Website Cheats: Testing, Truth, and How to Combat the Dishonest Trend
By: Kim Behrens
Updated: February 19, 2013
NORMAL- Exams.
For some, the dreaded word causes sweaty palms, knotted stomachs, and fidgeting.
But why hit the books to study, when the entire test can be accessed before hand?
"She said, 'Oh it's going to take me 15 minutes. I have a site where I can pull up the old exams and I can just use the test from last year. The professor doesn't change them from semester to semester."
An Illinois State University student spoke about this new found revelation after a friend introduced him to the website Koofers.com.
"I pulled it up and there were 3,000 something classes available with the tests from five years back all the way up till just recently," he said. "She was able to just study for 15 minutes and pass the test the next day."
For privacy purposes we've hidden his identity.
But this ISU student says the site packed with exclusive information proved too tempting.
Soon he began searching for lecture notes, quizzes, and exams.
"I logged in and found all the classes I was currently in and started going through to see what I could find."
Accessing the site is pretty simple.
And it doesn't just apply to Illinois State University.
Anyone across the country can login with a valid college ID.
From there, pick a school and the classes come pouring in.
"If I can cut back my 10 hours of studying for a test to 15 minutes, why not do it?"
Many students aren't only going to school full time, they're working too.
So when time is crunched, some question the need memorize material from general education courses.
"I'm never going to use Latin American studies ever again in my life, or history of Europe," he said. "To know all that knowledge to a "T" 10 years from now is going to be useless."
But educators disagree.
"That's an argument that's very common," said ISU instructor Jodi Hallsten. "That, I'm never going to use this stuff anyway. And to that I always say, "Uh-huh, of course you know more than I do. Of course, because you're a first or second year student and you always know more than I do."
Hallsten is a communications instructor at ISU.
She's frustrated her material is on the web, so she took matters into her own hands.
"When the notes are online, I have a problem with you just going online and getting it because you're not at all tempted to come to class. And so I did go online and uploaded a ton of my notes and none of them are right."
Associate Professor Lance Lippert admits students aren't the only ones at fault.
Sometimes educators including him don't change their tests from year to year.
"It's difficult to write a good exam," he said. "So, in that sense you get one that works and if it's a lecture hall of over 100 kids-you're kind of at the mercy anyway because those will slip out."
Lippert says websites like Koofers, Course Hero and Post Your Test.com indicates teachers must find better ways to get their students to care about the course.
"I think some of the illness is on us, is always on us to help really get the students engaged and not just learn to recall and then forget but learn to learn," said Lippert.
But whatever happened to just plain honesty when it came to taking tests?
Do they really deserve that grade?
"I have a strong feeling it's a no," said this ISU student. "And it's definitely probably a "no" but I don't want it to be a "no" because I have used it in the past."
A lesson in ethics, they won't find online.
Illinois State University evaluates cheating on a case by case basis.
Penalties can range from a zero on an assignment, to a zero in the course--or even dismissal from the school.
For some, the dreaded word causes sweaty palms, knotted stomachs, and fidgeting.
But why hit the books to study, when the entire test can be accessed before hand?
"She said, 'Oh it's going to take me 15 minutes. I have a site where I can pull up the old exams and I can just use the test from last year. The professor doesn't change them from semester to semester."
An Illinois State University student spoke about this new found revelation after a friend introduced him to the website Koofers.com.
"I pulled it up and there were 3,000 something classes available with the tests from five years back all the way up till just recently," he said. "She was able to just study for 15 minutes and pass the test the next day."
For privacy purposes we've hidden his identity.
But this ISU student says the site packed with exclusive information proved too tempting.
Soon he began searching for lecture notes, quizzes, and exams.
"I logged in and found all the classes I was currently in and started going through to see what I could find."
Accessing the site is pretty simple.
And it doesn't just apply to Illinois State University.
Anyone across the country can login with a valid college ID.
From there, pick a school and the classes come pouring in.
"If I can cut back my 10 hours of studying for a test to 15 minutes, why not do it?"
Many students aren't only going to school full time, they're working too.
So when time is crunched, some question the need memorize material from general education courses.
"I'm never going to use Latin American studies ever again in my life, or history of Europe," he said. "To know all that knowledge to a "T" 10 years from now is going to be useless."
But educators disagree.
"That's an argument that's very common," said ISU instructor Jodi Hallsten. "That, I'm never going to use this stuff anyway. And to that I always say, "Uh-huh, of course you know more than I do. Of course, because you're a first or second year student and you always know more than I do."
Hallsten is a communications instructor at ISU.
She's frustrated her material is on the web, so she took matters into her own hands.
"When the notes are online, I have a problem with you just going online and getting it because you're not at all tempted to come to class. And so I did go online and uploaded a ton of my notes and none of them are right."
Associate Professor Lance Lippert admits students aren't the only ones at fault.
Sometimes educators including him don't change their tests from year to year.
"It's difficult to write a good exam," he said. "So, in that sense you get one that works and if it's a lecture hall of over 100 kids-you're kind of at the mercy anyway because those will slip out."
Lippert says websites like Koofers, Course Hero and Post Your Test.com indicates teachers must find better ways to get their students to care about the course.
"I think some of the illness is on us, is always on us to help really get the students engaged and not just learn to recall and then forget but learn to learn," said Lippert.
But whatever happened to just plain honesty when it came to taking tests?
Do they really deserve that grade?
"I have a strong feeling it's a no," said this ISU student. "And it's definitely probably a "no" but I don't want it to be a "no" because I have used it in the past."
A lesson in ethics, they won't find online.
Illinois State University evaluates cheating on a case by case basis.
Penalties can range from a zero on an assignment, to a zero in the course--or even dismissal from the school.
