Test Taking

When you take a test, unless otherwise stated, the point of the exercise is to see how much you know about the material.

Traditionally, cheating on a test fell under a few basic practices:

• smuggling in materials that have the answers available
• looking over someone’s shoulder in order to see and copy their answers.
• getting a copy of the test beforehand illicitly.

You’ve probably known since elementary school that you can’t do these things. But constantly emerging technologies expand the ways you can take tests, as well as the ways you can cheat. So here are a list of DO's and DON’Ts.

DO:

• Take the test yourself! If you’re in a classroom where attendance is taken by clickers, don’t give someone else your clicker and have them pretend to be you. You will likely get caught.
• Follow appropriate proctoring practices if you are taking a proctored exam. That means that if you need to have a proctor in the room at all times, make certain that proctor remains there!
• Follow your instructor’s direction when it comes to take-home exams. If you are told you can work together on the answers, then do so, but only if you are given permission.

DON’T:

• Look off of someone else’s work to complete the test. This can be in-person, virtually, or through a series of elaborate tattoos or smoke signals.
• "Study” with someone who has already taken the test. If you work on memorizing answers, the test itself may have changed. (This includes consulting sites like Course Hero, too.)
• Consult technology during the test, unless it is explicitly allowed.