Diana At the Crossroad: Cheater Cheater Prahok Eater

In light of this week’s semester exams (the Khmer version of midterms) I’ll tell you a little bit about testing in Cambodia. Cheating is an inherent part of any student’s test taking. Cheating is not something that Cambodian teachers waste their times trying to control.

Tests are not an individual quest as they are in America. At the very least, they are partner missions, if not more. A classroom taking a test is not silent. At any given moment, there will be one student whining to the teacher about how hard the test is, and at least 4 or 5 students flat out having a conversation about the questions and answers. Students in the upper grades sit at 2 person desks. So those students will be cuddled together, working on their tests together. (yes, I really mean CUDDLED together). Sometimes one student will write an answer, and just give their test paper to their friend to copy. Other times, they will just discuss what they should put.

The above description is actually a test taken in MY classroom. Meaning, I control the cheating a lot more than Khmer teachers. In their classes, it is even more allowed. Students in the back of the room will ask the smartest kid in the class “what’s the answer to number four” way from the back of the room. And that smart kid will shout the answer back, or even just pass around their paper to copy. Other students will just have their textbooks and notebooks open, trying to find the answers within. Some students will even just skip asking the students, and will ask the teacher for the answer, or at least a hint.

When I am proctoring an exam, you will hear a constant stream of words like “don’t help, don’t cry, and don’t crow like a rooster” coming from my mouth. Mostly I use those because I always forget the Khmer word for ‘cheat.’

My students now know that I will not allow them to cheat, so they are sort of learning to be sneakier about it (which before was not the case). Once I walked past a student who was copying answers from a sheet of paper. I assumed it was his notes from a previous lesson, so I gave him the stink eye and he sheepishly put it under his desk. I walked by him again a minute later when he wasn’t paying attention and it was out again. I took it, and realized that it was an answer sheet that a student in another one of my classes gave him. I was so shocked! And slightly impressed. He would have been in so much trouble if he was in America. But he’s not in America, and the only thing I can do is laugh it off.

There are some volunteers who have successfully stamped out cheating from their classrooms. They have employed American techniques such as “for every time you are caught talking or cheating, that is one point off your grade.” I thought about doing that, but I decided against it. I feel it would be wasting my energy in that I would be the only teacher in the whole school enforcing a no cheating rule. That’s not going to accomplish anything except giving me a headache. So during testing, I control what I can, and I admit to letting some things slide.

Midterms are taking place over the course of 3 days this week. Monday-Wednesday. Today is Wednesday. I am not involved in the midterms. All teachers are called to proctor the exams, but I have been excused of this responsibility. Cheating is going to be happening in these tests. Cheating even happens during national exams. Imagine students sharing answers out loud during an SAT in America. Well that’s what happens here. And in Cambodia, a student’s academic future relies ENTIRELY on the results of the national exam. A good grade will get the student a spot in a university, and possibly even a scholarship. But honestly if you think about it, if every single student in Cambodia is cheating, isn’t that less unfair than if only some are? My point is, if I were to get myself involved in big exams like these, I would want to control the cheating. However, that might be hurting my students’ chances in getting into university. So in conclusion, I have no problem proctoring the monthly exams that I make, but I think bigger tests are a part of Cambodian education I should steer clear from. At least for now.

In other news, it’s been a rough couple of days, mixed in with moments of success and excitement. Things at site are mostly wonderful. Things are coming along nicely. The things that get me through day to day are the people here at site. My family. My sister. My brother. My students. Even my co-teachers. Among these people are my best friends. They don’t even know it, but they’ve been here for me in a time where I’ve lost a little bit of faith in friendship.