Back in 2010, there was a story that made headlines around the world when over 200 students at the University of Central Florida were accused of cheating on a midterm. It turns out that those students had used a test bank for studying, and the professor had used the exact same test bank to create the midterm. The following 15 minute lecture by the professor where he accuses the students of cheating is definitely worth watching:
That incident brought the use of test banks to the mainstream, and there was considerable debate regarding the ethical issues around test bank usage. Did the students really cheat? Well, many schools and professors routinely provide students with past exams to help students practice, and there are no ethical issues there. In fact, using practice questions is a fantastic way to learn and master a particular subject. One could even argue that, in the case of the Florida incident, it was the professor’s own negligence that he simply copied questions from the test bank verbatim without any rewording or supplementation.
Test banks merely provide a set of questions that correspond to chapters in a textbook, so the question around cheating potentially boils down to intention. In our opinion, if a student uses a test bank to reinforce concepts and understanding of the textbook material, it is clearly not a form of cheating. However, if a student is simply memorizing questions and answers from a test bank, and hoping that the exact question shows up on a test or exam, then the student likely hasn’t learned the material and probably isn’t worthy of a passing grade.
That advantages of a test bank are numerous:
- They allow you to concentrate on specific topic or chapter so you do not waste time studying irrelevant material.
- Answering practice questions let you know where you stand, and you can keep practicing until you are familiar with the material.
- You can track your progress throughout the year, to help reinforce concepts while you learn.
The issue is clearly open to debate. What are your thoughts?