Student Cheating

Owned by Bruce Malone
Last updated: Aug 28, 2024 by Julie Cole
2 min read

District testing personnel are required to actively monitor students to ensure students are following test procedures and directions. In some cases, however, students might cheat or attempt to cheat by violating or attempting to violate test security procedures. All students are required to follow test procedures and directions and should be reminded of this responsibility. Students taking STAAR end-of-course assessments are asked to sign an honor statement. Signing the honor statement is not required, but students are still expected to follow test security procedures even if they do not sign it.

District coordinators are required to have procedures in place to prevent the use of cell phones or personal electronic devices to duplicate or capture images or recordings of secure test content during test administrations. If a student duplicates, records, electronically captures (e.g., screenshots or photographs), posts on social media, transmits, or disseminates secure test content, the TEA Student Assessment Division must be contacted immediately. Any duplicated or captured secure test content must be destroyed upon completion of the district coordinator’s investigation. In addition, any test content posted on social media must be removed.

Students must be discouraged from copying and sharing secure test content. TDS includes internal security features designed to protect the integrity of the digital testing environment and the security of the test questions. A student posting captured test content can be identified by a unique code in his or her assessment. In addition, test questions may vary across student test forms.

Students cheating or attempting to cheat on state assessments, either by providing or receiving assistance, requires action by the campus or district coordinator. After investigating the incident, if district testing personnel determine that a student has been involved in cheating or attempting to cheat on a state assessment, the district or campus coordinator must:

  • invalidate the student’s assessment as required by TAC §101.3031(a)(4) by marking the score code “O” for “Other” and indicating "Cheating" in TIDE for the corresponding assessment; and 

  • complete the Locally Determined Disciplinary Action Form to report any disciplinary action taken against students who participated in the cheating incident.

A testing incident form (for either a serious testing violation or a procedural testing irregularity) does NOT need to be submitted for students’ testing errors such as cheating. If, however, the district coordinator determines that there was a failure on the part of testing personnel to follow test administration procedures (such as inadequate monitoring), a Procedural Testing Irregularity form must be submitted. If the district coordinator determines that testing personnel were involved in student cheating, the TEA Student Assessment Division must be contacted immediately.