work in a hurry.

GIVE MEANINGFUL WORK

If you find students cheat on homework, they probably lack the vision for how the work is beneficial. It’s important to consider the meaningfulness and valuable of the assignment from students’ perspectives. They need to see how it is relevant to them.

In my class, I’ve learned to assign work that cannot be copied. I’ve never had luck assigning worksheets as homework because even though worksheets have value, it’s generally not obvious to teenagers. It’s nearly impossible to catch cheating on worksheets that have “right or wrong” answers. That’s not to say I don’t use worksheets. I do! But. I use them as in-class station, competition, and practice activities, not homework.

So what are examples of more effective and meaningful types of homework to assign?

• Ask students to complete a reading assignment and respond in writing .
• Have students watch a video clip and answer an oral entrance question.
• Require that students contribute to an online discussion post.
• Assign them a reflection on the day’s lesson in the form of a short project, like a one-pager or a mind map.

As you can see, these options require unique, valuable responses, thereby reducing the opportunity for students to cheat on them. The more open-ended an assignment is, the more invested students need to be to complete it well.

DIFFERENTIATE

Part of giving meaningful work involves accounting for readiness levels. Whenever we can tier assignments or build in choice, the better. A huge cause of cheating is when work is either too easy (and students are bored) or too hard (and they are frustrated). Getting to know our students as learners can help us to provide meaningful differentiation options. Plus, we can ask them!

This is what you need to be able to demonstrate the ability to do. How would you like to show me you can do it?

REDUCE THE POINT VALUE

If you’re sincerely concerned about students cheating on assignments, consider reducing the point value. Reflect on your grading system.

Are homework grades carrying so much weight that students feel the need to cheat in order to maintain an A? In a standards-based system, will the assignment be a key determining factor in whether or not students are proficient with a skill?

Each teacher has to do what works for him or her. In my classroom, homework is worth the least amount out of any category. If I assign something for which I plan on giving completion credit, the point value is even less than it typically would be. Projects, essays, and formal assessments count for much more.

CREATE AN ETHICAL CULTURE

To some extent, this part is out of educators’ hands. Much of the ethical and moral training a student receives comes from home. Still, we can do our best to create a classroom culture in which we continually talk about integrity, responsibility, honor, and the benefits of working hard. What are some specific ways can we do this?

Building Community and Honestly

• Talk to students about what it means to cheat on homework. Explain to them that there are different kinds. Many students are unaware, for instance, that the “divide and conquer (you do the first half, I’ll do the second half, and then we will trade answers)” is cheating.
• As a class, develop expectations and consequences for students who decide to take short cuts.
• Decorate your room with motivational quotes that relate to honesty and doing the right thing.
• Discuss how making a poor decision doesn’t make you a bad person. It is an opportunity to grow.
• Share with students that you care about them and their futures. The assignments you give them are intended to prepare them for success.
• Offer them many different ways to seek help from you if and when they are confused.
• Provide revision opportunities for homework assignments.
• Explain that you partner with their parents and that guardians will be notified if cheating occurs.
• Explore hypothetical situations.  What if you have a late night? Let’s pretend you don’t get home until after orchestra and Lego practices. You have three hours of homework to do. You know you can call your friend, Bob, who always has his homework done. How do you handle this situation?

EDUCATE ABOUT PLAGIARISM

Many students don’t realize that plagiarism applies to more than just essays. At the beginning of the school year, teachers have an energized group of students, fresh off of summer break. I’ve always found it’s easiest to motivate my students at this time. I capitalize on this opportunity by beginning with a plagiarism mini unit .

While much of the information we discuss is about writing, I always make sure my students know that homework can be plagiarized. Speeches can be plagiarized. Videos can be plagiarized. Anything can be plagiarized, and the repercussions for stealing someone else’s ideas (even in the form of a simple worksheet) are never worth the time saved by doing so.

In an ideal world, no one would cheat. However, teaching and learning in the 21st century is much different than it was fifty years ago. Cheating? It’s increased. Maybe because of the digital age… the differences in morals and values of our culture…  people are busier. Maybe because students don’t see how the school work they are completing relates to their lives.

No matter what the root cause, teachers need to be proactive. We need to know why students feel compelled to cheat on homework and what we can do to help them make learning for beneficial. Personally, I don’t advocate for completely eliminating homework with older students. To me, it has the potential to teach students many lessons both related to school and life. Still, the “right” answer to this issue will be different for each teacher, depending on her community, students, and culture.

STRATEGIES FOR ADDRESSING CHALLENGING BEHAVIORS IN SECONDARY

You are so right about communicating the purpose of the assignment and giving students time in class to do homework. I also use an article of the week on plagiarism. I give students points for the learning – not the doing. It makes all the difference. I tell my students why they need to learn how to do “—” for high school or college or even in life experiences. Since, they get an A or F for the effort, my students are more motivated to give it a try. No effort and they sit in my class to work with me on the assignment. Showing me the effort to learn it — asking me questions about the assignment, getting help from a peer or me, helping a peer are all ways to get full credit for the homework- even if it’s not complete. I also choose one thing from each assignment for the test which is a motivator for learning the material – not just “doing it.” Also, no one is permitted to earn a D or F on a test. Any student earning an F or D on a test is then required to do a project over the weekend or at lunch or after school with me. All of this reinforces the idea – learning is what is the goal. Giving students options to show their learning is also important. Cheating is greatly reduced when the goal is to learn and not simply earn the grade.

Thanks for sharing your unique approaches, Sandra! Learning is definitely the goal, and getting students to own their learning is key.

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Why Students Cheat—and What to Do About It

A teacher seeks answers from researchers and psychologists. 

“Why did you cheat in high school?” I posed the question to a dozen former students.

“I wanted good grades and I didn’t want to work,” said Sonya, who graduates from college in June. [The students’ names in this article have been changed to protect their privacy.]

My current students were less candid than Sonya. To excuse her plagiarized Cannery Row essay, Erin, a ninth-grader with straight As, complained vaguely and unconvincingly of overwhelming stress. When he was caught copying a review of the documentary Hypernormalism , Jeremy, a senior, stood by his “hard work” and said my accusation hurt his feelings.

Cases like the much-publicized ( and enduring ) 2012 cheating scandal at high-achieving Stuyvesant High School in New York City confirm that academic dishonesty is rampant and touches even the most prestigious of schools. The data confirms this as well. A 2012 Josephson Institute’s Center for Youth Ethics report revealed that more than half of high school students admitted to cheating on a test, while 74 percent reported copying their friends’ homework. And a survey of 70,000 high school students across the United States between 2002 and 2015 found that 58 percent had plagiarized papers, while 95 percent admitted to cheating in some capacity.

So why do students cheat—and how do we stop them?

According to researchers and psychologists, the real reasons vary just as much as my students’ explanations. But educators can still learn to identify motivations for student cheating and think critically about solutions to keep even the most audacious cheaters in their classrooms from doing it again.

Rationalizing It


First, know that students realize cheating is wrong—they simply see themselves as moral in spite of it.

“They cheat just enough to maintain a self-concept as honest people. They make their behavior an exception to a general rule,” said Dr. David Rettinger , professor at the University of Mary Washington and executive director of the Center for Honor, Leadership, and Service, a campus organization dedicated to integrity.

According to Rettinger and other researchers, students who cheat can still see themselves as principled people by rationalizing cheating for reasons they see as legitimate.

Some do it when they don’t see the value of work they’re assigned, such as drill-and-kill homework assignments, or when they perceive an overemphasis on teaching content linked to high-stakes tests.

“There was no critical thinking, and teachers seemed pressured to squish it into their curriculum,” said Javier, a former student and recent liberal arts college graduate. “They questioned you on material that was never covered in class, and if you failed the test, it was progressively harder to pass the next time around.”

But students also rationalize cheating on assignments they see as having value.

High-achieving students who feel pressured to attain perfection (and Ivy League acceptances) may turn to cheating as a way to find an edge on the competition or to keep a single bad test score from sabotaging months of hard work. At Stuyvesant, for example, students and teachers identified the cutthroat environment as a factor in the rampant dishonesty that plagued the school.

And research has found that students who receive praise for being smart—as opposed to praise for effort and progress—are more inclined to exaggerate their performance and to cheat on assignments , likely because they are carrying the burden of lofty expectations.

A Developmental Stage

When it comes to risk management, adolescent students are bullish. Research has found that teenagers are biologically predisposed to be more tolerant of unknown outcomes and less bothered by stated risks than their older peers.

“In high school, they’re risk takers developmentally, and can’t see the consequences of immediate actions,” Rettinger says. “Even delayed consequences are remote to them.”

While cheating may not be a thrill ride, students already inclined to rebel against curfews and dabble in illicit substances have a certain comfort level with being reckless. They’re willing to gamble when they think they can keep up the ruse—and more inclined to believe they can get away with it.

Cheating also appears to be almost contagious among young people—and may even serve as a kind of social adhesive, at least in environments where it is widely accepted.  A study of military academy students from 1959 to 2002 revealed that students in communities where cheating is tolerated easily cave in to peer pressure, finding it harder not to cheat out of fear of losing social status if they don’t.

Michael, a former student, explained that while he didn’t need to help classmates cheat, he felt “unable to say no.” Once he started, he couldn’t stop.

Technology Facilitates and Normalizes It

With smartphones and Alexa at their fingertips, today’s students have easy access to quick answers and content they can reproduce for exams and papers.  Studies show that technology has made cheating in school easier, more convenient, and harder to catch than ever before.

To Liz Ruff, an English teacher at Garfield High School in Los Angeles, students’ use of social media can erode their understanding of authenticity and intellectual property. Because students are used to reposting images, repurposing memes, and watching parody videos, they “see ownership as nebulous,” she said.

As a result, while they may want to avoid penalties for plagiarism, they may not see it as wrong or even know that they’re doing it.

This confirms what Donald McCabe, a Rutgers University Business School professor,  reported in his 2012 book ; he found that more than 60 percent of surveyed students who had cheated considered digital plagiarism to be “trivial”—effectively, students believed it was not actually cheating at all.

Strategies for Reducing Cheating

Even moral students need help acting morally, said  Dr. Jason M. Stephens , who researches academic motivation and moral development in adolescents at the University of Auckland’s School of Learning, Development, and Professional Practice. According to Stephens, teachers are uniquely positioned to infuse students with a sense of responsibility and help them overcome the rationalizations that enable them to think cheating is OK.

1. Turn down the pressure cooker. Students are less likely to cheat on work in which they feel invested. A multiple-choice assessment tempts would-be cheaters, while a unique, multiphase writing project measuring competencies can make cheating much harder and less enticing. Repetitive homework assignments are also a culprit, according to research , so teachers should look at creating take-home assignments that encourage students to think critically and expand on class discussions. Teachers could also give students one free pass on a homework assignment each quarter, for example, or let them drop their lowest score on an assignment.

2. Be thoughtful about your language.   Research indicates that using the language of fixed mindsets , like praising children for being smart as opposed to praising them for effort and progress , is both demotivating and increases cheating. When delivering feedback, researchers suggest using phrases focused on effort like, “You made really great progress on this paper” or “This is excellent work, but there are still a few areas where you can grow.”

3. Create student honor councils. Give students the opportunity to enforce honor codes or write their own classroom/school bylaws through honor councils so they can develop a full understanding of how cheating affects themselves and others. At Fredericksburg Academy, high school students elect two Honor Council members per grade. These students teach the Honor Code to fifth graders, who, in turn, explain it to younger elementary school students to help establish a student-driven culture of integrity. Students also write a pledge of authenticity on every assignment. And if there is an honor code transgression, the council gathers to discuss possible consequences. 

4. Use metacognition. Research shows that metacognition, a process sometimes described as “ thinking about thinking ,” can help students process their motivations, goals, and actions. With my ninth graders, I use a centuries-old resource to discuss moral quandaries: the play Macbeth . Before they meet the infamous Thane of Glamis, they role-play as medical school applicants, soccer players, and politicians, deciding if they’d cheat, injure, or lie to achieve goals. I push students to consider the steps they take to get the outcomes they desire. Why do we tend to act in the ways we do? What will we do to get what we want? And how will doing those things change who we are? Every tragedy is about us, I say, not just, as in Macbeth’s case, about a man who succumbs to “vaulting ambition.”

5. Bring honesty right into the curriculum. Teachers can weave a discussion of ethical behavior into curriculum. Ruff and many other teachers have been inspired to teach media literacy to help students understand digital plagiarism and navigate the widespread availability of secondary sources online, using guidance from organizations like Common Sense Media .

There are complicated psychological dynamics at play when students cheat, according to experts and researchers. While enforcing rules and consequences is important, knowing what’s really motivating students to cheat can help you foster integrity in the classroom instead of just penalizing the cheating.

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How to Prevent Students from Cheating

Last Updated: May 4, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Emily Listmann, MA . Emily Listmann is a private tutor in San Carlos, California. She has worked as a Social Studies Teacher, Curriculum Coordinator, and an SAT Prep Teacher. She received her MA in Education from the Stanford Graduate School of Education in 2014. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 169,219 times.

Students will go to tremendous lengths to cheat in school like slipping a phone in their shoe. The possibilities for how to cheat are endlessly expanding, especially as students have more and more technology available to them. By taking steps to prevent cheating, you can better help your students grow into responsible and knowledgeable adults. With some forethought and effort, a teacher prevent cheating before it happens and can set up the classroom to help prevent students from being able to cheat.

Preventing Cheating on Tests

• To prevent this, never leave your keys hanging in the door and don't give them to a trusted student for any reason.
• Also, do not assume that tests and answer guides left at school will be safe. If you are going to leave such test materials at school, be sure to lock them in a file cabinet and keep the key with you at all times.
• Be sure to change your test content from year to year. This will stop siblings and friends in different grades from passing on last year's answers.

• Be sure that you keep track of what test version each student has. This can be done by numbering the version and having the students write the number they have on their tests.
• Do not distinguish different versions in a way that can be seen from a distance, for example, by color. Otherwise, students can look around for other students with the same version.

• Eventually your students will learn that having the material at their fingertips is of no use unless they actually comprehended the material.
• For remote exams, webcam and screen proctoring can be used to ensure students are not collaborating or copying test contents that are not intended to be released.

• That way, they will be forced to review more information than you are actually going to test them on but they will be prepared for the test.
• You can give students the questions but not the answers.

• This can be done either when entering the exam room or when collecting the exam.
• Tell students ahead of time that you will not permit entry into the exam room or not grade an exam if the student does not appear on your roster, the student does not have an ID with them, or the student has a false ID.

• If leaning over to copy is a problem in your class, you may consider investing in dividers that you pass out at test time to keep students from looking over at one another's papers.
• Letting students know you will be doing this beforehand will prevent some students from trying to cheat in the first place. However, it may drive some students towards other more elaborate ways of cheating.
• For remote exams, if scratch paper will be allowed, require that students show the front and back of all scratch paper before beginning their exam to ensure it is blank. This can also be required prior to logging off at the end to ensure they are not copying exam contents that are not intended to be released.

• If you are especially worried about cheating, do not even allow students to have labeled water bottles on their desk. It is a common trick to write answers on the inside of the label and re-glue it to the bottle.
• You may also require that backpacks be placed in the front of the room (or some other open space) rather than underneath desks for the duration of the exam.
• For remote exams, require that students do a 360 degree webcam scan of their testing environment prior to starting the exam.

• If you are teaching a large class, you might have teaching assistants that are helping with your class. Have them watch the students during testing, so that more of the room can be observed at one time. [5] X Trustworthy Source American Psychological Association Leading scientific and professional organization of licensed psychologists Go to source
• For remote exams, watch all (or at least a subset) of the recordings at faster playback speed prior to releasing results.

• Allow only one student to leave the room at a time. This will allow you to keep track of who leaves and how long they are gone. If someone is taking frequent bathroom breaks, there is a chance that they have stashed answers in the bathroom.
• You may tell a student that they must show you where their phone is, and require that it stay in the room.
• For a remote exam, you may warn students ahead of time that unless such testing accommodations were required to accommodate a disability, bathroom breaks are not allowed.

• This would be especially useful in very large university courses, where students may not know the names of those sitting next to them during the exam.
• You can also create a seating chart documenting who sat where, if you have a small class. This way you can create a chart that keeps friends from sitting right next to one another. If you have a large class, number the seats and have students write their seat number on their test. [6] X Research source

• If you need to reseat a student, try to put them somewhere where they are away from other students. Being a seat away from other students may make it easier for that student to focus on their own test.

• There are some websites that allow you to return exams electronically. After all exams have been collected, you can scan them, match the submissions to students, grade the exams, and then release the grades online. Students will login to see their scores and a scan of their exam.

Preventing Cheating on Homework and Other Assignments

• Make it clear what the consequences of cheating are when they sign the honor code. You should also have these consequences posted on the syllabus for the class, so that students can refer to it whenever needed.

• Part of building trust with your students is showing your students that you care about them. They are less likely to break your rules if they know that you are looking after their best interests and are invested in their success.

• This will be especially helpful for students who have very involved parents.
• Most cheating on homework is in the form of excessive collaboration or searching for answers on the internet. If you use this type of weighting and thoughtfully construct your exams, the exams will enforce the no cheating policy for homework better than you can.
• The students who choose to cheat will likely have their grades lowered as a result of poor performance on exams. Those who are too used to being able to freely collaborate or use the internet may have a hard time with individual assessments.
• This makes it so there is very little incentive for copying solutions and not very much energy needs to be put into dealing with cheating on homework.

• If you suspect a student copied off of another student for an exam question or changed their answer after the fact, ask them to reproduce or interpret their solution individually in your presence a few days later. If there is a large difference in their ability to produce that solution during the exam and reproduce the solution individually in your presence, cheating may have occurred.
• If the work appears illogical, the student probably made a rash attempt to copy from a neighbor.

• In a group, each student will have specific responsibilities and they will be accountable to each other for the final product. When students are working together, individual students will find it harder to cheat, since that cheating will be exposed to their classmates.
• While group projects and presentations will not eliminate cheating altogether, they do make cheating less likely.

• Should you catch a student modifying and submitting their work for a regrade, the photocopy or scan becomes hard evidence when you report the case for academic action.
• This can often happen with students who are very close to the next grade up, who hope to potentially raise a B- grade to a B, for example. So, when photocopying or scanning a sample of exams before returning them, focus especially on those with scores near the grade boundaries.

• If a student has a good reason for not turning in an assignment on time, they should be given a slightly different assignment from the rest of the class, so that no cheating can occur.
• In cases where assignments are reused from year to year, you may not be able to prevent somebody who gained access to the solutions from copying them. Therefore design your exam such that somebody who did not learn the material well cannot perform well.

Preventing Cheating on Papers

• These essay prompts should be changed when teaching new classes. Students may be tempted to plagiarize if students they know have written on the prompts you are giving.

• You can always state that you are OK with students working together, but what they turn in must be their own work. This allows them to work together but it also requires them to do some independent work as well.

• Most universities have this type of program built into the websites that they use for students.
• If your school doesn't have this type of program available, discuss getting access to one with your supervisor.
• There tend to be more cases of cheating in the computer science department than other departments at many universities, simply because they have great resources for automated cheat checking.

• This way, once the class ends, you are not pressured to review a ton of assignments that were returned months ago.
• Students, especially those near the course grade boundaries, may want to make attempts to seek extra points to raise their course grades at the end of the term.

Community Q&A

• If you find out about some ingenious and novel type of cheating do not post the specifics here, as students will then find out about it. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 1
• The truth is that over 90% of students are actually honest, but the only way to be fair to those honest students is by being strict with those who may attempt to bend the rules. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• Don’t accuse people of cheating without evidence. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 1

• Certified teachers may lose credentials for allowing standardized tests to be unsecured, taken, or read by other teachers or students. Thanks Helpful 7 Not Helpful 0

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• ↑ https://www.washington.edu/cssc/faculty-resources/tips-for-preventing-cheating/
• ↑ https://www.apa.org/gradpsych/2010/11/cheat
• ↑ https://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/06/cheat
• ↑ https://citl.illinois.edu/citl-101/teaching-learning/resources/classroom-environment/dealing-with-cheating
• ↑ https://www.edutopia.org/article/6-strategies-building-better-student-relationships/
• ↑ https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/the-pros-and-cons-of-homework/
• ↑ https://www.edutopia.org/article/setting-effective-group-work/

About This Article

There will always be students trying to cheat on their exams, but you can help prevent this by limiting their access to their belongings and watching them carefully. Once you’ve printed the exam papers for a class, make sure you keep them locked away to deter any students from stealing a copy. When they sit their exam, have them place their backpacks at the front of the room so they can’t hide notes in there. You can also make them remove labels from water bottles, since students can easily hide notes inside. During the test, watch your students carefully for suspicious activity. If they have any questions, make them come up to the front so you can still watch the class while you answer the question. For more tips from our Teaching co-author, including how to check student papers for plagiarism, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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September 28, 2020 Teaching & Learning

How to avoid online cheating & encourage learning instead.

Students tempted to find easy answers while distance learning

By Sherry Posnick-Goodwin

Joline Martinez suspected many of her students were cheating after her school closed last spring and she transitioned to distance learning. They showed their work on equations and came up with the correct answers, but something was definitely off, says the Yosemite High School math teacher.

Joline Martinez

“My students were solving problems with ridiculous fractions,” says Martinez, a member of Yosemite Unified Teachers Association. “They were using steps they had never been taught. It was a huge issue. I suspected they were cheating. I was losing sleep over this.”

Martinez was so frustrated, she posted about it on CTA’s “Teaching, Learning and Life During COVID-19” Facebook page, and found she was not alone. Numerous CTA members responded to her post, saying they also suspected students were cheating while working from home.

One of them, Maggie Strode, was troubled that students who were struggling when attending school on campus were suddenly turning in perfect papers during distance learning.

“Students were combining several steps into one while solving equations, and always moved the variable to the left side of the equation,” says Strode, a math teacher at South Hills High School and member of the Covina Unified Education Association. “It’s something I do not have my students do, because when they are doing the equations on their own, it leads to errors.” During online office hours she asked them to solve similar problems, and they didn’t have a clue.

Both teachers figured out their students were using Photomath, an app that utilizes a cellphone’s camera to recognize mathematical equations and display a step-by-step solution onscreen — which may differ from how students were taught.

“It’s frustrating,” says Strode. “I was creating videos showing students how to do the work, but they weren’t watching them. Instead, they used this app. It’s much easier to keep an eye on students when you have them in your classroom. When they work from home, it is much more challenging.”

“I gave them the opportunity to resubmit. Students were going through a lot, and I wanted to demonstrate compassion.” — Karin Prasad, Liberty Education Association

Students are more tempted with distance learning

When schools closed abruptly last March due to COVID-19, older students knew that their grades couldn’t be lowered, only raised. Nonetheless, many cheated while working from home, even those with passing grades, say teachers.

Educators admit they were so overwhelmed with transitioning to distance learning that it was difficult to police students who were intent on beating the system. Students can Google answers instantly on their phones during exams and watch videos about how to cheat on YouTube. (Some colleges are having students install a second camera on their devices and clearing their workspace, so that instructors can see students’ hands during exam time.)

Karin Prasad

Distance learning has created more temptations for students, observes Karin Prasad, an English teacher at Heritage High School in Brentwood. She uses turnitin.com , an online program that compares her students’ work with other student essays in the system and also published work. After schools closed due to the pandemic, two essays were red-flagged in what’s called a “similarity report.”

Normally she would have given both students a zero on the assignment. But Prasad gave them some leeway because of the state of the world.

“Being in a pandemic is weird and scary,” says the Liberty Education Association member. “So instead of giving them a zero, which I would have done in a normal school year, I gave them the opportunity to resubmit. Students were going through a lot, and I wanted to demonstrate compassion.”

Martinez also didn’t make a big fuss the way she would have under normal circumstances. “I didn’t really push the issue. I didn’t want to have to contact all of the parents; I have 200 students in my classes. It was definitely an uphill battle.”

This year will be different, vows Martinez, whose district will begin the year online. Students will be held accountable for work done from home, and the no-cheating rule will be strictly enforced.

“I give timed quizzes, where they only have a short time for each question — and no time to look it up.” — Pedro Quintanilla, Imperial Valley Teachers Association

• How teachers can put the kibosh on cheating

“If you can Google the answer to a question, it’s not worth asking,” says Katie Hollman, a seventh grade math teacher at Walter Stiern Middle School in Bakersfield. “Students immediately jump on Google to hunt for answers in class by opening a second tab on their computer, so you can just imagine what happens at home on cellphones.”

Hollman, a member of the Bakersfield Elementary Teachers Association, asks students to explain their work on Flipgrid videos they create. She also has students create their own real-world math word problems, and then solve them. It might involve visiting a restaurant and explaining the bill, deciding how much they want to tip, adding the tax, and figuring out percentages, for example. Or going to various grocery stores and comparing the unit rates of various items for sale to discern which is a better bargain. Because students are mostly at home, the research for menu and grocery store items happens online, of course.

Pedro Quintanilla

Imperial High School teacher Pedro Quintanilla can tell if students are cheating on exams while solving math problems with paper and pencil, by looking at handwriting when assignments are submitted online. If the work seems too perfect, without pressure points in some spots and nothing crossed out or erased, he becomes suspicious.

“If you don’t see any struggle, that is a big sign,” says Quintanilla, an Imperial Valley Teachers Association member.

“One of the ways I assess knowledge of major concepts is by giving a timed quiz, and have them submit their answers to each question, one at a time, almost immediately. Also, I include a Quizzizz activity [a fast-paced, interactive game] where they need to perform the skills learned in a lesson. In addition, no pun intended, I have them submit their notes for a lesson. And I give timed quizzes, where they only have a short time for each question — and no time to look it up.”

Suzie Priebe

Suzie Priebe, a history teacher at Amelia Earhart Middle School, asks students to write about things they are knowledgeable about on the first day of class so she can hear their “voice” and get a “flavor” of how they write. She compares their tone to essay questions later, to determine authenticity.

She also asks them interpretive questions on history, such as “What do you think is the most important thing about the Bill of Rights and why?”

“In history, it’s not as important to memorize, because you look up things on Google, such as when the Declaration of Independence was signed. But knowing why it was signed and being able to explain that is just better.”

Other ideas to prevent cheating online:

• Mix it up , with tests having a variety of multiple-choice, true/false and open-ended questions. It’s more difficult for students to share answers when they must explain concepts.
• Have every student start the exam at the same time and set a time limit. The key is having enough time for students who know the information to respond, but not enough time for students who don’t know the material to search online for answers.
• Only show one question at a time , so students can’t be searching ahead on Google.
• Change test question sequence , so that all students do not have the same question at one time, to avoid screen sharing.
• Give students different versions of the same test to thwart screen sharing.
• Give students their scores all at the same time , so that students who finish early don’t confirm answers for those still working.
• Increase points for class participation .
• Talk about integrity , and have students sign an “academic integrity” agreement.

“I want my students to be successful. If they rely on shortcuts and cheat, they won’t survive in the real world.” —Maggie Strode, Covina Unified Education Association

Encourage students to be honest

Talking to students about integrity, trust and doing the right thing also prevents cheating.

Maggie Strode

“I let my students know that once you are labeled a cheat, it’s very hard to regain trust,” says Strode. “I tell students I’d rather they not turn in an assignment than turn in work they didn’t do. They don’t realize that they sometimes put more time and effort into cheating than it would take to just do the assignment. I love my students. I want them to be successful — not only in my classroom, but in life. If they rely on shortcuts and cheat, they won’t survive in the real world. No one will make allowances for them there.”

Hollman discusses cheating in her weekly “Life Lessons with Hollman” sessions, urging students to resist the temptation and instead ask for help.

Katie Hollman

“I want to help them understand the material so we can fix the problem. I make time for tutoring during online office hours. And I explain that if they cheat in college, they won’t just get a zero on an assignment — they will get kicked out of school.”

She also explains that it’s in their own best interest: If enough students cheat, the teacher assumes the class has mastered the material, and makes the curriculum even more challenging.

Quintanilla talks to his students about the importance of digital citizenship and the value of the honor system in his classes.

“With distance learning, you have to establish a good relationship with students, and then, when you emphasize honesty, you have more buy-in from them.”

“I would rather see the child attempt something, fail, and ask for help, rather than not try.”

Distance Learning: Parents Doing Children’s Work?

Even in normal times, second grade teacher Nailah Legohn has seen the lines blur between parental support and parents doing the homework, so their children don’t fall behind. But with distance learning, parents and sometimes older siblings are doing schoolwork of children more frequently.

Nailah Legohn

“Sometimes it’s hard to know who is really doing the work,” says Legohn, a teacher at Ridgemoor Elementary School in Sun City. “The little ones need a lot of parent support. And they may be saying, ‘I don’t get it.’ If they whine and cry enough, the parent may give in and provide the answer because they want the child to get credit — or they want their child to go outside and play. Parents are under so much pressure. Many of them are also working at home while trying to help their children.”

Parents think they are helping, but they are not, says Legohn, a member of the Menifee Teachers Association. “I tell them, ‘Please don’t do the work for them.’ I explain that they are not setting up their child for success. If kids know that someone else is going to provide the answer, they will expect that to happen when they go back into the regular classroom. And that’s not how it’s going to be. When schools reopen, students are going to have to do the work themselves. If they aren’t used to it, it will be much more of a struggle.”

Legohn asks her students to circle problems that are difficult for them, and then she helps students understand the material by offering extra help during virtual office hours. They can also message her on Google Classroom to ask questions.

“I want my students to love learning and understand how to learn,” says Legohn. “I am pushing for them to have a growth mindset and the ability to ask questions. I would rather see the child attempt something, fail, and ask for help, rather than not try. Parents are role models, and the best way they can help is teaching their children to take responsibility for their own learning.”

#online learning

You might also like:, advocating for transparency, accountability and equal access.

May 1, 2017

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Celerity: the opposite of austerity, livermore: a cautionary tale, in this story.

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How to Prevent Student Cheating During Remote Learning: 4 Tips

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The student had perfect scores on the first two tests in Michele Kerr’s math class, offered virtually this summer because of the coronavirus. But, in just a few minutes of one-on-one conversation during her online office hours, Kerr noticed he struggled to grasp the material.

Kerr quickly figured out what was going on. “You cheated” on those tests, she told the student. He admitted she was right.

Kerr, who teaches math and engineering in California’s Fremont Unified School District, is always on the lookout for academic dishonesty. But she and her colleagues across the country are on heightened alert now that the coronavirus has forced thousands of schools to offer more virtual learning experiences than ever before.

“I expect cheating to go up in this new environment and I expect that it will have negative effects long term on how much students learn in their classes,” said Arnold Glass, a professor of psychology at Rutgers University who has done research on the impact cheating has on learning.

Already, some teachers have reported that grades were higher this spring, when many schools went online only, and wondered if cheating could be at least partly the reason.

Here are 4 tips for discouraging and preventing student cheating:

Tip #1: Emphasize Critical Thinking and Inquiry

A big part of the solution, educators and experts say: Give assessments and assignments that require students to analyze information, craft creative presentations, or explain their thinking.

“If you are developing critical thinking and inquiry-based activities that frankly require kids to think and apply their learning, you’re not going to have cheating, because you can’t cheat on that, you really can’t,” said Michelle Pearson, who teaches social studies at Century Middle School in the Adams 12 school district in Thornton, Colo.

On the other hand, answers that can be easily found on a cellphone, for assignments like “multiple choice and fill in the blank stuff, [that’s] not necessarily higher-level thinking that should be in a final assessment,” she said.

It’s possible to offer creative, cheating-proof lessons even in a remote learning environment, Pearson said. For instance, last spring, when her district shifted to all-virtual schooling, she asked students to research one of nearly 300 historical sites and create a presentation explaining its significance to westward expansion.

Tip #2: Create a Classroom Culture That Discourages Cheating

Some educators are trying to create a classroom culture that discourages cheating and dishonesty, even if it’s in an online environment.

Teachers at Oriole Park Elementary School in Chicago have been trying to help students understand that assignments and tests are about figuring how best to help them learn. That means starting the school year talking “less about grades, and more about: we want to know how you can get the most out of your education here,” said Emily Hogan, who teaches 1st grade.

Hogan’s colleagues have also brainstormed creating an “honor code” for their classes that focuses on academic honesty.

“We are talking about character and what character is comprised of and how they can be a good person when nobody is watching,” she said. Such conversations are necessary because it would be impossible to cut off all avenues to cheating. “There’s no way we can micro-manage them,” Hogan said.

That approach can work for older students, too.

Kristin Record, who teaches physics at Bunnell High School in Stratford, Conn., plans to address the cheating issue more directly than in the past.

“My plan is to be a little more overt” than usual, she said, given how easy it is to cheat in a virtual environment. She’ll tell students, “Let’s be real with each other now, obviously you can take a picture of your work and text it to your friend. What do you gain by doing this? What do you lose by doing this? What’s your motivation for doing it?”

Students in Record’s class can receive college credit for their work, either through Advanced Placement or a dual enrollment agreement with the University of Connecticut. She’ll remind them that the consequences for cheating in high school—say, getting a zero on an assignment—pale in comparison to the consequences of cheating in college, where students can be suspended or expelled from school.

Tip #3: Use Peer Feedback, Daily Assignments

Allowing students to assess each other’s work is another good way to cut down on cheating, said Pearson, the Colorado teacher. That’s something that’s a hallmark of her classroom, both in person and now online.

“I work diligently to really create a community network of peer feedback, where kids are giving direct feedback to each other, they are critically thinking about what their partners are writing,” she said. “When you have peers evaluate peers, it reduces [cheating] tremendously because they are held accountable to their buddies.”

Kerr also recommends getting a good sense of what students know by asking them to turn in their classwork daily. That wasn’t as necessary when her district went all-remote in the spring. “I knew my kids and could tell who was cheating,” she said. But it will help when she has a new crop of students.

Tip #4: Have Students Turn on Their Computer Cameras

Technology tools can also help cut down on the temptation to cheat.

For instance, Kerr requires her students to turn their computer cameras on during tests and quizzes. And she disables the “chat” function in Zoom so that the class can only communicate with her, not each other.

Jacob Ryckman, who teaches English and English as a Second Language in the Plano Independent School District in northwest Texas, says some of his colleagues use software, available on Google’s Chromebook, that allows teachers to get a glimpse of their students’ computer monitors.

Google classroom lets teachers create a quiz or assignment that must be completed in a certain time frame. And it permits teachers to change settings so that students can’t open any other windows, making it tougher for kids to pull off a quick search.

But, of course, students could still look things up on their phones or other devices.

“Especially when kids are working remotely, there’s no 100 percent fail-safe [strategy],” Ryckman said.

A version of this article appeared in the September 09, 2020 edition of Education Week as How to Prevent Student Cheating During Remote Learning: 4 Tips

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Why Do Students Cheat?

• Posted July 19, 2016
• By Zachary Goldman

In March, Usable Knowledge published an article on ethical collaboration , which explored researchers’ ideas about how to develop classrooms and schools where collaboration is nurtured but cheating is avoided. The piece offers several explanations for why students cheat and provides powerful ideas about how to create ethical communities. The article left me wondering how students themselves might respond to these ideas, and whether their experiences with cheating reflected the researchers’ understanding. In other words, how are young people “reading the world,” to quote Paulo Freire , when it comes to questions of cheating, and what might we learn from their perspectives?

I worked with Gretchen Brion-Meisels to investigate these questions by talking to two classrooms of students from Massachusetts and Texas about their experiences with cheating. We asked these youth informants to connect their own insights and ideas about cheating with the ideas described in " Ethical Collaboration ." They wrote from a range of perspectives, grappling with what constitutes cheating, why people cheat, how people cheat, and when cheating might be ethically acceptable. In doing so, they provide us with additional insights into why students cheat and how schools might better foster ethical collaboration.

Why Students Cheat

Students critiqued both the individual decision-making of peers and the school-based structures that encourage cheating. For example, Julio (Massachusetts) wrote, “Teachers care about cheating because its not fair [that] students get good grades [but] didn't follow the teacher's rules.” His perspective represents one set of ideas that we heard, which suggests that cheating is an unethical decision caused by personal misjudgment. Umna (Massachusetts) echoed this idea, noting that “cheating is … not using the evidence in your head and only using the evidence that’s from someone else’s head.”

Other students focused on external factors that might make their peers feel pressured to cheat. For example, Michima (Massachusetts) wrote, “Peer pressure makes students cheat. Sometimes they have a reason to cheat like feeling [like] they need to be the smartest kid in class.” Kayla (Massachusetts) agreed, noting, “Some people cheat because they want to seem cooler than their friends or try to impress their friends. Students cheat because they think if they cheat all the time they’re going to get smarter.” In addition to pressure from peers, students spoke about pressure from adults, pressure related to standardized testing, and the demands of competing responsibilities.

When Cheating is Acceptable

Students noted a few types of extenuating circumstances, including high stakes moments. For example, Alejandra (Texas) wrote, “The times I had cheated [were] when I was failing a class, and if I failed the final I would repeat the class. And I hated that class and I didn’t want to retake it again.” Here, she identifies allegiance to a parallel ethical value: Graduating from high school. In this case, while cheating might be wrong, it is an acceptable means to a higher-level goal.

Encouraging an Ethical School Community

Several of the older students with whom we spoke were able to offer us ideas about how schools might create more ethical communities. Sam (Texas) wrote, “A school where cheating isn't necessary would be centered around individualization and learning. Students would learn information and be tested on the information. From there the teachers would assess students' progress with this information, new material would be created to help individual students with what they don't understand. This way of teaching wouldn't be based on time crunching every lesson, but more about helping a student understand a concept.”

Sam provides a vision for the type of school climate in which collaboration, not cheating, would be most encouraged. Kaith (Texas), added to this vision, writing, “In my own opinion students wouldn’t find the need to cheat if they knew that they had the right undivided attention towards them from their teachers and actually showed them that they care about their learning. So a school where cheating wasn’t necessary would be amazing for both teachers and students because teachers would be actually getting new things into our brains and us as students would be not only attentive of our teachers but also in fact learning.”

Both of these visions echo a big idea from “ Ethical Collaboration ”: The importance of reducing the pressure to achieve. Across students’ comments, we heard about how self-imposed pressure, peer pressure, and pressure from adults can encourage cheating.

Where Student Opinions Diverge from Research

The ways in which students spoke about support differed from the descriptions in “ Ethical Collaboration .” The researchers explain that, to reduce cheating, students need “vertical support,” or standards, guidelines, and models of ethical behavior. This implies that students need support understanding what is ethical. However, our youth informants describe a type of vertical support that centers on listening and responding to students’ needs. They want teachers to enable ethical behavior through holistic support of individual learning styles and goals. Similarly, researchers describe “horizontal support” as creating “a school environment where students know, and can persuade their peers, that no one benefits from cheating,” again implying that students need help understanding the ethics of cheating. Our youth informants led us to believe instead that the type of horizontal support needed may be one where collective success is seen as more important than individual competition.

Why Youth Voices Matter, and How to Help Them Be Heard

Our purpose in reaching out to youth respondents was to better understand whether the research perspectives on cheating offered in “ Ethical Collaboration ” mirrored the lived experiences of young people. This blog post is only a small step in that direction; young peoples’ perspectives vary widely across geographic, demographic, developmental, and contextual dimensions, and we do not mean to imply that these youth informants speak for all youth. However, our brief conversations suggest that asking youth about their lived experiences can benefit the way that educators understand school structures.

Too often, though, students are cut out of conversations about school policies and culture. They rarely even have access to information on current educational research, partially because they are not the intended audience of such work. To expand opportunities for student voice, we need to create spaces — either online or in schools — where students can research a current topic that interests them. Then they can collect information, craft arguments they want to make, and deliver their messages. Educators can create the spaces for this youth-driven work in schools, communities, and even policy settings — helping to support young people as both knowledge creators and knowledge consumers. 

Additional Resources

• Read “ Student Voice in Educational Research and Reform ” [PDF] by Alison Cook-Sather.
• Read “ The Significance of Students ” [PDF] by Dana L. Mitra.
• Read “ Beyond School Spirit ” by Emily J. Ozer and Dana Wright.

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The Real Roots of Student Cheating

Let's address the mixed messages we are sending to young people..

Updated September 28, 2023 | Reviewed by Ray Parker

• Why Education Is Important
• Find a Child Therapist
• Cheating is rampant, yet young people consistently affirm honesty and the belief that cheating is wrong.
• This discrepancy arises, in part, from the tension students perceive between honesty and the terms of success.
• In an integrated environment, achievement and the real world are not seen as at odds with honesty.

The release of ChatGPT has high school and college teachers wringing their hands. A Columbia University undergraduate rubbed it in our face last May with an opinion piece in the Chronicle of Higher Education titled I’m a Student. You Have No Idea How Much We’re Using ChatGPT.

He goes on to detail how students use the program to “do the lion’s share of the thinking,” while passing off the work as their own. Catching the deception , he insists, is impossible.

As if students needed more ways to cheat. Every survey of students, whether high school or college, has found that cheating is “rampant,” “epidemic,” “commonplace, and practically expected,” to use a few of the terms with which researchers have described the scope of academic dishonesty.

In a 2010 study by the Josephson Institute, for example, 59 percent of the 43,000 high school students admitted to cheating on a test in the past year. According to a 2012 white paper, Cheat or Be Cheated? prepared by Challenge Success, 80 percent admitted to copying another student’s homework. The other studies summarized in the paper found self-reports of past-year cheating by high school students in the 70 percent to 80 percent range and higher.

At colleges, the situation is only marginally better. Studies consistently put the level of self-reported cheating among undergraduates between 50 percent and 70 percent depending in part on what behaviors are included. 1

The sad fact is that cheating is widespread.

Commitment to Honesty

Yet, when asked, most young people affirm the moral value of honesty and the belief that cheating is wrong. For example, in a survey of more than 3,000 teens conducted by my colleagues at the University of Virginia, the great majority (83 percent) indicated that to become “honest—someone who doesn’t lie or cheat,” was very important, if not essential to them.

On a long list of traits and qualities, they ranked honesty just below “hard-working” and “reliable and dependent,” and far ahead of traits like being “ambitious,” “a leader ,” and “popular.” When asked directly about cheating, only 6 percent thought it was rarely or never wrong.

Other studies find similar commitments, as do experimental studies by psychologists. In experiments, researchers manipulate the salience of moral beliefs concerning cheating by, for example, inserting moral reminders into the test situation to gauge their effect. Although students often regard some forms of cheating, such as doing homework together when they are expected to do it alone, as trivial, the studies find that young people view cheating in general, along with specific forms of dishonesty, such as copying off another person’s test, as wrong.

They find that young people strongly care to think of themselves as honest and temper their cheating behavior accordingly. 2

The Discrepancy Between Belief and Behavior

Bottom line: Kids whose ideal is to be honest and who know cheating is wrong also routinely cheat in school.

What accounts for this discrepancy? In the psychological and educational literature, researchers typically focus on personal and situational factors that work to override students’ commitment to do the right thing.

These factors include the force of different motives to cheat, such as the desire to avoid failure, and the self-serving rationalizations that students use to excuse their behavior, like minimizing responsibility—“everyone is doing it”—or dismissing their actions because “no one is hurt.”

While these explanations have obvious merit—we all know the gap between our ideals and our actions—I want to suggest another possibility: Perhaps the inconsistency also reflects the mixed messages to which young people (all of us, in fact) are constantly subjected.

Mixed Messages

Consider the story that young people hear about success. What student hasn’t been told doing well includes such things as getting good grades, going to a good college, living up to their potential, aiming high, and letting go of “limiting beliefs” that stand in their way? Schools, not to mention parents, media, and employers, all, in various ways, communicate these expectations and portray them as integral to the good in life.

They tell young people that these are the standards they should meet, the yardsticks by which they should measure themselves.

In my interviews and discussions with young people, it is clear they have absorbed these powerful messages and feel held to answer, to themselves and others, for how they are measuring up. Falling short, as they understand and feel it, is highly distressful.

At the same time, they are regularly exposed to the idea that success involves a trade-off with honesty and that cheating behavior, though regrettable, is “real life.” These words are from a student on a survey administered at an elite high school. “People,” he continued, “who are rich and successful lie and cheat every day.”

In this thinking, he is far from alone. In a 2012 Josephson Institute survey of 23,000 high school students, 57 percent agreed that “in the real world, successful people do what they have to do to win, even if others consider it cheating.” 3

Putting these together, another high school student told a researcher: “Grades are everything. You have to realize it’s the only possible way to get into a good college and you resort to any means necessary.”

In a 2021 survey of college students by College Pulse, the single biggest reason given for cheating, endorsed by 72 percent of the respondents, was “pressure to do well.”

What we see here are two goods—educational success and honesty—pitted against each other. When the two collide, the call to be successful is likely to be the far more immediate and tangible imperative.

A young person’s very future appears to hang in the balance. And, when asked in surveys , youths often perceive both their parents’ and teachers’ priorities to be more focused on getting “good grades in my classes,” than on character qualities, such as being a “caring community member.”

In noting the mixed messages, my point is not to offer another excuse for bad behavior. But some of the messages just don’t mix, placing young people in a difficult bind. Answering the expectations placed on them can be at odds with being an honest person. In the trade-off, cheating takes on a certain logic.

The proposed remedies to academic dishonesty typically focus on parents and schools. One commonly recommended strategy is to do more to promote student integrity. That seems obvious. Yet, as we saw, students already believe in honesty and the wrongness of (most) cheating. It’s not clear how more teaching on that point would make much of a difference.

Integrity, though, has another meaning, in addition to the personal qualities of being honest and of strong moral principles. Integrity is also the “quality or state of being whole or undivided.” In this second sense, we can speak of social life itself as having integrity.

It is “whole or undivided” when the different contexts of everyday life are integrated in such a way that norms, values, and expectations are fairly consistent and tend to reinforce each other—and when messages about what it means to be a good, accomplished person are not mixed but harmonious.

While social integrity rooted in ethical principles does not guarantee personal integrity, it is not hard to see how that foundation would make a major difference. Rather than confronting students with trade-offs that incentivize “any means necessary,” they would receive positive, consistent reinforcement to speak and act truthfully.

Talk of personal integrity is all for the good. But as pervasive cheating suggests, more is needed. We must also work to shape an integrated environment in which achievement and the “real world” are not set in opposition to honesty.

1. Liora Pedhazur Schmelkin, et al. “A Multidimensional Scaling of College Students’ Perceptions of Academic Dishonesty.” The Journal of Higher Education 79 (2008): 587–607.

2. See, for example, the studies in Christian B. Miller, Character and Moral Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014, Ch. 3.

3. Josephson Institute. The 2012 Report Card on the Ethics of American Youth (Installment 1: Honesty and Integrity). Josephson Institute of Ethics, 2012.

Joseph E. Davis is Research Professor of Sociology and Director of the Picturing the Human Colloquy of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia.

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How Teens Use Technology to Cheat in School

Why teens cheat, text messaging during tests, storing notes, copying and pasting, social media, homework apps and websites, talk to your teen.

• Expectations and Consequences

When you were in school, teens who were cheating were likely looking at a neighbor’s paper or copying a friend’s homework. The most high-tech attempts to cheat may have involved a student who wrote the answers to a test on the cover of their notebook.

Cheating in today’s world has evolved, and unfortunately, become pervasive. Technology makes cheating all too tempting, common, and easy to pull off. Not only can kids use their phones to covertly communicate with each other, but they can also easily look up answers or get their work done on the Internet.

In one study, a whopping 35% of teens admit to using their smartphones to cheat on homework or tests. 65% of the same surveyed students also stated they have seen others use their phones to cheat in school. Other research has also pointed to widespread academic indiscretions among teens.

Sadly, academic dishonesty often is easily normalized among teens. Many of them may not even recognize that sharing answers, looking up facts online, consulting a friend, or using a homework app could constitute cheating. It may be a slippery slope as well, with kids fudging the honesty line a tiny bit here or there before beginning full-fledged cheating.

For those who are well aware that their behavior constitutes cheating, the academic pressure to succeed may outweigh the risk of getting caught. They may want to get into top colleges or earn scholarships for their grades. Some teens may feel that the best way to gain a competitive edge is by cheating.

Other students may just be looking for shortcuts. It may seem easier to cheat rather than look up the answers, figure things out in their heads, or study for a test. Plus, it can be rationalized that they are "studying" on their phone rather than actually cheating.

Teens with busy schedules may be especially tempted to cheat. The demands of sports, a part-time job , family commitments, or other after-school responsibilities can make academic dishonesty seem like a time-saving option.

Sometimes, there’s also a fairly low risk of getting caught. Some teachers rely on an honor system, and in some cases, technology has evolved faster than school policies. Many teachers lack the resources to detect academic dishonesty in the classroom. However, increasingly, there are programs and methods that let teachers scan student work for plagiarism.

Finally, some teens get confused about their family's values and may forget that learning is the goal of schooling rather than just the grades they get. They may assume that their parent would rather they cheat than get a bad grade—or they fear disappointing them. Plus, they see so many other kids cheating that it may start to feel expected.

It’s important to educate yourself about the various ways that today’s teens are cheating so you can be aware of the temptations your teen may face. Let's look at how teens are using phones and technology to cheat.

Texting is one of the fastest ways for students to get answers to test questions from other students in the room—it's become the modern equivalent of note passing. Teens hide their smartphones on their seats and text one another, looking down to view responses while the teacher isn't paying attention.

Teens often admit the practice is easy to get away with even when phones aren't allowed (provided the teacher isn't walking around the room to check for cellphones).

Some teens store notes for test time on their cell phones and access these notes during class. As with texting, this is done on the sly, hiding the phone from view.  The internet offers other unusual tips for cheating with notes, too.

For example, several sites guide teens to print their notes out in the nutrition information portion of a water bottle label, providing a downloadable template to do so. Teens replace the water or beverage bottle labels with their own for a nearly undetectable setup, especially in a large class. This, of course, only works if the teacher allows beverages during class.

Rather than conduct research to find sources, some students are copying and pasting material. They may plagiarize a report by trying to pass off a Wikipedia article as their own paper, for example.

Teachers may get wise to this type of plagiarism by doing a simple internet search of their own. Pasting a few sentences of a paper into a search engine can help teachers identify if the content was taken from a website.

A few websites offer complete research papers for free based on popular subjects or common books. Others allow students to purchase a paper. Then, a professional writer, or perhaps even another student, will complete the report for them.

Teachers may be able to detect this type of cheating when a student’s paper seems to be written in a different voice. A perfectly polished paper may indicate a ninth-grade student’s work isn’t their own. Teachers may also just be able to tell that the paper just doesn't sound like the student who turned it in.

Crowdsourced sites such as Homework Helper also provide their share of homework answers. Students simply ask a question and others chime in to give them the answers.

Teenagers use social media to help one another on tests, too. It only takes a second to capture a picture of an exam when the teacher isn’t looking.

That picture may then be shared with friends who want a sneak peek of the test before they take it. The photo may be uploaded to a special Facebook group or simply shared via text message. Then, other teens can look up the answers to the exam once they know the questions ahead of time.

While many tech-savvy cheating methods aren’t all that surprising, some methods require very little effort on the student’s part. Numerous free math apps such as Photomath allow a student to take a picture of the math problem. The app scans the problem and spits out the answers, even for complex algebra problems. That means students can quickly complete the homework without actually understanding the material.

Other apps, such as HWPic , send a picture of the problem to an actual tutor, who offers a step-by-step solution to the problem. While some students may use this to better understand their homework, others just copy down the answers, complete with the steps that justify the answer.

Websites such as Cymayth and Wolfram Alpha solve math problems on the fly—Wolfram can even handle college-level math problems. While the sites and apps state they are designed to help students figure out how to do the math, they are also used by students who would rather have the answers without the effort required to think them through on their own.

Other apps quickly translate foreign languages. Rather than have to decipher what a recording says or translate written words, apps can easily translate the information for the student.

The American Academy of Pediatrics encourages parents to talk to teens about cheating and their expectations for honesty, school, and communication. Many parents may have never had a serious talk with their child about cheating. It may not even come up unless their child gets caught cheating. Some parents may not think it’s necessary to discuss because they assume their child would never cheat. 

However, clearly, the statistics show that many kids do engage in academic discretions. So, don’t assume your child wouldn’t cheat. Often, "good kids" and "honest kids" make bad decisions. Make it clear to your teen that you value hard work and honesty.

Talk to your teen regularly about the dangers of cheating. Make it clear that cheaters tend not to get ahead in life.

Discuss the academic and social consequences of cheating, too. For example, your teen might get a zero or get kicked out of a class for cheating. Even worse, other people may not believe them when they tell the truth if they become known as dishonest or a cheater. It could also go on their transcripts, which could impair their academic future.

It’s important for your teen to understand that cheating—and heavy cell phone use—can take a toll on their mental health , as well. Additionally, studies make clear that poor mental health, particularly relating to self-image, stress levels, and academic engagement, makes kids more likely to indulge in academic dishonestly. So, be sure to consider the whole picture of why your child may be cheating or feel tempted to cheat.

A 2016 study found that cheaters actually cheat themselves out of happiness. Although they may think the advantage they gain by cheating will make them happier, research shows cheating causes people to feel worse.

Establish Clear Expectations and Consequences

Deciphering what constitutes cheating in today's world can be a little tricky. If your teen uses a homework app to get help, is that cheating? What if they use a website that translates Spanish into English? Also, note that different teachers have different expectations and will allow different levels of outside academic support.

Expectations

So, you may need to take it on a case-by-case basis to determine whether your teen's use of technology enhances or hinders their learning and/or is approved by their teacher. When in doubt, you can always ask the teacher directly if using technology for homework or other projects is acceptable.

To help prevent cheating, take a firm, clear stance so that your child understands your values and expectations. Also, make sure they have any needed supports in place so that they aren't tempted to cheat due to academic frustrations or challenges.

Tell your teen, ideally before an incident of academic dishonesty occurs, that you don’t condone cheating of any kind and you’d prefer a bad grade over dishonesty.

Stay involved in your teen’s education. Know what type of homework your teen is doing and be aware of the various ways your teen may be tempted to use their laptop or smartphone to cheat.

To encourage honesty in your child, help them develop a healthy moral compass by being an honest role model. If you cheat on your taxes or lie about your teen’s age to get into the movies for a cheaper price, you may send them the message that cheating is acceptable.

Consequences

If you do catch your teen cheating, take action . Just because your teen insists, “Everyone uses an app to get homework done,” don’t blindly believe it or let that give them a free pass. Instead, reiterate your expectations and provide substantive consequences. These may include removing phone privileges for a specified period of time. Sometimes the loss of privileges —such as your teen’s electronics—for 24 hours is enough to send a clear message.

Allow your teen to face consequences at school as well. If they get a zero on a test for cheating, don’t argue with the teacher. Instead, let your teen know that cheating has serious ramifications—and that they will not get away with this behavior.

However, do find out why your teen is cheating. Consider if they're over-scheduled or afraid they can’t keep up with their peers. Are they struggling to understand the material? Do they feel unhealthy pressure to excel? Ask questions to gain an understanding so you can help prevent cheating in the future and ensure they can succeed on their own.

It’s better for your teen to learn lessons about cheating now, rather than later in life. Dishonesty can have serious consequences. Cheating in college could get your teen expelled and cheating at a future job could get them fired or it could even lead to legal action. Cheating on a future partner could lead to the end of the relationship.

A Word From Verywell

Make sure your teen knows that honesty and focusing on learning rather than only on getting "good grades," at all costs, really is the best policy. Talk about honesty often and validate your teen’s feelings when they're frustrated with schoolwork—and the fact that some students who cheat seem to get ahead without getting caught. Assure them that ultimately, people who cheat truly are cheating themselves.

Common Sense Media. It's ridiculously easy for kids to cheat now .

Common Sense Media. 35% of kids admit to using cell phones to cheat .

Isakov M, Tripathy A. Behavioral correlates of cheating: environmental specificity and reward expectation .  PLoS One . 2017;12(10):e0186054. Published 2017 Oct 26. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0186054

Marksteiner T, Nishen AK, Dickhäuser O. Students' perception of teachers' reference norm orientation and cheating in the classroom .  Front Psychol . 2021;12:614199. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.614199

Khan ZR, Sivasubramaniam S, Anand P, Hysaj A. ‘ e’-thinking teaching and assessment to uphold academic integrity: lessons learned from emergency distance learning .  International Journal for Educational Integrity . 2021;17(1):17. doi:10.1007/s40979-021-00079-5

Farnese ML, Tramontano C, Fida R, Paciello M. Cheating behaviors in academic context: does academic moral disengagement matter?   Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences . 2011;29:356-365. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.11.250

Pew Research Center. How parents and schools regulate teens' mobile phones .

Mohammad Abu Taleb BR, Coughlin C, Romanowski MH, Semmar Y, Hosny KH. Students, mobile devices and classrooms: a comparison of US and Arab undergraduate students in a middle eastern university .  HES . 2017;7(3):181. doi:10.5539/hes.v7n3p181

Gasparyan AY, Nurmashev B, Seksenbayev B, Trukhachev VI, Kostyukova EI, Kitas GD. Plagiarism in the context of education and evolving detection strategies .  J Korean Med Sci . 2017;32(8):1220-1227. doi:10.3346/jkms.2017.32.8.1220

Bretag T. Challenges in addressing plagiarism in education .  PLoS Med . 2013;10(12):e1001574. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001574

American Academy of Pediatrics. Competition and cheating .

Korn L, Davidovitch N. The Profile of academic offenders: features of students who admit to academic dishonesty .  Med Sci Monit . 2016;22:3043-3055. doi:10.12659/msm.898810

Abi-Jaoude E, Naylor KT, Pignatiello A. Smartphones, social media use and youth mental health .  CMAJ . 2020;192(6):E136-E141. doi:10.1503/cmaj.190434

Stets JE, Trettevik R. Happiness and Identities . Soc Sci Res. 2016;58:1-13. doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2016.04.011

Lenhart A. Teens, Social Media & Technology Overview 2015 . Pew Research Center.

By Amy Morin, LCSW Amy Morin, LCSW, is the Editor-in-Chief of Verywell Mind. She's also a psychotherapist, an international bestselling author of books on mental strength and host of The Verywell Mind Podcast. She delivered one of the most popular TEDx talks of all time.

How to Stop Cheating in College

Can new technologies help counter today's ever-evolving strategies for cheating—and discourage students from doing it in the first place?

Cheating is omnipresent in American higher education. In 2015, Dartmouth College suspended 64 students suspected of cheating in—irony of ironies—an ethics class in the fall term. The previous school year, University of Georgia administrators reported investigating 603 possible cheating incidents; nearly 70 percent of the cases concluded with a student confession. In 2012, Harvard had its turn, investigating 125 students accused of improper collaboration on a final exam in a government class. Stanford University , New York State’s Upstate Medical University , Duke University , Indiana University, the University of Central Florida and even the famously honor code-bound University of Virginia have all faced cheating scandals in recent memory. And that’s just where I stopped Googling.

The nationwide statistics are bleak, too. The International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI), which has studied trends in academic dishonesty for more than a decade, reports that about 68 percent of undergraduate students surveyed admit to cheating on tests or in written work. Forty-three percent of graduate students do the same.

It’s easy to blame high levels of student dishonesty on new technologies, which can make cheating a matter of a swipe of a finger, rather than a stolen answer key or elaborate plot to share answers in the testing room. In a 2011 Pew study , 89 percent of college presidents blamed computers and the Internet for a perceived increase in plagiarism over the previous decade. Meanwhile, colleges are turning technology against the cheaters, using software products that proctor tests with webcams or check written work for plagiarism.

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But Don McCabe, a retired professor at Rutgers University who led the ICAI student surveys for many years, is hesitant to blame today’s student cheating rates on easy access to the Internet, computers, mobile phones, and more. His survey data shows a more complicated portrait: The percentages of student cheating did begin to increase once the Internet became ubiquitous, but now are actually trending down again, toward pre-Internet levels. But he also sees a diminishing level of student participation in his surveys—fewer responses, and fewer thoughtful responses. His theory is that there’s a growing apathy toward school and cheating at school among today’s students.

What is the best way for universities to catch today’s ever-evolving cheaters—and discourage them from cheating in the first place?

One approach is to take advantage of a number of new technological tools like Turnitin that are designed to make academic dishonesty easier to sniff out. Turnitin, for its part, is a web service used at institutions around the globe to analyze written schoolwork, giving students who run their papers through it computer-generated advice on their writing’s organization and sentence structures. And it gives professors a grading platform that compares every sentence in a student essay to a big database: billions of archived web pages, millions of academic articles and—perhaps most interestingly—most of the other student papers submitted on Turnitin in the past, more than 337 million, according to the company’s website .

Some new ways of uncovering cheating may feel a little creepy. Proctortrack , a software that monitors online test-takers through a webcam, identifies slouching, stretching, shifts in lighting and picking up a dropped pencil as potentially dishonest behaviors. The company behind it, Verificent Technologies, says that Proctortrack is currently installed on 300,000 student computers, with over 1 million online exams proctored since its release.

Other data experiments happening in higher education could have implications for how schools patrol for cheating in the future: many universities are starting to use demographic data like the student’s age and family education history alongside information on classroom engagement to predict a student’s likelihood of passing a course or even of graduating in four years. It doesn’t take much to imagine how quantifying expectations for how well a student will do in class might sharpen the search for cheaters.

But some worry that over-reliance on technological methods in the fight against student cheating risks a technological arms race, with students inventing still-more-ingenious ways of beating the system and institutions using more and more invasive means of catching them.

Indeed, Teddi Fishman, the current director of ICAI, sees a link between the technological environment and the popularity of different strains of cheating. For the past decade, for instance, she’s seen cut-and-paste plagiarism increase steadily. But now, with the advent of plagiarism-checking technologies like Turnitin, cut-and-paste is falling by the wayside, replaced with what Fishman refers to as “bespoke essays or contract cheating”—services that write papers on behalf of a cheater, a much more difficult practice to police with the technologies currently available.

And even as existing algorithms get scary good at identifying student behavior that deviates from the expected norm, Turnitin, Proctortrack and other tech tools can’t pass nuanced ethical judgements on human actions. Particularly in cases where a student’s intentions aren’t clear, deciding whether a student did their work with integrity is a tricky business.

A quick read of case notes from the Williams College Honor and Discipline Committee’s rulings on cheating accusations bears this out. In one situation, “[t]he student was a first year student from a high school abroad in which citation was not taught at all,” but still was punished by flunking a paper that didn’t have appropriate citations. In another, a student who had taken a test early tried to respond in a “vague yet supportive” way to a classmate who wanted to know if her notes had been useful to him in studying for the exam—and lost a letter grade on his test for his trouble. In a third, a freshman claimed that he hadn’t cited ideas taken from footnotes in the course’s text because he had thought that they were his own. The committee failed him on the assignment, but not the course, “because some felt that he genuinely was unaware that the ideas had their origin outside of his own thinking.”

Fishman points out that while students usually understand the “gross boundaries” of cheating, the specifics are much fuzzier, especially when it comes to paraphrasing and citation. “Frankly, I’ve been in many, many groups of teachers who are discussing where the borders are of plagiarism, and most of the time [they] can’t agree on where the exact boundaries are,” she told me. The definition of common knowledge—which determines what information needs attribution, and what doesn’t—is one such point of contention. “That’s a really complicated idea,” she explained. “There’s no one box of stuff that we can say, ‘Okay, this is common knowledge,’ because it varies from community to community. What’s common knowledge amongst a group of medical students, and what’s common knowledge amongst a group of engineering students is going to be different.”

Elizabeth Kiss, the president of Agnes Scott College, says that one way to achieve this is an honor code. “Fundamentally, it’s about creating a culture which focuses on membership in the community being connected with academic honesty, and then also having the critical conversations that reinforce that culture,” she says. The student handbook echoes her: “The cornerstone of the entire structure of Agnes Scott life is the Honor System,” it states.

At Agnes Scott and around a hundred other schools across the country, students sign an honor code, a promise to act with integrity on campus. In exchange for their trustworthiness, the students receive privileges that indicate the community’s trust in them—in Agnes Scott’s case, these even include self-scheduled, non-proctored exams and a leadership role in the judicial process when a student violates the code.

There’s evidence that honor codes do, in fact, deter cheating. Behavioral research shows that people who were reminded of moral expectations—by writing out or signing an honor code, or copying down the Ten Commandments—before they took a test reduced cheating. McCabe’s surveys have found that honor code schools have lower rates of cheating than other institutions by around a quarter, provided that honor code was made a central part of campus culture.

At Agnes Scott, that translates to a number of things: Students under investigation for honor code violations can request a public hearing, open to the whole community. The student-run Honor Court and the faculty, administrators and students who serve on the Judicial Review Board work to have guilty students reflect meaningfully on their behavior before dispensing a punishment. Kiss recalls a Judicial Board hearing where a student had copied an incorrect answer off of a neighboring student—despite the fact that her own calculations were correct. “She compounded it by trying to come up with more and more ridiculous and outlandish reasons for why she would have gotten that answer. So our job was to get her to have a breakthrough.”

Fishman argues that these kind of academic community-wide discussions about what constitutes integrity reverberate beyond the classroom. “What we hear from employers is that when they get students from a Bachelor’s degree, they’re really good at doing what they’re told to do, but they’re not necessarily good at looking at the situation and figuring out what needs to be done. So that points to the idea that instead of more structure and more consistency, what we need to do is provide a range of problem-based scenarios and let the students try to figure it out.” Even McCabe, who thinks that today’s students are apathetic about school, is convinced that honor codes are universities’ last best hope. “The only reason I imagine students stop cheating is because they’re being trusted,” he says. In other words, chicken or egg?

• Teaching and Learning with Blackboard

Tips for Preventing Cheating

Although it may be difficult to prevent cheating entirely, faculty can implement steps to reduce its impact in the student learning assessment process for online courses. The following are some practical tips to prevent or reduce cheating for two common learning assessment activities, namely testing and homework assignments.

Tips for Testing

Purposefully select assessment methods.

Use online testing, particularly objective test (i.e., multiple choice, multiple answer, true/false) for lower stakes assessment of student learning. In assessing student mastery of course goals and objectives, objective tests should be only one option considered among a spectrum of methods considered. Each type of assessment method may be designed to measure different indicators of student learning based on course goals and objectives. While an objective test can measure a student’s ability to recall or organize information, other methods can be used to assess higher order/critical thinking skills including understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating (Krathwohl, 2001).

Mix Objective and Subjective Questions

While online testing can include objective measures (multiple choice, multiple answer, true/false, fill in the blank, etc.), faculty can also include short answer or essay questions. This type of question is more subjective in nature and may demand a deeper understanding of the subject being tested. While mixing objective and subjective type questions may not discourage or stop sharing of information, it may limit the effect on the student’s final grade (Watson and Sottile, 2010).

Use Question Pools

Rather than using a fixed number of items that remain unchanged for each administration of the test, consider creating a question pool . Questions can be grouped by any number of criteria, including topic, subject matter, question type or difficulty of question. A pool will generate an assessment with randomized questions selected by the faculty member. Pools can be created from new questions or questions in existing tests or pools. Pools are most effective when there are large numbers of questions in one group. For example, one might have a pool of true/false questions, another of multiple choice and a third for fill in the blank. The faculty member could then create an assessment drawing a specific number of questions from each of the question-type pools. Faculty can also add new questions to pools each time the course is taught to expand the variability of questions. Conversely, older questions can be removed. Check the Teaching and Learning with Blackboard Question Pools web page for more details.

Randomize Questions

When creating a test in Blackboard, one test option allows faculty to randomize the selection of test questions as well as the order in which they appear. The result is that students are not likely to get the same questions in the same sequence when taking a test. This strategy can address the issue of students who take a test at the same time in order to share answers. This is also relevant if faculty allow students to repeat the test. Each time this occurs, a test will be made up of questions that are randomly selected and ordered.

Limit Feedback

Limit what types of feedback is displayed to students upon completion of a test. Available test options include test ‘Score’, ‘Submitted Answers’, ‘Correct Answers’, and ‘Feedback’. Providing test scores is important feedback that indicates how well students have performed and should be made available. However, through a process of elimination, students may be able to determine the correct answer for each test question if their submitted answers are identified as incorrect, or if the correct answer is provided. Students could lose the incentive to both prepare for testing or to seek out correct answers by reviewing lecture notes, assigned readings, or through group discussion after completing tests. Thus, faculty might reconsider whether to include ‘Submitted Answers’ as an option to be displayed to students. This is especially relevant if faculty have allowed students to repeat tests. Each time a test was taken, students could attempt a different answer for a test question that was previously graded as incorrect. Correct answers to all test questions could eventually be accumulated and passed on to other students, or to students of future classes.

Recognizing the fact that students taking an exam that is not proctored are free to use open book/notes, faculty may decide to use the ‘Set Timer’ feature in Blackboard. Students who adequately prepared for a test may be less likely to rely on open book/notes compared with students unprepared for testing. By setting a test with an expected completion time, unprepared students could have the most to lose as they spend time going over material, and risk not having sufficient time to respond to all the test questions.

Display Questions One-at-a-time

If a test has more than 5 questions, do not choose the ‘All at Once’ option for displaying all the questions on the same screen. It is quite easy for students to take a screen capture of the displayed questions and share them with other students. While students can still screen capture pages with single questions, or even type them into a document, it is more time consuming and unwieldy.

Tips for Homework Assignments

Create application assignments.

Create assignments that require students to apply essential course concepts to a relevant problem. This may force students to seek relevant information beyond the assigned readings and lectures, and conduct independent research by identifying credible sources to support the development of their assignments. Students can be required to report their progress on a regular basis through email, or through the Journal feature in Blackboard. This documentation makes it easier for faculty to see the development of a student’s work from inception to completion, and possibly identify unexplained gaps that could occur if students used the work of others and claimed it as their own. Faculty can add input at any point in this process to provide guidance, and perhaps suggest new directions for students. Both documentation of progress through regular status reporting and occasional faculty input can add a greater level of scrutiny to students, making it more difficult to pass off the work of others as their own.

Create Group Assignments

Create group assignments that require students to interact with group members regularly. Groups can be made responsible for determining the functional roles for each member, establishing a mechanism for accountability (i.e., submitting weekly progress reports), and sharing drafts of individual progress on a group project. For a project to be truly collaborative, each group member should be familiar with everyone else’s work, and be able to describe how every group members’ contribution supports the whole group assignment. Students who are using the work of others may not be able to adequately describe the significance of their ‘own’ work, or how it integrates with the group’s overall project.

Create Assignments that Require Presentations

Faculty with a Blackboard course can use the web conferencing tool, Blackboard Collaborate , to conduct a synchronous online session for class presentations. Students may be asked to submit a progress report or use a Journal to reflect on what they have learned in the past week that supports work toward the presentation. To further scrutinize work on the presentation, students may be asked to include time for questions and answers. Students who have developed the presentation should be comfortable answering a range of topic-related questions. CITL offers workshops and one-on-one consultations on the use Blackboard Collaborate .

Check for Plagiarism using SafeAssign

SafeAssign is a plagiarism prevention tool that detects matches between students’ submitted assignments and existing works by others. These works are found on a number of databases including ProQuest ABI/Inform, Institutional document archives, the Global Reference Database, as well as a comprehensive index of documents available for public access on the internet. SafeAssign can also be used to help students identify how to attribute sources properly rather than paraphrase without citing the original source. Thus, the SafeAssign feature is effective as both a deterrent and an educational tool. 

Use Discussion Assignments

Create a Discussion Board assignment that requires students to demonstrate critical thinking skills by responding to a relevant forum topic. Faculty may also design a rubric that is specific to the Discussion Board assignments, and develop questions that require students to respond to every rubric category. Having assignments that are very specific makes it more difficult for students to use portions of a previous term paper or other sources that may only indirectly touch on the Discussion Board topic.

Include Academic Integrity Policy Statement in the Course Syllabus

Faculty should consider including a policy statement regarding academic integrity in their course syllabus. In addition, faculty may want to reiterate academic policies to students taking an online course and clarifying guidelines for completing test and assignments so that students are not confused about what they can and cannot do. While this, in and of itself, may not be sufficient to change behavior, its acknowledged presence in the syllabus recognizes a commitment to honesty in the academic arena and establishes the clear expectation that academic integrity is an important principle to live by. Faculty may also choose to mention this policy using the ‘Announcements’ feature in Blackboard, or while conducting a live web conference session.

Preserving academic integrity is an ongoing challenge for traditional face-to-face, blended, and entirely online courses. While a number of expensive technology solutions, such as retinal eye scanners and live video monitoring are being developed to prevent cheating in online courses, the practical suggestions offered above can prevent or reduce the impact of cheating on assessing student performance in online courses. For more information on this topic, readers are invited to view the archived online workshop, Tips for Assessing Student Learning Using Blackboard .

In addition, the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning  offers many Blackboard workshops , including those that touch on assessment. 

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Preventing cheating

Instructors can reduce the incidence of cheating by paying specific attention to how they communicate their expectations to students, how they prepare their exams, and how they administer their exams. The following sections provide guidelines on these three points.

Advance communication

• Whatever decisions you make regarding academic integrity, it is imperative that these decisions be fully communicated to students, TAs, and exam proctors.
• You can communicate expectations by making a clear statement on the first day of class, by including this statement in the course syllabus, and by repeating it on the class day before an exam and again as the exam begins.

Test preparation

• Create a test that is fair to your students. Some students use an instructor's reputation for giving “unfair” tests as an excuse to cheat. “Fair” means that the exam covers the material that you said it would cover, that students have enough time to complete the exam, and that its instructions are clear.
• Help students control anxiety by discussing the test procedures and outlining the material to be included. Handing out old tests or providing sample questions also reduces anxiety.
• Write new tests each semester, whenever possible; at the very least add new items. By doing this, students are less likely to use past students' exams to gain an unfair advantage.
• Prepare more than one form of the exam. You can have the same questions on each form, but (1) present questions in a different order on each form, or (2) vary the order of the response alternatives. Where calculations are involved, you can modify values within the same question on different forms so that responses are different.
• Pre-code answer sheets and test booklets by using a numbering system so that the number on each test booklet matches the one on each student's answer sheet.
• To eliminate cheating after the exam has been returned to students, mark the answer sheets in such a way that answers cannot be altered; e.g., by using a permanent felt-tip pen.

Test administration

Most cheating on tests in large classes occurs when students are allowed to sit wherever they choose. It should be no surprise that cheaters choose to sit near each other. Cheating may be greatly minimized by using the following procedures:

• Number seats and tests and then assign students to sit in the seat with the same number as the number on their test.
• Systematically hand out alternative forms, taking into account students sitting laterally as well as those sitting in front and in back of each other.
• Have one proctor per 40 students if the proctor does not know the students.
• If the proctor does know the students (i.e., the proctor is a discussion instructor), have students sit together by section. This minimizes “ghost” exam takers by making it easier for proctors to recognize and account for their own students.
• Proctors should stay alert and move around the exam room. They should not be reading or involved in unnecessary conversation with other proctors.
• Proctors should never leave the students alone during the test.
• Have proctors look carefully at each ID and student.
• Have an enrollment list or card file of names and signatures to be matched against the IDs (or signatures on exam answer sheets) that is to be checked off as students enter (or leave) the exam room.
• Immediately attend to any suspicious conduct by the students. If the conduct is suspicious (but not necessarily conclusive), you should move the students to other locations in the room. This is most successful when it is done immediately and with as little disturbance as possible. Doing so also helps to avoid embarrassing the student being moved, who may be innocent. State ahead of time that you plan to follow this practice whenever something suspicious occurs, and that you do it as assistance to all students involved. When making this statement, stress to the students that your asking them to move is not an accusation of cheating. A statement such as this frequently helps reduce the disturbance element and assure innocent students that they are not being accused of wrongdoing.
• If you suspect a student of cheating during an exam, let them finish the exam in case you discover the student was not cheating.

Handling cheating

Charging students with cheating is never easy. However, the following suggestions should make it easier. If faculty members do not fulfill their responsibility for maintaining academic integrity, it makes it difficult to charge students with infractions of academic integrity. Here are some suggestions for handling cheating:

• Be certain that you are acting fairly and objectively and that you have all of the facts.
• Become familiar with Section 1-404 of the Code so you know the procedures to follow.
• Keep written records of the description of the cheating incident and the actions you and others subsequently take.
• Speak with (1) your department head or chair to learn about departmental or college practices, or (2) other faculty, especially those in your department, to see what they have done and what the results were when they charged students with cheating. Ask if your college uses the FAIR (Faculty Academic Integrity Reporting) system.
• Become familiar with the sanction alternatives and at what level students' appeals leave departmental jurisdiction.
• Be able to justify the sanction chosen by attempting to match it with the level or type of cheating that has taken place.
• When your proctors and teaching assistants wish to make a charge of cheating, learn the facts surrounding their charge, and support them in pursuing appropriate action.
• Do not make threats to students that you or the University cannot back up. For example, do not tell students that you are going to “flunk them and kick them out of school.” Section 1-404 of the Code states that while Illinois faculty have the independent authority to give reduced or failing grades on assignments, exams, and in a course, they can only recommend a suspension or dismissal. By being knowledgeable about the Code, you can be better assured of commenting appropriately to students.
• Remember that a system for appealing sanctions has been established for all students, and you are responsible for understanding and respecting that system.
• The Illinois Student Code states that once you are aware of infractions of academic integrity, you have the responsibility of enforcing the Code. Attending to this responsibility benefits your students, colleagues, and teaching assistants.

Procedures for enforcing the Code

Once a student has been formally charged with cheating according to the Student Code, campus procedures for infractions of academic integrity are set in motion. When a student decides to appeal the charge, it is important to continually communicate with your department head as the appeal process moves through its stages. Knowing what is in the Code is essential. Listed below are some additional thoughts.

• All students on this campus (and most institutions of higher learning) have the opportunity to appeal charges of cheating.
• Prepare yourself for moments of uneasy feelings. These are common and do not mean that you have made a mistake or are being unreasonable. These moments may also occur well after the entire procedure is over.
• Offer support to your TAs/proctors in handling the pressures incurred. They will be looking to you for guidance at this time more than at any other.

Campus Information

• Instructors' Quick Reference Guide to Academic Integrity
• Students' Quick Reference Guide to Academic Integrity
• University of Illinois Student Code
• Cizek, G. (1999). Cheating on tests: How to do it, detect it, and prevent it . Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
• Lang, J. M. (2013). Cheating lessons. Harvard University Press.
• McKeachie, W. J., & Svinicki, M. (2014). Teaching tips: Strategies, research, and theory for college and university teachers (14th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
• Wankat, P. (2002). The effective, efficient professor . Boston: Allyn Bacon.

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8 Ways to Prevent Students From Cheating With AI

Academic integrity has been a fundamental aspect of higher education for years, but with the rise of AI tools comes new barriers for instructors to maintain it. The temptation for students to cheat using AI has grown, making it essential for educators to adopt innovative strategies to combat it effectively. In this article, we’ll explore various methods to prevent students from cheating with AI, with help from Cengage online learning platforms such as WebAssign , MindTap , CNOWv2 , OWLv2 and SAM .

Educate students on your school’s definition of cheating

Do your students understand exactly what is considered “cheating”? Rather than assume students fully understand what cheating entails, reinforce your school’s honor code including the acceptable use of AI technology. This can be achieved through your syllabus, workshops, orientation sessions or online modules. By promoting awareness and understanding, your students are more likely to uphold academic integrity.

Tip: If you’re using WebAssign , you can assign the Academic Integrity assignment found in the  Math Success toolkit to help students understand and reflect on the definition of academic integrity.

Remind students of your academic integrity policy with an honor code pledge

Before your exam begins, or within your exam, add a question requiring students to confirm that they will not cheat or commit academic dishonesty throughout the exam. Within this question, you may choose to include examples of cheating—including the use of AI—and reminders of the consequences of committing academic dishonesty. This will serve as a real-time reminder of how serious academic integrity is to your course, and the implications of using outside resources.

Tip: In WebAssign , you can access an Honor Code question template by searching question ID: 4625294 to use as a starting point.

Rethink how you assess learning

One of the key strategies to combat cheating with AI tools is to rethink how you assess student learning. Instead of relying solely on multiple-choice questions and easily searchable answers, consider alternative assessment methods that truly gauge a student’s understanding.

Incorporate questions with visual or interactive elements

Rather than assigning a multiple-choice question, utilize questions that have a visual or interactive component. Incorporating visual elements, such as images, graphs, videos or diagrams, into assessments can deter cheating as students can’t copy these elements into AI tools. These elements require students to analyze, interpret, visualize and sometimes interact with a concept. This is not easily replicable by AI tools. Visual questions also add depth to the assessment process.

Assign projects

In courses like Statistics, Physics and Chemistry, among others, projects can be an excellent assessment tool. These real-world, hands-on assignments require students to apply their knowledge in a practical context, making it harder for AI to provide answers. Encouraging critical thinking and problem-solving skills through projects ensures students truly grasp the concepts.

“I use projects that we complete in steps, so I see their work piece by piece.” – Angela Nino, Dallas College

Leverage open-ended questions

Use a mix of question types, including open-ended, scenario-based, and critical thinking or problem-solving questions. Open-ended questions, in particular, force students to demonstrate their true understanding, as they cannot rely on AI-generated responses.

Assigning tasks that are tailored to each student’s unique experiences, interests, or background can significantly reduce cheating through AI tools. For example, ask them to correlate the concept to an experience in their real life. When assignments are personalized, it becomes challenging for students to find pre-generated content online.

Ask students to upload their work

If your course requires students to complete multiple steps, or think independently to get the answer, this strategy is for you. You can assign file upload questions in MindTap , WebAssign , CNOWv2 and SAM. These questions prompt students to upload pictures or documents containing their work from the exam. You’ll want to inform students that they will be required to submit their work at the end of the exam by mentioning it in class or in the instructions of your assignment.

Tip: If you’re delivering a timed test or LockDown browser for your exam, you should create a follow-up assignment that doesn’t contain these restrictions and ask your students to submit their work there. This will ensure they can upload a file and won’t use up any of their test time.

Consider new ways to deliver assignments to students

In addition to the types of content you provide to students, you should also reconsider how you’re delivering your assignments.

Use timed assignments

Setting reasonable time limits for exams and assignments is an effective way to thwart cheating with AI tools. When students have limited time, it becomes more challenging to rely on AI models for all their answers. Timed assignments encourage them to focus on understanding and applying the material rather than seeking shortcuts.

Tip: All Cengage platforms such as WebAssign, MindTap, CNOWv2, OWLv2 and SAM offer timed tests.

Schedule frequent assessments

Frequent assessments throughout the course can reduce the temptation to cheat with AI tools. By breaking the course into smaller, regular assessments, students are less likely to procrastinate and resort to cheating to cope with the pressure of one big final exam.

The great thing about using Cengage online learning platforms is you don’t have to create all these additional assignments on your own! You can use pre-built assignments or questions to easily create additional assessments for students.

In the age of AI tools, combating cheating in higher education requires creative and proactive strategies. By rethinking assessment methods, emphasizing the honor code pledge and implementing personalized, time-bound and visual assessments, you can reduce the allure of cheating with AI tools. Plus, you can save time in doing so, with the help of Cengage online learning platforms.

Download the Cheating and Academic Dishonesty eBook to learn more about how to stop cheating in your course.

Related articles.

How Online Proctoring Can Prevent Cheating

In online classes, perhaps even more than in face-to-face classes, instructors are faced with the possibility that students may try to cheat on an exam. What can you do about this? Some colleges and universities have testing centers on campus, where students must come to the center, show their student identification, and take the exam while being proctored by an attendant who can view their screen to ensure they do not navigate away from the exam or use any unauthorized resources.

But in today’s era of online courses, this might not be practical. What to do?

Why Use Online Proctoring?

Using a service or tool that allows students to be proctored online can remove the concern that students will cheat, while also allowing them to take the exam somewhere other than on campus. This frees up students who work long hours and cannot make it to an on-campus testing center during normal business hours, which can increase enrollment in your online course.

Services exist that will remotely proctor your student, sometimes with a 360-degree webcam and a live person monitoring on the other end, for a fee often ranging from $20-$50 per student. Lockdown browsers can also be used to remove the ability of students to navigate away from the exam, but not every university has a course management system that has this, and without actual proctoring, one cannot ensure that the person taking the exam is the person who is enrolled in the course. Sadly, there are actually websites where a student can pay to have an exam, or even a whole course, taken by someone else. To combat this, online proctoring with identity verification is a must.

Using McGraw Hill Connect® ? Try  Tegrity® !

Tegrity is a feature within the Connect platform that allows instructors and students to record and/or upload videos. Many instructors use them to upload lecture videos or screen capture videos. But Tegrity can also be used for online proctoring of student work, including exams. It records the student’s webcam (audio and video) as well as a recording of what is on their screen.

Getting started is fairly simple. The video below shows what you need to do to get started, and the steps are outlined below:

• After creating a new course in Connect, click on the blue “find out more” link in the bottom right area under “your recorded lectures.” This will open Tegrity. (Note: you may need to download an app or update a browser extension for this to work smoothly.
• Hover over the Course Tasks menu and select Course Settings.
• Under Recording, uncheck the “Allow students to record” button – this prevents students from uploading anything other than a proctored test and makes it less confusing for both them and you.
• Under Tests, check both boxes to enable student testing and show them the testing policy when they start. 

You’ll need some language prescribing exactly what students must do when they start an exam. By default, Tegrity takes a picture-- have students hold their student ID card up to their face to verify that the student enrolled in the course is the same person taking the exam. You may want them to pan their webcam around the room and on their desk to ensure they are alone and do not have their books, or you can just make it an open-note or open-book test so you don’t have to worry about this. It’s also wise to specify exactly what they are allowed to have on their screen. I recommend only one web browser tab and perhaps a calculator app if they might need that. Let them know that any navigation away from the exam results in a score of zero.

Tips for Successful Tegrity Testing

Having students upload a practice test is useful in two ways. First, the students may have to update a plug-in or download an app to get Tegrity running, so it’s better to have them do that before they begin the test for real. Second, they can run through your pre-test protocol so you can watch it and make sure they’re doing it correctly.

Once students start Tegrity and its recording, they can navigate back to Connect, find the assignment they are to complete, and begin. Tegrity starts uploading the recording while students are taking the exam, but it isn’t real-time. Let students know that they will need to leave their computer on, and leave the Tegrity toolbar open, after they are done with the exam so that Tegrity can finish uploading the recording to the cloud. Otherwise, it will say “upload pending” when you try to review their test. They should receive an email when their upload is complete, and they can turn Tegrity off and/or shut their computer down then.

Reviewing Tests

It may seem a daunting task to review each student’s exam, but it shouldn’t take more than a minute per student. Tegrity marks the time the student started the recording and how much time it took. Clicking on an individual submission shows the student ID picture, and along the bottom the video is broken up into small chunks by white lines. Every time the screen changes, there’s a white line. If you have 20 questions on your test, you should see 20 segments. If you see more than that, investigate! It means the student either opened up a new tab, navigated away from the assignment, or opened up another app. If that’s against your exam rules, you can easily spot it, watch the video, and determine if it is indeed an infraction that needs to be penalized.

The video below shows what the test review process is like from the instructor’s perspective, and even shows you a “clean” test and one where cheating occurred – the student would flip back and forth to a Word document that included practice questions to get assistance with the actual test questions. Note how easy it is to identify this just by looking at the bar at the bottom.   

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This Teacher Had The Most Epic Way To Stop Students From Cheating, And TikTok Is Praising The Creativity

Cheating? These students don't know her.

BuzzFeed Staff

Angelo E. Ebora is a licensed agriculturist who is currently working as a guest lecturer at Lobo Campus, Batangas State University in the Philippines. And, he recently went viral for sharing his students wearing what he calls "anti-cheating hats" in a TikTok video .

BuzzFeed spoke to Angelo, who said that while the concept of something like a hat to prevent cheating isn't new, he incorporated it into his agriculture course to boost his students' confidence in their creativity.

Each student created their own unique "anti-cheating hat," like this person who made an angry bird:

The "anti-cheating hats" also serve as an opportunity for students to make agricultural-related designs.

According to the International Center for Academic Integrity, more than 60 percent of university students openly admit they cheat , so wearing the hats are a great preventative solution.

"My motivation for doing this is primarily for them to gain ‘additional points’ for their scores, without academic dishonesty. Additionally, I hope they understand that earning points through hard work brings fulfillment and encourages honesty as a sign of respect for those who dedicate time to studying and living honestly," he added.

In addition, wearing the hats is entirely optional, according to Angelo. "They are intended for enjoyment/fun, and to ease the stress caused by exam pressure," he said.

And, although they are optional, it appears nearly every student has decided to wear their hat:

Seeing the students wear these hats makes Angelo happy and proud because he said it reminds them that learning can be enjoyable.

Each one is super creative and unique!!!

Not to mention, the level of intricacy in most of the hats is unbelievable! Just ask the 4+ million people who watched Angelo's TikTok .

So, did you ever have to wear an "anti-cheating hat?!" If not, what did your teacher do to prevent cheating in the classroom? Let us know in the comments!

(And special thanks to Angelo for sharing these super cool hats his students made. You can follow him on TikTok here .)

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55 Coast Guard Academy cadets disciplined over homework cheating accusations

Officials say 55 U.S. Coast Guard Academy cadets have been disciplined for sharing homework answers in violation of academy policy

NEW LONDON, Conn. -- Fifty-five U.S. Coast Guard Academy cadets have been disciplined for sharing homework answers in violation of academy policy, Coast Guard officials announced.

After a series of disciplinary hearings, six of the cadets failed the course and 48 got lowered grades, officials said Wednesday.

The cadets were accused of cheating by sharing answers for two separate homework assignments electronically.

“The U.S. Coast Guard Academy is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, honor, and accountability,” said Capt. Edward Hernaez, commandant of the academy. “Misconduct like this undermines trust and those found to have violated our principles were held accountable for their actions.”

The cadets will be provided the opportunity to appeal the disciplinary actions, officials said.

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55 US Coast Guard cadets disciplined after cheating scandal for copying homework answers

Officials said the 55 second class cadets distributed answers for two separate homework assignments via electronic means and were disciplined..

Dozens of United States Coast Guard Academy cadets have been disciplined following a cheating scandal in which officials this week announced they copied each other's work on assignments, violating the academy's policy.

According to a press releas e from the military force of maritime professionals, 55 Second Class cadets distributed answers for two separate homework assignments via electronic means.

Details of each cadet’s respective involvement in the scheme were investigated and reviewed during a series of hearings at the academy, the release states, and each cadet was punished "on a case-by-case basis."

The academy is in New London, Connecticut, a coastal city west of the Rhode Island border.

The U.S. Coast Guard is one of the nation's six armed forces and, according to its website, the only military branch in the nation's Department of Homeland Security.

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What happened to the US Coast Guard cadets who cheated?

Consequences of their reported cheating include:

• Six cadets failed the course
• Forty eight cadets received lowered grades
• Eleven cadets were removed from their summer battalion command positions

All 55 cadets are required to undergo a 20-week honor remediation program, the release continues, and will be restricted to the academy.

Cadets involved in cheating scandal permitted to appeal discipline

The cadets can appeal their respective disciplinary actions.

“The U.S. Coast Guard Academy is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, honor, and accountability,” Capt. Edward Hernaez, Commandant of Cadets released in statement. “Misconduct like this undermines trust and those found to have violated our principles were held accountable for their actions.”

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.

East Texas nonprofits aim to increase child abuse awareness and prevention

April is national child abuse prevention month.

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and nonprofits across East Texas are hosting events throughout the month to raise money and awareness.

“It’s not that abuse is increasing, it’s that more of it’s coming to light, more kids are being educated, more adults are being equipped to report or to prevent abuse,” said Children’s Advocacy Center of Smith County Communications Manager Emily Taylor.

She stressed that the Children’s Advocacy Center’s mission starts with education.

“We educate both children and adults. We go into our public school districts here in Smith County and educate kids on body safety, and we also educate adults on recognizing and reporting abuse and prevention,” said Taylor.

The CAC served more than 1,000 children in 2023.

The Court Appointed Special Advocates for Kids of East Texas, also known as CASA, serves as a legal role in an abused or neglected child’s court process.

They serve hundreds of kids across Smith, Wood and Van Zandt counties.

“They have an attorney that represents their wishes in court - they’re part of the court team, but we as CASA or the Guardian Ad Litem are there also to represent what’s best for them,” said CASA Development Director Katherine Elliott.

CASA volunteers help children who have been removed from abusive or dangerous environments and make sure they are safe in their temporary placement.

“It should never hurt to be a child, and these kids that we’re protecting now, they’re gonna grow up and eventually be the leaders of our community, and they’re gonna take care of us one day, and so we want to set them up for the best success for the future,” said Taylor.

CASA has their annual “Caught Doing Good for Kids” online fundraiser Friday. The Children’s Advocacy Center is hosting a youth charity art show and auction with Stanley’s Barbecue on East Texas Giving Day – Tuesday, April 30.

Copyright 2024 KLTV. All rights reserved.

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• 55 Coast Guard Academy Cadets Disciplined in Cheating Scandal

Officials at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy say they have disciplined 55 second-class cadets who shared the answers to two homework assignments last fall in a nautical science course.

An academy spokesman said Friday that the cadets distributed answers related to navigation assignments in a required course for graduation, in "clear violation of academy policy."

The collaboration violated the Coast Guard Academy's Honor Concept, according to officials.

Read Next: Troubled USS Boxer Returns Home 10 Days into Deployment Due to Maintenance Issue

"The U.S. Coast Guard Academy is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, honor and accountability," Capt. Edward Hernaez, commandant of cadets, said in a statement.

"Misconduct like this undermines trust, and those found to have violated our principles were held accountable for their actions."

Following an investigation, six cadets found to have a significant amount of involvement in the collusion received failing grades, while 48 were given lower grades. Eleven were removed from command positions they had earned this coming summer supporting training of the incoming swab class.

A total of 55 cadets, including one who was not enrolled in the course but was involved in the information exchange, were restricted to the academy grounds and will undergo a 20-week honor remediation program.

The Coast Guard Academy, unlike some schools, does not have an honor code -- an oath that students take, swearing that they will not lie, cheat or steal that also contains a "non-toleration clause" requiring those who become aware of an honor code violation to report it or also be in violation of the code.

Instead, the school has an Honor Concept, which says students' actions must be "straightforward and always above reproach," according to the cadet handbook. However, they are required to report activities that do not incriminate themselves, and the condoning of an honor violation is a punishable offense.

"The Coast Guard Academy's Honor Concept is exemplified by a person who will neither lie, cheat, steal, nor attempt to deceive. It is epitomized by an individual who places loyalty to duty above loyalty to personal friendship or to selfish desire," the handbook states.

The nautical science course the cadets were enrolled in is required for graduation, according to Public Affairs Specialist 2nd Class Taylor Bacon. The six students received failing grades for their involvement, all of whom will be first-class cadets next year, will have time to retake the course, Bacon said in an interview with Military.com on Friday.

The Coast Guard Academy, in New London , Connecticut, has an enrollment of roughly 1,000 students who are training to become officers in the U.S. Coast Guard after graduation.

The last major cheating scandal at the school occurred in 2016, when three students were expelled and 37 others disciplined for cheating on an online quiz for a ships and maritime systems class, according to The Associated Press.

The academy has been the subject of service and congressional investigations into its response to sexual assaults at the school and failure by top Coast Guard leaders to disclose the results of a six-year investigation into cases of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment at the institution that occurred between the early 1980s and 2020.

Related: ' We Need You Badly,' Biden Tells New Coast Guard Officers in Commencement Address

Patricia Kime

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What the cuck?

An Englishman living in California says he’s addicted to the thrill of having sex with married women — and it’s even better if she’s the wife of a business partner or a friend.

The bawdy Brit disclosed his kink in an interview with the Daily Mail, declaring that he isn’t a “deviant” and insisting that the practice is more common than you’d think.

The anonymous cad, who is 56 years old, is himself married but keeps his pervy proclivities a secret from his spouse, saying: “No one gets hurt if no one finds out.”

Claiming to be a neglected youngest child who lived in the shadow of his older brothers, the philanderer first discovered the thrill of cuckolding when he slept with a sibling’s girlfriend in his teen years.

“I felt glorious, as though I was on top of the world,” he recalled. “Sleeping with my brother’s girlfriend gave me an added frisson because I was having sex with someone he — one of the golden boys who monopolized my parents’ attention — cared for. At last, I was the one in control.”

In the 1990s, the Englishman moved to the US amid the dot-com boom, working in Silicon Valley and wooing women with his British accent.

“I work in financial technology — often crunched to ‘fintech’ — and in truth I hate these networking events,” he explained.

“Fintech has a disproportionate number of men working in the industry and to say they are geeks is putting it politely. But the one spark on the horizon is that these soirees are an opportunity to meet their better halves.”

The cad continued: “As I shake the hand of a new business acquaintance, I find myself wondering what his wife is like. They all think their other halves are different and would never stray. But honestly, given the encouragement, they really aren’t.”

While his accent has given him a competitive edge when it comes to bedding married beauties, the sleaze said he was far from a hunk — which works in his favor.

“I get away with it because I’m the last person you’d expect to seduce your wife,” he claimed. “I’m not exactly Brad Pitt. I’m a fairly average-looking bloke, 5 feet 10 inches, Jason Statham bald with the beginnings of a dad paunch.”

Despite decades of sleeping with taken ladies, the Brit vowed to stop straying when he wed his second wife four years ago.

However, he admits he’s been unable to stop wooing women with a ring on their wedding finger.

“I do try to be faithful, but the craving for sex with someone I shouldn’t be sleeping with sometimes overrides all rational arguments,” he declared.

“The thrill is still there and occasionally I act on those impulses. Given I’m now in my late 50s and have more years behind me than in front, that urge is unlikely to change.”

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