<p>I have a suggestion to reduce cheating.
If the ultimate goal is for students to learn the material and to show that they understand it, we need a way for them to do so.
Many people have trouble in the artificial atmosphere of a classroom regurgitating their work.
While many courses at my daughters college had open book- unproctored tests, that places the burden on the prof to write a test that isnt multiple choice and requires more time to review.
I have been immensely frustrated by tests that basically consisted of a blank piece of paper & instructions written on the board. It doesnt matter how much time I am given, my brain quits after a few hours & much of that time is often spent trying to remember one or two details that are connected to everything else.</p>
<p>My suggestion. allow students to bring in one 3x5 card with notes hand written on it.
Require the students to either bring in their card before hand to be approved or have it turned in afterward with the exam.
If they don’t understand the class/ haven’t been keeping up, the notes on a card will not be enough for them to pass the exam. But it may be enough to reduce test anxiety and allow them to perform better & for the prof to get a better idea of the success of the curriculum.</p>