There is a student in my nursing class who is getting 100% on almost all her med surg exams. I'm pretty sure she's cheating, but I don't know how. And I was wondering if anyone who's been through the rigors of nursing school can help me figure it out. Just for my own edification.
This student reads, writes, and speaks English horribly. I mean horribly. We had this one project on which she completely wrote the wrong things for every section. She could barely copy the English words correctly on her paper, let alone understand what they mean. In clinicals, she can't really follow directions well. She doesn't understand fully what's being said. Yet, on these really hard med surg tests where even the best students in the class who are US native speakers can't get a perfect score, she's getting a 100%. Perfect, more than once.
I believe people can get lucky or be lucky guessers. But the probability is pretty crazy for every single time. Thing is the teacher always collects the exam and the scantron after every test. No class gets to keep either. And no one knows if they got the answers right until later and then no one gets to keep the scantron.
I don't know how she's cheating, but I'm pretty sure she has to be. I caught her cheating on a pharm test. Another student was circling the answers on the test for her and then handing the test back. But I have no idea how she's doing 100% on these med surg tests.
It scares me because her performance in clinicals are alarming. I know she bribes other students to do her work, even if it's a simple project. Any smartie out there who knows how she might be pulling this off?
A buddy of mine thinks she's got to the teacher somehow...
You don't know that she is cheating on these exams. Is it fishy? Without a doubt. And I promise you that if she is as poor a student as you've painted her to be, the instructors are suspicious of her 100s already.
What you DO KNOW is she pays people to do her assignments. THAT is blatant cheating. That is something you can go to the administration with. Cheating on her exams, with absolutely nothing but conjecture, there really isn't a whole lot you can do.
LOL yeah. Cheating will only get them to NCLEX where they will fail spectacularly. Also, things will look fishy in clinicals when they have absolutely no clue about what is going on with their patients.
Maybe she has a test bank or knows where the professor gets her/his tests from. That's a possibility. I left it alone when I saw it. If I openly saw it, I'm sure my professor did too and chose to ignore it. When I expressed my frustration, just know your hard work will end up with you passing the NCLEX!
All of our tests go to the printer on campus. If you follow the test from inception to how it lands in front of you there is usually a link somewhere in the chain.
Things like this is why I tell everyone that I get zeros on all my tests.
While this all sounds suspicious, I am concerned with some of your reasoning. I wouldn't jump to conclusions about someone's ability to perform academically based on their dialect. Also, some people struggle in clinicals and do well on written exams; the hands-on learning may come at a slower pace for some. If you are certain you saw her cheat on a pharm exam, then you have a legitimate reason to report her to the SON. Your assumption that she received a 100% on her med-surg exams and is incapable of doing so without cheating is not backed by facts, so I would hesitate to make any accusations.
Have you assessed your perceptions or hatred towards this student. If the accusations are true evidence should be easy to collect.
Remember Professors are nurses with extensive nursing career they are no fools. If they are choosing to turn a blind eye by letting her progress then I would proceed with caution. It is there job to stop/ prevent unsafe students from progressing or becoming nurses not yours.
If you believe your good intentions are for patients safety then by all means go right ahead and report her.
The first thing that popped into my head when reading this was "good lord". It gets so old when someone accuses others of cheating because they got a good grade, or even a 100. We've had some students make 100's on tests when others make 50's. I, myself, have made 96's and 98's on "hard med/surg tests" when the class average was a 70somethin. It sounds like you're getting wrapped up in all the gossip and rumors and it's gonna bite you in the backside eventually. How do you know they get 100's? How do you know what they do in their clinical? How do YOU know, other than the he said she said crap? And think long and hard before you get involved in a rumor involving a teacher. Accuse a teacher of cheating, only to find out the student really does have some test taking skills....you find yourself out of the program for slander I bet. And here's another bit of advice, if you do "know" someone is cheating and don't report it, you're guilty of cheating as well. If any ONE of the people gets in trouble for knowing someone cheats and not reporting it...they'll be QUICK to say "well this person and that person, and this person knows!". And then it snowballs to where everyone who knows, is now in hot water. Mind your business, be happy someone's gettin an A...and well hell, ask the person how they get their grades? Maybe they'll share some study tips, or tutor you, or guide you to practice questions. You and the others gotta grow up a bit, no room for this gossip mess
Unless you have any actual evidence to support your allegations, I suggest you mind your own business. If this student is in fact cheating, she will either be caught at some point, fail her clinicals or eventually fail the boards. Its not your problem.
This student reads, writes, and speaks English horribly. I mean horribly. We had this one project on which she completely wrote the wrong things for every section. She could barely copy the English words correctly on her paper, let alone understand what they mean. In clinicals, she can't really follow directions well. She doesn't understand fully what's being said. Yet, on these really hard med surg tests where even the best students in the class who are US native speakers can't get a perfect score, she's getting a 100%. Perfect, more than once.
I would like to point out that just because the "cheater" in question cannot read or speak english well (sounds like she's from another country?) doesn't mean she isn't smart enough to earn 100's. One of my classmates in one of my pre-req classes is from Mexico, he came here a few years ago. He has a very, very thick accent, and when writing he often confuses his words when writing by hand (he's a business major, not nursing). For writing assignments, the teacher allows him to do his work on the computer so Microsoft Word can help him with his wording. He is also seeing a tutor to help him improve his english skills while in college. However, he has got to be the most intelligent person I've met yet. He is acing some of the highest level honors math classes in the college (in fact, he has tutored ME for my math class!), he is a psychology and sociology buff and can make your brain spin with the wealth of knowledge that he knows. But he just has a little trouble conveying it in english when speaking, and moreso when writing. But in his classes, he is a complete whiz kid.
Never judge a book by its cover. Just because she has a more difficult time conveying things in english, does not mean she isn't very intelligent when it comes to retaining and recalling information she learns in the classroom.
lifelearningrn, BSN, RN
2,622 Posts
You don't know that she is cheating on these exams. Is it fishy? Without a doubt. And I promise you that if she is as poor a student as you've painted her to be, the instructors are suspicious of her 100s already.
What you DO KNOW is she pays people to do her assignments. THAT is blatant cheating. That is something you can go to the administration with. Cheating on her exams, with absolutely nothing but conjecture, there really isn't a whole lot you can do.