This isn't cheating if they simply memorize questions; and they have every right to. If this is cheating, then what do you call this....
Hi all, I am a pharmacy student but nevertheless, the type of professional field is not important in this case. A couple of points.
1--I never thought one would get caught cheating for this. I remember once discussing this w/ my friend, who has an absolutely sharp memory for remembering specific questions & question # from the exam (she'll be like "what did you get for #27?" and I'll be like uh, give me the context of the quesiton, I don't remember question #s.") I was like "girl, w/ t hat kind of memory, you should just go straight to the computer after the exam and type out all the questions you can remember for next year's class." Who knew it'd be cheating. I still don't think it is. I just thought it was cool b/c she had a sharp memory and it'd be a nice gift to someone else.
2--yes, i agree with you that I don't think it's cheating. we have a right to memorize the questions. I paid to go to the school to take the test and I believe by my 1st amendment that after the exam the info that went into my brain (test q uestions and answer choices) is my property and I should be able to use my freedom of speech to do what I want w/ it. I believe my 1st amendment allows for this?? having said this, recently (maybe 2 yrs ago), a CA pharmacist had his license revoked because he (Cody Morris, I think), who ran a Board of Pharmacy test review, asked all his students to memorize as many questions as possible and then tell him so he could have a bank of real Board questions. Well, Board of Pharmacy found out & discplined him by banning him from ever practicing pharmacy int he state of CA. this is pretty bull$hit, I must say (see b ullet point 5 for more details). Yeah, i agree, as a pharamcist, you must really know your $hit and should not cheat. I am cool w/ that. But dude, each test taker is a citizen of the US and we are entitled to free speech (including transmitting test questions from the paper to our eyes to our brains to someone else).
3--yes, from a
public's point of view, I agree, i'd want my dentist, pharamcist, physician, optometrist who's working on ME to know his/her $hit before I trust them with my health.
4--However, if anyone's studied off of old exams, one doesn't just memorize the answers but actually works thru them (w/ friends) and try to reason out why the correct answers are correct and the incorrect answers are incorrect. (addressing the administrators' concern and reason for being against old exams)--hell, I bet when they were students, they, at one point in their life, also turned to old exams.
5--From a
student's point of view, I think much of a student's school behavior is reflective of his/her professor's teaching behavior. I don't care if the prof is some world renowned professor--if they're going to be lazy @$$holes and tap into their test bank of questions instead of using their brain cells to come up w/ questions (and students will know that by the kind of response the prof gives to students who ask for old exam questions as samples), their behavior merely suggests to students s/he doesn't care so why should the student? I don't buy that bull$hit about how "it is really hard to come up with really good questions to truly test students' knowledge and that is why we recycle questions." bull****--if you're such a great professor and are so smart (much smarter than I, the student), you are clearly capable of coming up with additional "great questions" and if it's because you don't have enough hours in the day between your busy schedule & work/school, well, welcome to our (students') life.
The end.
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