Does this count as cheating?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>So, I am my old Environmental teacher's teacher assistant - and yesterday, she had me grade about 80 quizzes that were on general lab safety. All the kids enrolled in any science course, regardless if its CP, Honors, or AP, have to take it at the beginning of the year. It isn't put into the computer as a grade, you just get a checkmark if you pass it (over 65%). </p>

<p>So, while I was grading, I figured it'd be easier to memorize the order of the letters on the answer key - a,a,b,d, etc for the 20 or so questions rather than continuously check the answer key.</p>

<p>Today in my science class, we received the same exact quiz. I knew the order of the answers, and I could've completed the quiz in 30 seconds (the time it takes me to grade one of the other quizzes.) I however took my time to actually read through all the questions and whatnot...</p>

<p>...I was wondering if this counted as cheating? I did not, in any way, shape, or form, intend for this to happen. I thought that because I had taken the safety quiz last year in an AP class, I wouldn't have to retake it again this year for a lower level class.</p>

2

<p>Are any of the answers different than you would have selected otherwise?</p>

3

<p>No. The test was common sense - like “true/false - horseplay is always allowed in the laboratory”. That type of stuff.</p>

4

<p>I’d be careful in the future but I don’t think you cheated.</p>

<p>You didn’t know that when you memorized those letters you were doing anything wrong.</p>

5

<p>I wouldn’t worry about it at all. It’s not like it affected your grade, anyway! It was not cheating since you were just doing your job!</p>

6

<p>Pshhhh, the safety test. It’s not even worth cheating for. Lol Jk Jk, don’t let it bother you. You have to take it every year, so you probably would have gotten a 100 anyway :)</p>

7

<p>Oh I hate those tests.</p>

<p>I remember one year, I almost failed one because some of the questions were really poorly worded, and I overthought on a bunch of them :(</p>

8

<p>No, but I think you should ask the teacher not to have you grade assignments you’re going to be asked to do later…</p>

9

<p>its definitely not cheating. dont even worry about it.</p>

10

<p>Seems legit.</p>

11

<p>I don’t know if it’s cheating, but if you’re questioning it, then it’s definitely not right! Talk to your teacher ASAP!</p>

12

<p>Not your fault. Why would a teacher ask you to grade something 80 times and then quiz you on it the next day?</p>

13

<p>@my88keys - It was two different teachers. I was grading papers for my former AP Enviro teacher because I’m her teacher assistant, and then when I went to my current science teacher, she administered the same exact quiz I had graded dozens of times for the other teacher.</p>

14

<p>You should probably just talk to her then. I mean, it’s a safety quiz, she’ll probably just let it slide.</p>

15

<p>Why does preamble need to talk to any teacher? I’m one of those straight-laced kids who hates cheating and even I don’t really think this is cheating. I mean, <em>technically</em> yeah, I guess, but it was an accident, and it was a simple quiz anyhow, so I don’t really see the need to tell anyone…</p>

16

<p>I suggested talking to the teacher because I thought it was just one teacher and I thought they should have been more careful with what they give her to grade. But it’s not necessary if there are never going to be several classes taking the same quiz again.</p>

17

<p>I don’t think you cheated at all. If they reuse the same test every time, it’s likely that they don’t care. Safety quizzes tend to more of a formality than anything. As you said, it’s pretty much common sense. You also took the quiz before when you had an AP class, so if that can occur as well (students taking the same quiz in multiple science classes), it’s likely something they are very aware of and don’t care about. They know some of their students have taken and passed the test before (whether it be in another class or as a TA).</p>

<p>I took the same safety quiz in my college lab courses, and no one cared that we already knew the answers. Don’t worry about it. You didn’t do anything wrong.</p>

18

<p>I have two answers; choose whichever you like best:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>You technically cheated because you defeated the purpose of the quiz, but so what if you technically cheated?</p></li>
<li><p>You did not cheat because cheating is evil and you didn’t do something evil.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I lean toward 1; I hate to redefine a word to preserve its connotation. I’d rather change its connotation when I realize what actually follows from its definition.</p>

19

<p>I don’t think you cheated but I do think the squeeky clean thing to do would be to go to the teacher who gave your class the test and explain you had seen the test and the answers before you took it. (PS - IMO the best thing would have been to go to the teacher when you realized you knew the test and the answers).</p>

20

<p>Halogen…those definitions are unfairly weighed</p>

<p>You didn’t cheat, it was an unintended coincidence.</p>