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From: ruffwork@orstcs.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: Cheating on Programming Assignments
Message-ID: <246600001@orstcs>
Date: Wed, 1-Apr-87 11:04:00 EST
Article-I.D.: orstcs.246600001
Posted: Wed Apr  1 11:04:00 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 5-Apr-87 00:47:52 EST
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Nf-From: orstcs.cs.ORST.EDU!ruffwork    Apr  1 08:04:00 1987


I have also graded many programs and the classic "fake your output"
problem has bothered me also.  Several times I have caught people
handing in output and listing that are inconsistent (e.g. print
statements in the code but the output doesn't match what the
statement would have printed).

One solution is going to get easier as we get more computer
networks.  Several lisp classes I have taken required that you
submit your program online, and that it handle a predefined
(and very complete) data set.  The prof. would then run every
program through an automatic grading function that would verify
output and dump anomilities and all program commnets to the screen.
This allows you to skip over uninteresting cases, and by looking
at comments only you see the logic behind the program (if you
can't you didn't get a very good grade...).  The problem with
this is it requires MUCH more time on the prof's part to
design good assignments (of course we ALWAYS do this anyway :-).

With networked computers students could do their work, then
mail it to the prof/grader.  It would be run, and hand inspected
to verify that it wasn't just a big if/then/else clause (that
ONLY handled the data set and printed out the proper answers
for it).  Corrected papers would be mailed back to students.

--ritchey ruff
  (ruffwork%oregon-state@csnet-relay)
  Home for the Artificially Intelligent