Catching cheating students

Author / Creator

Levitt, Steven D. author

Available as

Online

Summary

We develop a simple algorithm for detecting exam cheating between students who copy off one another's exam. When this algorithm is applied to exams in a general science course at a top university, ...

We develop a simple algorithm for detecting exam cheating between students who copy off one another's exam. When this algorithm is applied to exams in a general science course at a top university, we find strong evidence of cheating by at least 10 percent of the students. Students studying together cannot explain our findings. Matching incorrect answers prove to be a stronger indicator of cheating than matching correct answers. When seating locations are randomly assigned, and monitoring is increased, cheating virtually disappears.

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