Cheating in the Classroom

[meatballgirl]

This is a howdunit more than a whodunit.

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...

Thoughts?

[Devochka]

Being a polyglot (I speak more than 3 languages fluently), I can say this: It was always far easier for me to read the language than to speak, write, or understand it. Reading comprehension always comes first. Speaking and understanding always come last. Let's also not forget that most medical words are very close from English to other languages, as most of them come from the Latin or Greek into English and then to other languages. If she is a Spanish speaker, it will be far easier for her to understand medical words b/c Spanish is a Latin-based language. I always did better on my written tests in foreign languages when it was nice and quiet and I had time to think, rather than working in a group or on projects. You have no proof, and don't worry about it-if she is cheating, she will most likely fail her boards.

[itsnowornever, BSN, RN]

Being a polyglot (I speak more than 3 languages fluently), I can say this: It was always far easier for me to read the language than to speak, write, or understand it. Reading comprehension always comes first. Speaking and understanding always come last. Let's also not forget that most medical words are very close from English to other languages, as most of them come from the Latin or Greek into English and then to other languages. If she is a Spanish speaker, it will be far easier for her to understand medical words b/c Spanish is a Latin-based language. I always did better on my written tests in foreign languages when it was nice and quiet and I had time to think, rather than working in a group or on projects. You have no proof, and don't worry about it-if she is cheating, she will most likely fail her boards.

Ill second this. I took German in college (stupid I know, just waiting for that elusive German patient to hit the floor, then ill be a rock star!) and it was so hard to speak, I was SLOW! But on tests I would translate German to Spanish to English, and back English to Spanish to German and always did well on tests!

[Racer15, BSN, RN]

A classmate of mine was kicked out of micro during our second semester for cheating. Given a zero for the course and forced to retake it. This particular classmate ALWAYS passed classes by the skin of their teeth, and I know for a fact that they had access to test banks for our texts. The micro professor that failed this student didn't report it to the nursing program because it was actually not a class WITHIN the nursing program, and therefore, since it was a first offense, this student was let off the hook. I never said a word to anyone, because it was none of my business. Getting involved is just not a good idea unless you have ABSOLUTE IRREFUTABLE proof. Otherwise it'll bite you in the hind end. If they have cheated their way through, they will fail NCLEX. If they by some miracle pass that, they will make a lousy nurse and likely not be able to hold a job anyways.