For a little background, I am a student at a community college and the course I’m taking is Intro to Psychology.
On Friday, 2/12 was my first exam for the Spring Semester. I studied all night the night prior until 7 am and even got up at 11 am to attend a supplemental instruction review (tutoring sessions from students who’ve already taken the class) so I was bombarded with A LOT of information.
So when it got to class time, we weren’t allowed to write on our tests and we had to bring our own 882 E scantrons. When I got to questions regarding the limbic system, it was a little confusing organizing the information in my head and since I wasn’t permitted to write on our test, I wrote our notes on the back of my scantron saying “medulla-deals with alcohol poisoning, hippocampus-deals with memory”
I did this so I can make an educated guess to answer the questions. I never knew that I wasn’t allowed to write on the back of my scantron during test taking.
When I went to turn in my scantron, I told my psyc professor “I wrote notes on the back of my scantron, I hope the markings won’t count against anything when you grade the test” (not knowing if he was grading it by machine or by hand
And his response was “scofff how do i not know you didn’t write these notes BEFORE class?” and I was so shocked and didn’t know what to respond or what to say to defend myself because I wasn’t expected to get accused of cheating. He said that because I wrote notes on the back of my scantron and that I’m telling him, my scantron is now a problem and he’s not going to accept it. He made me retake the test again in a 20 minute timeframe and ripped up my first scantron in front of my face.
I KNOW for a fact I got a lower grade on my second scantron. I was so frustrated and angry that I just wanted to leave the classroom so I wasn’t even fully reading the questions. I feel embarrassed and angry. He discredited all my efforts I made to prepare for his test and accused of cheating and was treated so unfairly when I did not cheat. He was so set on his assumption that I cheated and would not hear otherwise.
I plan on talking to my counselor about this tomorrow but should I set up a meeting with the dean? I really feel like I could have gotten a higher score. I got a 78 on my test but I felt that my first scantron was worth at least an 80. There were 50 questions. I’m overall unhappy with my test score, being accused of cheating, and how disrespectful my teacher was. I pleaded my case after I handed my second scantron and he literally did not say a single word or acknowledge anything I said so I left the classroom.
I think it is good that you told the professor that you wrote on the scantron because you were honest and didn’t try to hide anything, but I think you shouldn’t have written on the scantron. The professor can’t really prove if you wrote the notes prior to the test or not, and because he has a policy of no writing on the test, he is going to be harsh on a student that does write on the test.
I would just take the 78 and never look back. I think the dean will most likely side with the professor in this case because the professor did state that nothing was to be written on the test. Some professors would be understanding and let this little incident slide, but some professors would take this opportunity to make a point, which your professor did. If he really wanted to, he could’ve given you a 0. It is a cruddy situation, but just avoid writing on the scantron in the future and take this as a learning experience.
I agree with the last poster but you also might want to meet with the professor to let him know you understand his decision but explain that you are not there to argue the score just to reinforce to him that you truly did not write the info prior to the test
Do not argue regardless of his response
Thank him for meeting with you
His opinion of you could matter at final grade time depending on your average
If he thinks you are a cheater you do not get a bump up
If he thinks of you as a responsible student you might get that letter grade bump
This seems rather dramatic on the part of the professor. If a prof did that in front me when I was a student, I would feel pretty angry too, Anyway, just take the 78 and don’t look back. I am not sure if it is of any value to meet with the prof., unless he asks to see you. But it really depends on the personality of the professor if a meeting that you request would be useful. You should see the counseling center anyway just to sort out your feelings.
On a side note, asking students to bring their own scantron sheets or blue books doesn’t seem prudent (or it may be the department/college policy). And not writing on the test itself? Are they reusing it then (saving on copying costs?)
If the prof really wanted to punish you, a report would have been filed. But it is the case that the prof has no way to know when that information was listed on the back. And students cheat in all kinds of ways. I’ve seen students hand in pre-completed and copied scans when they knew that the test was administered earlier in the day. There were multiple versions but the student figured at least one would be one that was administered earlier. The fact that it was obviously produced on a copy machine rather than filled in by the student seemed not to phase the student. Students who cheat usually do it in dumb ways. If they had the smarts to cheat smart they wouldn’t cheat at all. Your prof has an obligation to all student not to allow any conduct that could be cheating. It is not an indictment of you-the prof does not know you.
Wow - you got lucky to have a prof who would give you a second chance! What should you do about him? Go to his office, explain your reasoning once more, and thank him for letting you take the exam a second time. Consider it a lesson learned with relatively minimal consequences.
it’s tough luck that you are paying money to go to college and yet the professor can’t give you a single paper to write on at all on the test. But you have to move on from it.
This is why asking students to bring their own Scantrons to a test is silly, but that’s besides the point.
The unfortunate fact, OP, is that you created a reasonable suspicion that you cheated by bringing materials to class that you had written on. There’s no way to prove that you wrote on the test after you got there, and that is probably why he told you not to write on the test in the first place (yes, I realize that he told you not to write on the booklet and not the Scantron, but common sense would’ve had you carry that over).
Let it go. I wouldn’t go back to meet with him just to “reinforce” that you didn’t write the info prior to the test. That’s not going to make you look like a responsible student; it’s just going to make you look like a student belaboring a done deal. The best thing you can do from here on out is just be a model student and do as well as you possibly can - and follow all protocols for the tests from now on.
