Title :
Reuse of homework and test questions: when, why, and how to maintain security?
Author :
Gehringer, Edward F.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC, USA
Abstract :
It is always difficult to obtain good homework problems and test questions. Instructors can save time - and polish their work - by using the same questions they used before. And they would do so semester after semester, except for one obvious risk: that students would simply copy or memorize the answers rather than learning the material. This paper presents the results of a survey of hundreds of postsecondary educators. How frequently do they reuse questions, and how do they prevent students from getting advance access to the answers? How much trouble have they had with "files" kept by fraternities, sororities, and ethnic groups? Do they consider it cheating to copy or memorize answers? Has the increasing use of electronic resources made it easier or harder to maintain security? Do they typically alter their policies when they begin to put material on line? The answers to these questions can guide all of us to more realistic and secure reuse policies.
Keywords :
engineering education; ethical aspects; security; academic integrity; cheating; electronic resources; ethnic groups; examinations; fraternities; homework tests; postsecondary educators; sororities; Agricultural engineering; Computer science; Education; Educational institutions; Educational technology; Home computing; Maintenance engineering; Materials science and technology; Security; Testing;
Conference_Titel :
Frontiers in Education, 2004. FIE 2004. 34th Annual
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-8552-7
DOI :
10.1109/FIE.2004.1408702