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MATH + TECHNOLOGY = FUN
Hi, I'm James Yoong. Welcome to my MATHTECH Webpage. I'm a Math instructor at Ekamai International School, Bangkok, Thailand. This webpage attempts to provide Math students & teachers with resources to incorporate IT into Math learning.
ABOUT CHEATING IN ON-LINE TESTS
The first thing you need to do is to know the rules: "What you can do and what you should not do." Then you weigh the options: "Whether to cheat or not." Finally, you decide which method to use in order to cheat. This text here is written to help you know the rules. Then you decide yourself whether to cheat or not. After that we can talk about the method next time. So to make it easy for you to know the rules, go through the Frequently Asked Questions ( FAQ ) about On-Line Testing.
FAQ about On-Line Testing
Q: What is the purpose of On-Line Testing?
• To save classroom time, so that more time can be devoted to instruction.
• To save teacher’s time spent on printing, stapling & checking test papers, so that more time can be spent on lesson preparation.
• To save resources like printing paper & ink.
• To give students a kind of "Practice Tests" (with points/credit given) to help students prepare for the Chapter Test & Quarterly Examination.
• Students who need more time to study may take the test at a later time.
• Weaker students who did not do well in a test may take re-test up to 3 times per test (the score will be the average of the 2 or 3 tests taken).
• To help students get better grade in my subject.
Q: Are On-Line Tests open book tests? There’s no way the teacher can prevent students from copying anyway.
They are not suppose to be open book tests. True enough, there’s no way the teacher can prevent students from opening their textbook or notebook but there are ways of limiting this. The test questions are more challenging than conventional tests so students have to think rather than getting answers directly from the book. There’s time limit. If students spend too much time looking into the books, they would not be able to complete the test.
Q: On-Line Testing is not a good method of assessment because students can cheat in many ways.
Assessment should never be based entirely on On-Line Testing results. It is only one of the several means of assessing student performance. On-Line Testing can be used for testing subtopics while Chapter/Unit Tests should be done in the classroom the conventional way. Then, there is also the Final Examination. Together, they would give a balanced assessment. If students do well in On-Line Tests by cheating, they would do badly in Chapter Test & Examination (tested the conventional way).
Q: What if the internet connection get disconnected while a student is doing On-Line Test? Will his grade be affected?
He/she can do 2 re-test so that the average will make the grade higher. It is unlikely he/she will be disconnected all 3 times. He/she should also do the re-tests at a different time just in case it is due to bad connection at a particular time.
Q: Why don’t you take the highest score instead of the average score of the re-tests?
This is to encourage students to do well the first time he/she takes the test just like any conventional test. We don’t want students to get good grades because he/she takes re-tests all the time.
Q: What if a student cannot find a suitable time to do the on-line test? Can he ask for extension of the deadline?
All on-line tests are posted 3 or 4 days before the deadline. This gives students at least 3 days (24 hours a day) to find a suitable time at his own convenience to do the test. Hence, students have no excuse to ask for extension of deadline.
Q: What if a student deliberately miss an on-line test (especially when it is a difficult topic)? Would he be able to save his grade from going down by doing this?
Then his grade will be based on the Chapter Test (done in class) and the Quarterly Examination (also done in class). One of the purpose of on-line tests is to give students a kind of "Practice Tests" (with points/credit given) to help students prepare for the Chapter Test & Quarterly Examination. If a student deliberately skip an on-line test (or all on-line tests), then he misses this opportunity to "practice." He may not get a higher grade since Chapter Tests & Quarterly Exams are definitely harder than on-line tests.
Q: Would On-Line Testing encourage students to cheat?
If students reason well, they’ll find that there’s no need to cheat in order to do well in On-Line Tests. They can do well for the following reasons:
• They can take longer time to prepare for the test since they can take the test at a later date.
• They may refer to book/notes while taking the test.
• If they fail the first time, they can take re-test.
• They can bring up their grade by taking re-tests (up to 3 times if necessary).
• They should use On-Line Tests/Re-Tests to help them to prepare for Chapter Test/Examination.
They should also realize that if they cheat all the time during On-Line Testing, they miss the test/exam preparation opportunity and they’ll do badly in the classroom test/exam.
Here, you'll also find some useful, helpful & interesting links on Math (mainly on Calculus for the moment). Click-on the links below.
Tutorials for the Calculus Phobe (Movie)
Calculus on the web (Interactive Tutorial - Free, of course)
THE CALCULUS PAGE (Plenty of Interesting & helpful stuff here)
My Home Page
Student Instruction for Web Testing
Send E-Mail to: yoongjames@hotmail.com
Copyright © 2008 James Yoong. All Rights Reserved