test bank questions

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Any one know if using test bank questions with rationales to study for exams is cheating? Someone in my class bought the test bank questions for our book and some are studying them and doing better than before. I haven't done it because I don't know if it's legit.

My friend reported a classmate of ours. The school did nothing. They said it's not cheating and that if he were to be using the test bank AS he was taking the test, then yes that would be cheating. And every test he makes 90's or more. Makes me sick to my stomach but oh well.

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Moogie said:
I'm not sure the student who gets access to a test bank is going to memorize every single question.

Actually it is possible. In A&P 1 and 2 (I had the same instructor for both) we only had two tests, midterm and final. They were both taken from the homework (about 7 chapters per test, average of 50-60 questions each) which were a combo of true and false and multiple choice online. I aced all four tests by memorizing all of the homework questions. You may be able to argue that I actually learned the content, to which I would say it could be either way, but it would be hard to prove which was correct.

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Specializes in Forensic Psych.
\ said:
Actually it is possible. In A&P 1 and 2 (I had the same instructor for both) we only had two tests midterm and final. They were both taken from the homework (about 7 chapters per test, average of 50-60 questions each) which were a combo of true and false and multiple choice online. I aced all four tests by memorizing all of the homework questions. You may be able to argue that I actually learned the content, to which I would say it could be either way, but it would be hard to prove which was correct.[/quote']

Yeah, I could totally ace a test that way. I don't have to memorize the question - I just have to recognize enough of it and enough of the answer.

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Stephalump said:
Yeah, I could totally ace a test that way. I don't have to memorize the question - I just have to recognize enough of it and enough of the answer.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I did.

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Yeah, well, that won't work so easily when you sit NCLEX, and if you pass it, it sure as heck won't work when you have a patient in the bed in front of you. There is no substitute for learning the material.

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Someone offered me Test Bank answers and I said no because I wanted to genuinely know what is wrong with my patients and understand it completely. Then I looked up test banks and saw them for sale everywhere even from allegedly nurses. People said they were legal to buy as a study guide etc. Nope - it is infringement. Even if it isn't cheating and you buy it for a book different than your curriculum - the problem still stands that these are not to be made into digital copies and sold - that is copyright infringement.

I am really disappointed that this practice goes on so readily. When I am in the hospital - I just hope I don't get a doctor or nurse who got by on a test bank. I am also disappointed in my fellow students - now one of them is so paranoid that I will go to the dean so now she spreads rumors about me to everyone. It is making it difficult for me to focus on studies.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
\ said:
If they are just practice questions bought from the book publishers...sure it's ok. But if the teacher is getting the questions from the same bank then no it's not ok[/quote']

I think this is the most appropriate answer. :yes:

Maybe it's me, but reviewing the content material in NCLEX format (aka nursing school test format) helped me prepare for my exams for my test anxiety; of course there were questions that weren't in the review books, but I still was able to answer them correctly, because I studied the material, and reviewing questions on the content helped me apply the knowledge.

I don't see the issue getting test bank questions; most text books, IMO don't have ENOUGH questions to help with a review.

If there are recommended review books, like the Success Series, then those should be used first before "test bank questions" if that is what they are, guess I am off to investigate this...never heard of them or used them, because there are plenty of review books that have questions if one needs to review.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
Quote
Someone offered me Test Bank answers and I said no because I wanted to genuinely know what is wrong with my patients and understand it completely. Then I looked up test banks and saw them for sale everywhere even from allegedly nurses. People said they were legal to buy as a study guide etc. Nope - it is infringement. Even if it isn't cheating and you buy it for a book different than your curriculum - the problem still stands that these are not to be made into digital copies and sold - that is copyright infringement. I am really disappointed that this practice goes on so readily. When I am in the hospital - I just hope I don't get a doctor or nurse who got by on a test bank. I am also disappointed in my fellow students - now one of them is so paranoid that I will go to the dean so now she spreads rumors about me to everyone. It is making it difficult for me to focus on studies.

This is problematic; if you have proof that she is sperading rumors, you need to address this ASAP with your program head.; there is no reason why that this should be affecting your studies, especially if you were not complicit in her buying the test bank, and you certainly do not want her to say that you have it to her-nip.IT.in.the.bud...NOW.

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Specializes in PACU, pre/postoperative, ortho.

We had someone in my class who allegedly managed to get the test bank questions from an instructor she knew with one of our sister programs (they all take questions from the same test bank). Was never enough proof I guess though it was hard to ignore that this 2nd time around student with an average in the low 70's pulled a perfect score on a diabetes test. Really?! Who gets 100% on any nursing test? Needless to say, "the proof is in the pudding". Last I had heard she failed NCLEX multiple times, the only one to fail in my class.

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Ok I wanted to put my two sense. Most teachers don't look away they do change it up, but the material must be available to the student that is policy. When I was in lpn school my library had previous books which I read from and guess what boom some of the material was from those books. Using a test bank is not an easy A it's additional material to use and study. But if you save it on a cell phone or in a hat or your shoes then thats cheating if your using it to match what you've been reading then that's different to each their own. But also that's why schools have exit exams if you get through the classes cheating then there's no way you should get through the exit exams.

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I will be honest and upfront and say that I have purchased test banks.

I will tell you that I have yet to get a test with any of the questions from the test bank on them. If you are relying on them to pass a test, you will be in trouble. We were informed at the beginning of our nursing education adventure that the teachers write the majority of the their OWN questions, and don't even use the test bank.

I used the test bank as a study tool, and it did help quite a bit. I got a couple of Bs but mostly c's (when 80% or higher is passing). It was a great study tool because a lot do not come with rationales. I would answer the question, write my rationale for the question, and double check myself with the book. It actually helped me retain a lot of information because I had to rationalize the answer and explain to myself why it was either correct or incorrect. It's also good practice on how to answer questions.

Nursing is a lot of application. If you're expecting to memorize nursing, you are going into the wrong career.

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Specializes in Pharmaceutical Research, Operating Room.

There are a few students in my class who have test bank questions on a Flash drive that they pass around.....it's definitely cheating. The way I look at it, they can do whatever they feel they need to do to get through school. I don't believe any of them have a shot in h*ll of passing the NCLEX because they haven't taken the time to learn and understand the material - they just memorized questions in order to pass a test. And that's fine!!! I don't want to work with or be taken care of by nurses that cheated their way through school and have no idea how to properly take care of people....

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