PREVALENCE OF ACADEMIC CHEATING IN EXAMINATION IN

TERMS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF EXAM QUESTIONS AMONG

SELECTED SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AT UNIDA
CHRISTIAN COLLEGES FOR THE A.Y. 2019-2020

A Research Paper Presented to the Faculty of Senior High School

Unida Christian Colleges

In Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for Inquiries, Investigation, and Immersion

BARTOLOME, Phoebe

BRIONES, Cristine

CATAMIO, Elyssa Marie

CAÑEDA, Antonette

DOROLA, Arissa

GUINO-O, Eunice

MULI, Charity Joy

TRAJICO, Angela

DECEMBER 2019
 INTRODUCTION

In the advent of the twenty first century generation, one of the most disturbing and
alarming problems in education is academic dishonesty among the learners (Diego, 2017). The
University of Colorado Denver defines academic dishonesty as a student’s use of unauthorized
assistance with intent to deceive an instructor or other such person who may be assigned to
evaluate the student’s work in meeting course and degree requirements. One form of academic
dishonesty is cheating.

The University of Colorado Denver further expounded cheating as a possession,

communication, or use of information, materials, notes, study aids or other devices not
authorized by the instructor in an academic exercise, or communication with another person
during such an exercise. It occurs when a student obtains or attempts to obtain some advantage
or extra marks by any dishonest or deceptive means (Diego, 2017).

One of the most common manifestation of academic dishonesty is cheating during

examinations. Hosbeg.com defines examination as simply a spoken or written form of testing
someone’s knowledge on a particular subject or issue. Although studies have shown that
examinations remain the best way of assessing students of all levels and helping them to achieve
academic excellence, students more likely cheat in exams because some of them are afraid of
failure, aren’t confident about their ability to perform, are pressured and many other reasons.

Examinations may be composed of different types of exam questions. This includes, but
are not limited to, multiple choice questions, enumeration-type questions, true/false questions
and matching type questions. Multiple choice questions are composed of one question with
multiple possible answers, including the correct answer and several incorrect answers.
Enumeration type questions are tests in which there are two or more responses from a single item
(Badang, 2016). True/False questions are composed of a statement to which students respond to
questions by indicating whether it is true or false. Matching type questions, on the other hand are
type of exam questions to which students respond to matching questions by pairing each set of
stems with one of the choices provided on the exam.

This chapter is composed of the background of the study, Review of Related Literature,
Statement of the Problem, Scope and Delimitations, Significance of the Study and Theoretical
Framework.

Background of the Study

The Philippine school stands out as a fertile ground for the realization of values in the
individual and society in general. It is also believed to be the rightful medium through which
values are formed and reinforced. It develops the learner with norms of conduct within the
accepted standards of society. It makes the individual a consciously valuing person. (Llego et al.,
2014)

Yet, in spite of the goals of the Department of Education (DepEd) in the development of
the total human person in the context of society, values education is not doing wonders in
creating honest learners. Cheating in the classroom especially during examinations has not been
controlled or minimized. (Llego et al., 2014)

Technological advancements have made cheating easier and more prolific (McGregor &
Stuebs, 2012). “The process of how students cheat has been the topic of extensive research”
(Baker, et al., 2008, p. 28). With smartphones and other devices at their fingertips, today’s
students have easy access to quick answers and content they can reproduce for exams and papers.
Studies have also shown that technology has made cheating in school easier, more convenient,
and harder to catch than ever before.

Hence, this study supplements the established findings on academic cheating by

delineating the prevalence of academic cheating in terms of different types of exam questions
namely multiple choice questions, enumeration type questions, true/false questions and matching
type questions within the context of Senior high school learners at Unida Christian Colleges.

Review of Related Literature

Local Literature

ACADEMIC CHEATING

According to Mark Anthony Llego’s article entitled “Cheating in Schools and Colleges:
What to do about it” in spite of the goals of the Department of Education (DepED) in the
development of the total human person in the context of society, values education is not doing
wonders in creating honest learners. Cheating in the classroom especially during examinations
has not been controlled or minimized. It seems that it is a problem that has been ignored outright
and remains untackled.

MULTIPLE-CHOICE EXAM QUESTIONS

In a study entitled “Multiple-Choice Tests: Are These Really Bad?”, Multiple-choice

exams offer the advantage of not requiring so much time for grading. Marking multiple-choice
exams is likewise not subjective and can be done by a scanner or a computer. It is therefore not
surprising that multiple-choice exams are widely used for large scale testing. They further stated
that properly constructed multiple-choice practice tests can be important learning events for
students. However, achieving “proper construction” of such tests — which requires that incorrect
alternatives be plausible, but not so plausible that they are unfair — is, however, a challenge.

ENUMERATION TYPE OF EXAM QUESTIONS

According to Eman Badang in his article entitled “Objective Test Type”, enumeration
type test is an objective type test in which there are two or more responses to an item. It is said to
be one of the categories of objective test because it is defined as one for which the scoring rules
are so specific that they do not allow scorers to make subjective inferences or judgement.

TRUE/FALSE TYPE OF EXAM QUESTIONS

In Christopher Pappas’ article “True or False in eLearning: What eLearning Professionals

Should Know”, a true or false questions consist of statements that request a true or false
response. There are another variations of the true or false format as well, such as: "yes" or "no",
or "correct" or "incorrect", or "agree" or "disagree"
MATCHING TYPE OF EXAM QUESTIONS

Based on Vincent de Ocampo’s blog about “Matching type of evaluation”,matching type of

question has two columns with each concept in the other column. It measures the ability to
identify the relationship between a set of similar items, each of which has two components, such
a word and their definitions, symbols and their meanings, dates and events, causes and effects,
people and their accomplishments, problems and solution, etc.

Foreign Literature

REASONS OF ACADEMIC CHEATING

According to Andrew Simmons in Why Students Cheat—and What to Do About It ;

High-achieving students who feel pressured to attain perfection may turn to cheating as a way to
find an edge on the competition or to keep a single bad test score from sabotaging months of
hard work. At Stuyvesant, for example, students and teachers identified the cutthroat
environment as a factor in the rampant dishonesty that plagued the school (Simmons, 2018).

MULTIPLE-CHOICE EXAM QUESTIONS

iStudy.edu defines multiple-choice tests as a type of test which usually consists of a question or
statement to which you respond by selecting the best answer from among a number of choices.
Multiple-choice tests typically test what you know, whether or not you understand
(comprehension), and your ability to apply what you have learned (application). Some questions
might assess your ability to analyse or evaluate information, but these kinds of questions are
difficult to write so they aren't common on multiple-choice exams.

TRUE/FALSE TYPE OF EXAM QUESTIONS

According to Kerry Gray in “True-False Questions”,True-False test items, also referred

to as alternative-response questions, are used to assess a student's ability to determine whether a
statement is correct. For example, 'George Washington was the first President of the United
States.' Students would answer 'True' because this is a factual statement. True-False questions are
popular because of their versatility. These types of questions can be used in any content area.
MATCHING TYPE OF EXAM QUESTIONS

Kerry Gray defines Matching type questions as matching test items consisting of two lists
of items. For each item in List A, there is an item in List B that is related. Students are
responsible for finding the related pairs. Another type of matching test item is constructed
similarly to a multiple choice question, except that there may be more than one answer selected.

Statement of the Problem

The Prevalence of Academic Cheating in terms of Different Types of Exam Questions

among Selected Senior High School Students at Unida Christian Colleges for the A.Y. 2019-
2020 aims to answer the following questions:

1. What is the demographic profile of selected senior high school students in terms of:

a.) Sex?

b.) Age?

2. Is there a significant difference on the prevalence of cheating in terms of different types

of exam questions when grouped according to:

a.) Sex?

b.) Age?

3. Is there a significant difference on the prevalence of cheating in terms of different types

of exam questions namely:

a.) Multiple-choice questions?

b.) Enumeration-type questions?

c.) True/False questions?

d.) Matching-type questions?

e.) Identification-type questions?

f.) Essay-type?
g.) Fill in the blanks-type questions?

h.) Comparison-type questions?

Scope and Delimitations of the Study

The present study will only be conducted within Unida Christian Colleges specifically
among selected senior high school students who were enrolled in the current academic year.
Moreover, the study will primarily focus on the prevalence of cheating in terms of different types
of exam questions. However, these type of exam questions are limited and were particularly
chosen based on the most common composition of exam questions on the said institution.

The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of academic cheating in exams in
terms of multiple choice questions, enumeration type questions, true/false questions, matching
type questions, . Hence, factors, effects, practices and other facets of cheating from established
findings will be included as additional sources and basis for the present research.

Significance of the Study

Cheating on examinations in academic institutions is a worldwide issue (Berhan &

Desalegn, 2014). Thus, cheating is considered as one of the forms of academic dishonesty that
has become one of the biggest concerns of educational institutions and an issue that needs to be
resolved. Conducting this study would benefit the following:

To the students. This will provide a deeper understanding to the students on the concept of
academic cheating and how engaging in this kind of act might lead them to confront undesirable
consequences.

To the school administrators. This study would serve as a basis for future pedagogical plans of
the school administrators for appropriate actions to be done in order to diminish the act of
cheating and to let complete and balanced education come into being.

To future researchers. This study could be an additional source for future research regarding
the prevalence of academic cheating among the students.
Theoretical Framework

The study is supported from The Theory of Planned Behaviour proposed by Fishbein and
Ajzen (1980) which outlines the factors that contribute to an individual’s decision to behave in a
certain way. The theory of planned behaviour is derived from the theory of reasoned action
(Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975). The theory of reasoned action postulates the intention to behave in a
specific manner result from attitudes towards that behaviour and from subjective norms i.e from
assumptions regarding the manner in which others will respond to one’s behaviour.

Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour extends these two influences to three factors and
argues that behaviours undertaken by an individual are determined by: attitudes toward the
behaviour, subjective norms related to the attitudes of those around us and the perceived control
over that behaviour. Attitudes toward a specific behaviour personally held beliefs concerning
that behaviour and its implications. For example, if a student has a positive appraisals of
dishonest academic behaviour, such as cheating, it could also predict a dishonest behaviour of
that student.

Subjective norms, on the other hand, result from socially determined ways in which a
given behaviour is construed, which provide an indication of whether referent others might view
it as appropriate or inappropriate (Mello et al.,2015). In the case of cheating, the extent to which
an individual believes his/her peers are agreeable to, or engage in that behavior constitutes a
precursor to behavioral intent.

Perceived behavioural control concerns the subjective appraisal of the level of difficulty
associated with performing a given behaviour (Ajzen,1991). For example, when the individual
perceives the behaviour is challenging, or when they significant obstacles to its enactment, the
low perceived control of behaviour may become a significant factor dissuading them from
undertaking that behaviour, even if their attitudes towards the behaviour and subjective norms
are strongly supportive of it (Mello et al., 2015)

METHODOLOGY
Research design:

This study used descriptive survey design. A survey is used to collect original data for
describing a population too large to observe directly (Mouton 1996:232). A survey obtains
information from a sample of people by means of self-report, that is, the people respond to a
series of question posed by investigator (Polt&Hungler 1993:148).

A descriptive research was selected because if provides an accurate portrayal or account

of the characteristics, for example behaviour, opnions, abilities, beliefs, and knowledge of a
parcticular individual a survey group. This design was chosen to meet the objectives of the study,
namely to determine the prevalance of academic cheating in terms of different types of exam
questions.

Research locale:

The study will be conducted at Unida christian colleges which fall under Imus City Cavite.
The institute currently offers Senior high school to which the students enrolled will serve as
respondents of the said study

Research Participants

In this research, the participants are randomly selected senior high students at Unida
Christian Colleges for the A.Y of 2019-2020. The corresponding students are the basis in
gathering information about the data being studied.

Sampling Procedure

The researchers will use simple random sampling to conduct the survey to the selected
students. Simple random sampling refers to any sampling method that has the following
properties. There are many ways to obtain a simple random sample.

Formula:

N = N / (1 + Ne^2)
Where:

N = number of samples

N = total population (1774)

E = error tolerance (0.05)

Research Instrument

In this study the information was collected through self-administered questionnaires

distributed personally to the subject by the researcher. To gather data or information, the
researchers will use survey questionnaires.

Survey questionnaires is a set of printed or written questions with a choice of answers,

devised for the purposes of a survey. The survey questionnaire is a type of data gathering method
that is utilized to collect, measure, analyze and interpret the different views of a group of people
from a particular population. Research instruments can be study, tests, surveys, scales,
questionnaires, or even checklists. The researchers will involve the process of multiple choice
questions with the choices of 1 (Yes ) 2 (probably yes) 3 (no) 4 ( probably no) in every
questions or statements. Thus will serve as concrete data for gathering the information needed.

Data gathering procedure

After the validation of the instrument, the researchers will get permission from the
teachers to set a specific schedule to administer the questionnaires in the selected senior high
school students of Unida Christian Colleges.

After given permission, the researchers explained the purposed of the study to the
selected respondents. The researchers collected the data by means of survey questionnaire that
comprises their age, gender and year level.

Data analysis
 The study will apply the descriptive analysis to determine the prevalence of cheating in
terms of different types of exam questions. Descriptive Analysis is an important first step for
conducting statistical analysis. It gives you an idea of distribution of your data (Dhand, 2016). To
be able to compute this, the researcher will use Microsoft Office Excel 2014.

Questions:
1. Do students copy each others work?
•Yes
•Probably Yes
•No
•Probably No

2. Would you use a cheat sheet during a test?

•Yes
•Probably Yes
•No
•Probably No

3. Would you avoid taking a test you haven’t prepared for?

•Yes
•Probably Yes
•No
•Probably No

4. Do you or your peers have access to previous test questions/answers?

•Yes
•Probably Yes
•No
•Probably No

5) Would you avoid going to school to miss a test?

•Yes
•Probably Yes
•No
•Probably No

6. Don’t you feel guilty when you’re cheating?

•yes
•probably yes
•No
•probably no

7. Have you ever cheated in an exam?

•Yes
•Probably Yes
•No
•Probably No

8. Have you ever been caught cheating on an exam?

•Yes
•Probably Yes
•No
•Probably No
9. Aren’t you afraid of being caught by your teacher when you’re cheating?
•yes
•Probably yes
•No
• Probably no

10. Do you or your peers have access to previous test questions/answers?

 Yes
 Probably yes
 No
 Probably no