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Let’s be honest. How many incidents of academic dishonesty have you come across as a teacher and educator? How many times have you heard other teachers talk about incidents of cheating in their classes and their struggles to prevent it? Whether you are a college professor or a middle or high school teacher, I’m sure your answer is “far too many times.”

Many students copy from each other in a myriad of ways from simple to complex—hiding a written cheat-sheet underneath the lid of a calculator, using their notes under the tables, lightly writing equations on desks, using hand-gestures to share answers, or using cellphones or smart watches during exams.

The list of ways students find to cheat is long, disappointing, and alarming. A 2026 WorldMetrics report¹ included some statistics that I hope will inspire you to reflect on some small changes you could make to help combat these pervasive practices.

• 57% of students admitted to copying answers from another student during an assessment
• 47% of students shared test answers via phone apps during exams, even in schools with strict policies
• 36% of students have used a note card with answers during a test that was shared with the whole class
• 71% of students have used their phone to cheat during a test
• 59% of students have searched for answers on the internet without permission during a test
• 41% admitted to changing test answers after a test was returned
• 24% of students admitted to lying about having a medical condition to miss a test and cheat later
• 82% of high school students think cheating is 'sometimes acceptable' if it's for a good grade

In this article are strategies that I use to combat academic dishonesty during traditional in-class written exams, which are my primary form of summative assessment. Other forms of assessments—such as online exams on digital platforms/computers or research projects/take-home exams where generative AI can easily be used—may require different strategies.

Over the course of my career, several students, colleagues, and friends from various educational backgrounds and institutions have shared their own thoughts on academic dishonesty (Table 1). Comments like these have strongly motivated me to find ways to minimize cheating in my classes and exams and to become an advocate of always showing and expecting academic integrity.

Before the exam

One way to think about how to prevent academic dishonesty is to acknowledge that we probably cannot stop a student from having the impulse to cheat. So instead, we should try to be purposeful in reducing the opportunities students have to carry out those impulses.

Set and repeat clear and precise expectations. One of my very first priorities in a given school year is to establish clear policies and consequences regarding academic integrity violations. I distinctly communicate these on the syllabus and remind students often about the expectations. Before each assessment, I use the reminder as something like an integrity pep talk.

Use multiple test versions. I carefully plan the construction of my exams. Although it takes a bit of extra time, I create multiple test versions with randomized question orders or sometimes with different questions from a pool of related items. The challenge with this strategy is making sure the versions are equally difficult and fair.

Additional versions of a given question can sometimes come from a single word change. For example, changing whether you ask for the highest or lowest value provides two question versions to assess the same information, as in the examples below.

• Identify the element or molecule that has the lowest diffusion rate. Change “lowest” to “highest” for a second version.
  • Answer choices are chemical formulas such as Ar, I₂, and N₂.
• According to the graph on the right, which of the gases has the largest molar mass? Change “largest” to “smallest” for a second version.
  • Answer choices are labeled on a graph showing the curves for molecular speed vs relative number of particles.

This strategy can apply to many different topics like temperature or rate of diffusion in the gases unit, atomic or ionic radius in the periodic table unit, and bonding properties in the bonding unit. Alternatively, varying the set of substances used as answer choices for a given question can provide several new versions of the same question.

I generally keep about half the questions the same within two different versions of the exam, changing only the order in which the questions and/or answer choices appear. I find this strategy is most effective for multiple-choice sections.

Keep exams in teacher’s possession. Though it may not be possible in all schools, students in my classes do not keep their exams. After they check their mistakes and I provide any additional instruction that might be needed, I collect all exams to minimize the modifications I need to make from year to year. That said, in the years following my first as a teacher, creating test versions took a lot less time. At this point now, I’ll usually only add, remove, or modify a few questions each year.

Although I’m not comfortable using AI for this purpose, some teachers may choose to generate questions or alternate versions by feeding an original exam into AI.

Arrange student desks to impede cheating. During exams, I use a three-sided cardboard privacy shield for each student. My preferred arrangement is as shown on the left side of Figure 1, with students sitting on opposite sides of the table and preventing them from easily interacting. An alternate arrangement, shown on the right side of Figure 1, may be faster to set up, but also makes it easier for students to quietly converse or exchange notes without the teacher noticing.

To help with the set-up, each year on a day before the first scheduled exam, I ask students to practice setting up the desks in the specified testing arrangement. After one or two practices, the entire process should take just a few minutes. Students are motivated to set up quickly so they don’t lose time needed for taking the exam. On the actual exam day, I can then simply give the prompt of “Get into your quiz/test positions!” and everyone knows what to do.

Some of my colleagues have adopted the desk arrangement strategy and have shared that they feel that it has increased their confidence in the accuracy of student test results.

During the exam

Proctoring is crucial and key to keeping the exam environment fair and honest. I walk around the classroom and actively observe students throughout the entire exam session. While it is easier to sit and grade assignments or reply to emails while students are testing, I feel less stressed having spent time actively proctoring than if I later need to track down or make decisions about suspected cheating.

Because every school and classroom are different, I’ll share below how I approach this in my own classroom in case some of these strategies also work for others.

Enforce strict digital devices policies. My high school’s digital technology policy prohibits students from having cellphones or laptops in classrooms during class times, unless the teacher permits them for certain class work (e.g., recording an experiment, collecting data, taking photo images, etc.). The school is strict and clear with this policy, and parents seem to be on board.

On exam days, a teacher can ask students to roll up their sleeves and to place all digital devices (e.g., cellphones, smart watches, etc.) on top of the teacher’s desk. Most of my students immediately comply with both requests. Whether this is due to the positive, respectful relationships I try to build or to the fear of consequences if caught cheating, it seems to be effective. I’ve found that consistency is key. Students know—because I’ve done it before—that if they have a digital device, I’ll immediately take back their exam, and they’ll receive a zero, along with follow-up by the Student Affairs department.

Consider how classroom technology can assist cheating. I limit using graphing calculators whenever possible. In the past, I’ve found students storing exam information and even storing test answers so they can pass the calculator to a student in a later section of my class. Some teachers might be able to keep a classroom set of simple, inexpensive scientific calculators that are sufficient for most testing. Others might require students to bring these simple calculators with them to class. When graphing calculators cannot be avoided, teachers can investigate using the “press to test” mode that many modern calculators now feature, which limits access to saved notes by clearing the memory.

Set up clear and consistent testing structures. During exams, my students are not allowed to leave their desks to ask questions. Instead, they may raise their hands, and I will go to them. Two classroom policies that I’ve developed due to necessity are:

• When asking questions, students must be brief and not disturb others. I often need to remind students of this rule. If a student starts loudly asking a question, I quickly stop the student and remind them again to whisper (while I am also whispering).
• When answering a student’s question, I position myself so that I can still see the maximum number of students. In the past, I observed multiple instances of students taking advantage of my distraction. I’d hate to accuse anyone of this kind of planning, but a student once took a very long time to ask a question seemingly to keep my attention. During similar situations, I’ve lifted my gaze to witness some heads tilted towards other students’ papers, interrupted whispers, and even students turned around speaking or gesturing to someone sitting behind them.

I now insist that student questions are asked quickly and I politely refuse to answer questions that seem to be fishing for information. If a student’s question is valid and important, I will address it to the entire class.

After the exam

Have you ever had a student point out a “mistake” you made while grading his/her exam? Have you ever second-guessed yourself about your grading and felt like “maybe I did make a mistake, and the student’s answer was right”? I was very surprised the first time a student came to me for a “mistake” on the graded exam and I doubted myself. This happened many years ago, and I don’t remember exactly what I did, but I probably re-graded it and changed the exam score. After another similar incident, I decided I needed to take steps to minimize these occurrences. To ensure fairness, I started applying new strategies while grading.

Develop your own grading code. While grading exams, I now include short notes, labels, or explanations with a colored pen, for both myself and students. For multiple-choice questions (MCQs), every question gets a mark (check mark or cross-out) just next to the correct or incorrect answer, as shown in Figure 2. This helps me to know if I did make a mistake when grading. If I am using bubble sheets for MCQs, I do not return them to students.

Figure 2. The author uses markings that clearly denote the student’s original answer choice, marking a red “x” next to an incorrect answer (left), and a checkmark next to a correct answer (right)).

When grading free response questions (FRQs), I write comments and feedback about what is incorrect or missing in the answer and make a mark to identify any answers left blank (Figure 3). This requires a bit of extra time and can increase the difficulty of grading with many students in a class, but I have decided the outcome is worth the effort.

These notes not only discourage students from later altering their answers but also help them learn from their mistakes. Rather than arguing with me about missed points, students now talk to me about the comments I’ve made. As I’ve used these practices for a long time now, it has become so natural that I hardly notice any extra time it may take.

Figure 3. The author’s coded markings and feedback (red pen) to student answers (gray/pencil) for different types of FRQ assessments.

Clear desks when checking answers. When returning exams to students so they can check their answers in class, I ask them to clear the desks and have no pencils or erasers on their tables. I do not let students stand up and walk around to compare their answers or to talk with each other while they have their exams. If I’m suspicious of any student having changed or manipulated answers after a test is returned, I take a photo of the student’s next graded test before handing it back for review.

Final Thoughts

Traditional in-class exams are still a widely applied assessment technique. Minimizing and discouraging cheating during these written exams is crucial for creating fair learning environments while building higher trust for the education system and for stronger academic learning.

In their study, “Why Do College Students Cheat?” researchers Simkin and McLeod concluded that “the presence of a ‘moral anchor’ such as an ethical professor” was the most important factor among students that were categorized as non-cheaters.²

My goal is to be that moral anchor for my students. I also hope that this article can inspire other teachers to stay vigilant in combatting academic dishonesty. It can be difficult and frustrating, but I believe the potential outcome is worth the fight.

References

¹Gabriela Novak, “Cheating in High School Statistics,” WorldMetrics, Feb. 12, 2026, https://worldmetrics.org/cheating-in-high-school-statistics/

²M.G. Simkin and A. McLeod, “Why Do College Students Cheat?” Journal of Business Ethics 94 (2010): 441-453, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-009-0275-x