Like many high school students, I find it challenging to do well on AP classes strictly based on reading the book and studying notes. So, through 10-12, I have searched the internet for help.
Oftentimes I find tests that are similar to the tests I actually take in class (at the time however I dont know they are similar).
Do you think this is cheating or taking advantage of your resources? I know it is a gray area, but it seems rash for teachers to give students tests that can be found online.
In general, it is poor preparation to give students tests that are found online, however, some of these tests may come from official AP resources. With APs, your teachers are trying to give you the most authentic experience to best prepare you for the real exam. It’s not “cheating” per se but it is pushing unethical. Ask yourself this: are you going online for help learning/understanding the material, or are you trying to do well on the test? If you’re just trying for a better grade, you’re stepping into unethical territory. Some of the materials you’re finding online are not intended for student consumption or are there illegally. If you want extra resources, try publications like Barron’s books that are both legal and intended for students. It’s not a good practice anyway, because you’re giving yourself an inflated sense of your abilities that won’t serve you for the real exam. You also might be skewing the data for your teachers if your class test grades are better than your AP exams.
I had a college final where a couple of the questions were straight from the back of the text study guide sample questions. Only a couple of my classmates had also used that resource to study for the exam so most of the class got the question wrong (it was some obscure thing we didn’t really cover during lecture). If the practice questions are freely available to you, I don’t see a problem with using them to study.
Thanks @GloriaVaughn and @3js3ks for the replies.
I have done well on my ap tests every year-- except for Chemistry. So, I learn the material well.
But, whether for good or bad, my conscience seems under pressure because I don’t want to get into good colleges based on my ability to find things online-- I want my success in life to be a result of merit and integrity.
I am torn between being mad at my teachers for giving me the opportunity and at myself for actually going through with it.
I just my worries to be gone.
Many high school teachers would reuse some or even all questions from previous years. If one uses previous exam paper from older siblings to prepare for the test, it is not considered cheating even if the questions in the exam turned out to be identical.
@billcsho
I think you are right.
I do have a tendency to overreact and overthink this type of stuff. :()
If the goal is to learn the material … then why shouldn’t a student take advantage of any resource or study aid that is genuinely available to them?
You can’t be guaranteed that questions you practice with online will show up on any test. Use all the materials at your disposal, do your best to learn the material so you can do well on your future AP test, and don’t worry about how your teachers come up with their tests.
Seems like it would be considered cheating by the teacher. Once a test is given, there will be some knowledge of the test out there, so that, unless it is explicitly made public and widely available to potential test takers, some will have an advantage in knowing what some of the questions are. Of course, if it is explicitly made public and widely available, the teacher should make a new test the following year.
It is similar in concept to the College Board reusing entire old SATs.
@Pietaster3412 “Always let your conscience be your guide.” — Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio
As a teacher, I think we have to expect that our students will use the internet if they have the opportunity to do so. If you want to reuse old questions, give the test in class, so that internet usage can be controlled. If not, then use new questions each year, or a different combination of questions.
I know it’s easier in math than in history, but each class gets a different version of my tests. So knowing the answers to the 3rd period test won’t help the kids in 9th period. I think it provides a more level playing field.
It seems to me that you are simply being very thorough in your study habits. That is merit-worthy. Not sure why you feel you are being shady. Unless you are writing all the questions and answers on a cheat sheet that you are taking into class, what you are doing seems perfectly legit to me. If the teachers are using readily available test mateirals, that’s not your issue.
You should check out Haverford and other colleges known for their honor codes:-)
At a university, I distribute all of my old exams for a course to each year’s class. (This works because the courses I teach change every few years.). This tends to eliminate the advantage when some students might have access to old exams (thanks to a friend or sibling), and others would not.
At the local high school, the teachers refused to return any tests or exams long enough so that the students could take them home. Thus the parents tended to have no idea what the student got or missed on the exam. This let the teachers use the same tests and exams every year, but I don’t think it was particularly good pedagogy.
I see no problem with looking on the internet for example problems, even if some of them later wind up on a test or exam. In my view, it would be different if the questions were behind a pay-wall, or if you had to certify that you were a course instructor before accessing the files.
In a STEM course, a teacher who uses questions taken from the internet could change the numbers in quantitative questions, or provide different “knowns” in an equation to generate a different “unknown.” Then it’s a matter of whether you understand how to solve a problem or not. In history or literature, there are so many possible questions that it would be impractical for a student to simply memorize the answers to online questions (at least, in my view).
So I think what you are doing is fine.
If you are uncomfortable, talk to the teacher. That gives the teacher a heads up about how to prepare the exams fairly and also the teacher can inform other students of this resource. I think you will feel better even if what you are doing is not objectively wrong.
Online exam questions should be a good way to test your general knowledge and absorption of material but should not be a way to prepare for specific test/exam questions, I would think. And that is more under the control of the teacher than you, when you think about it. So just let the teacher know.
That is like what the College Board did with the SAT. But some of them got leaked anyway, so that there was cheating when the old SATs were reused later.
Thanks to everyone for the advice.
@Lindagaf
In a class last week, I was the only person to score a 100 on the test. When I found out what I got, she jokingly accused me of cheating.
It was very wierd- and in my opinion inappropriate. But, the night before, after reading the chapter 2 times, I searched on the internet for a study guide. The page I landed on had about 70 percent of the questions on the test.
I know teachers and administrators can’t go through phones, but I have felt I bit sick to my stomach about the whole situation(the same thing kinda happened last year).
Simple: stop looking for resources online. Then you won’t feel as though you have cheated.
You are perhaps a little too honest, my friend:-) And I don’t think your teacher was inappropriate. That’s a reflection of you feeling guilty for some odd reason. You still could have got any of the questions wrong, and 30% weren’t on the test.
@Lindagaf
Perhaps I am too tough on myself, and maybe a bit paranoid.
You think it is appropriate to joke about whether or not you cheated on something?
does not seem like material meant for comedy
I think you are perhaps too serious about things. You have nothing to worry about, so lighten up.