UK Edition
Student wins praise for outsmarting teacher with audacious exam hack
A high school student has won online praise for outsmarting his teacher with an ingenious plan he put into practice during an accounting exam.
Teacher Reb Beatty explained how he failed to specify the exact size of ‘cheat sheets’ students were allowed to bring to an exam and one individual took full advantage.
While Mr Beatty meant a 3x5 inch card, student Elijah Bowen stretched the rules by bringing in an enormous sheet that measured 3×5 feet in length.
The“audacious” hack has racked up almost 50,000 likes and shares after the teacher at Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland posted it on Facebook.
“First test day of the semester and as always, I allow a 3x5 notecard,” he explained. “Today, a student shows up with this. Sure enough, it is 3x5... feet.
“As precise as I am, apparently I never specified inches and therefore yes, it was allowed. Well played and lesson learned for me. #audacious #professorlife #accounting #winner.”
After he was criticised by some for allowing students to take a preparatory tool to the exam, he responded: “The approach is that the process itself will force the student to organise his/her thoughts, put material into terminology that he/she understands.
“It is NOT cheating, or going easy on students, or however you want to reference it. An accounting exam, designed effectively, requires application of concepts and proficiency in the material, not just regurgitating facts.”