Member Avatar for John A

A school in Meridian, Idaho, is banning iPods and other digital music players during tests due to the fact that students were using them to hide answers, as one teacher overheard. The iPods in question could be loaded up with notes hidden in song lyrics, or recorded lectures stored on the hard disk of the player.

Wow -- I'm shocked. I'm not shocked at the news that students are using them to cheat during tests, that's not at all surprising. What I'm surprised at is the fact that the teachers didn't realize it was happening under their very own noses, the fact that they even allowed the usage of electronic devices during a test.

These teachers are completely naive. Anything digital can be used to cheat -- heck, even those Walkman cassette players could have been used to cheat if some smart (or should we say stupid) kid had loaded them up with pre-recorded notes onto a tape. Seriously, how much entertainment do people need these days?

During a test, there should be the bare essentials: paper, pencil, rulers/calculators (and those had better be basic ones!). If teachers think that they can let kids use digital devices during a test, it's them that need to take a reeducating lesson from teaching school.

And of course, banning digital devices won't stop the digital cheating. As one student pointed out, a cheater can simply run an earbud up their sleeve, and then lean their head down to conceal their ear. And of course kids are going to find other ways to cheat. But seriously -- the least you can do is to stop the obvious things from happening.

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This thread highlights two connected issues: preventing obvious integrity risks, and treating legitimate student needs fairly. ’s frustration about lax in‑room controls and ’s reminder that formal exam programs forbid electronics are both relevant; ’s point about studying with music raises a real accommodation question that schools should handle explicitly.

Practical steps teachers and schools can adopt right away: publish a short, clear test-day rule (what’s allowed, where devices must be left), remind students before the exam, require devices be powered off and stored out of reach or collected in labeled bins, specify an approved calculator list and inspection/reset procedure, use alternate test forms and visible seating plans, and increase roaming proctoring during high‑stakes tests. These are consistent with major testing programs’ device rules. College Board — Prohibited Devices. ACT — Test Day rules.

Do not try radio jammers or signal blockers in an effort to stop phones — operating or marketing jamming devices is unlawful under federal telecommunications law and risks severe penalties. 47 U.S.C. (statutory authority on devices that interfere with radio reception).

For digital proctoring or lockdown software, vet vendors for privacy, accessibility, and data-retention practices before use; many institutions document tradeoffs between integrity and student privacy when adopting these tools. EDUCAUSE — remote proctoring guidance.

Regarding music: evidence is mixed. Instrumental or low‑arousal background sound sometimes helps, but lyric‑heavy music often impairs complex verbal tasks, and individual differences matter. If students claim they need music to concentrate, offer documented accommodations (separate room, approved noise‑masking, or an alternative quiet policy) rather than ad hoc in‑room exemptions. Journal of Cognition review on music with lyrics. MDPI review on background music and task demands.

Quick checklist for teachers:

  • Publish and rehearse a simple device policy before each exam.
  • Collect/inspect or require out‑of‑reach storage; list permitted calculators and enforce resets.
  • Use multiple forms, visible seating, and roaming proctors for higher stakes.
  • Never use jammers; document and approve any accommodations; vet remote‑proctor vendors. AP Exam security policy — consequences for breaches.

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Member Avatar for StuntPilot

Yea... phones, ipods, mp3 players and all those things of the sort have been banned during tests here in Australia for ages now...

As a matter of fact, if you bring one into your final year 12 exam, you could face some serious charges and risk getting your results annulled.

Member Avatar for Member #356299

I will say at least for me alot of times I put music on in the background so I can study in peace (at home), so when you go into a test and don't have that "common" element it can make the test harder to concentrate on, I'm not objective to being able to listen to music while testing (I mean seriously are we going to be doing whatever they are testing us on in the real world in complete silence?), but I mean its the persons decision to cheat and I dont' think that all people are that low and would do that, we had a discussion recently in one of my classes whether it was ethical to allow Ti-89's on our tests since Ti-83's couldn't do everything they did (particularly Diff eq and Calc stuff), but we decided if you can show your work and how you did it then it's gonna be hard to show every step if you didn't actually do at least a majority of it.

just my $.02

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