Who Is Josephson's Commitment To Promoting Personal Integrity

Changing Cheaters:
Promoting Integrity and
Preventing Academic Dishonesty
A Resource for Teachers, Parents, Coaches and Others Who Work With Youth

By Michael Josephson and Melissa Mertz
May 2004
Josephson Institute of Ethics
9841 Airport Blvd., #300 • Los Angeles, CA 90045
[phone] • www.charactercounts.org • www.josephsoninstitute.org
©2004 Josephson Institute of Ethics. CHARACTER COUNTS!, Pursuing Victory With Honor and the Six Pillars of Character are marks of the CHARACTER COUNTS! Coalition, a project of the Josephson Institute of Ethics.

Changing Cheaters:
Promoting Integrity and Preventing Academic Dishonesty
A Resource for Teachers, Parents, Coaches and Others Who Work With Youth

Table of Contents
Note
For example, a 2002 survey of more than 12,000 high school students by the Josephson Institute of Ethics revealed that
74 percent admitted cheating at least once in the previous year; 48 percent said they cheated two or more times in the past 12 months.
We are dedicated to assuring that our students do not demean their character, damage their credibility or jeopardize their futures by engaging in any form of academic dishonesty. To accomplish this goal, we need your support and active involvement in reinforcing the importance of academic integrity.
To that end, we are making the promotion of integrity and the prevention of cheating and plagiarism a major objective. We have included with this notice a copy of our Honor Code and some other information that may help you strengthen your son or daughter’s understanding of and commitment to these standards and the ethical values we all seek to uphold.
Disciplinary actions in response to cheating, plagiarism or any other form of academic dishonesty are serious, so please carefully read the policies and discuss any concerns you have
3) Access to New Exam. Keep the exam secure by locking it up in a drawer or cabinet. Do not leave copies of the exam lying around on your desk, on a table in front of the room, or sitting in your office mailbox. Also, do not forget the master in the photocopier. Do not leave your computer unattended while composing the exam. If the exam is to be saved on your hard drive, make sure your computer is password protected.
4) Modify Former Questions. If you intend to re-use any objective questions that you have used before, change the wording slightly and change the order of the options to foil any cheater who might try to memorize answers without understanding the question.
5) Alternate Versions. If your test includes objective questions, make at least two versions of the test, putting the questions in a different order. Distribute tests so that students sitting next to each other will have different forms of the test.
6) Alternative or Combined Exams. If you have two or more classes that will be tested at different times you must not give the same test in, say, second period as you give in fifth period. Some students will tip-off others about what is on the exam, creating an