Published: Fall 2022
Author: Zhang Chong (Sweet)
"I spent almost half a day creating this cheat sheet, and yet I can't guarantee it will help me on the exam," said Qu Yimeng, a junior psychology student from Wenzhou-Kean University (WKU). "I just got a B on that course; exams accounted for a large part of the grade."
While the cheat sheet is widespread at WKU, students doubt its effectiveness.
A cheat sheet, also called "crib notes," adheres to a form of examination that allows students to bring their prepared informational notes. Research conducted by Brigitte Erbe indicates that effective cheat sheets deepen learning and reduce students' anxiety during testing.
At WKU, some professors allow students to use a double-sided cheat sheet page. This is particularly popular among Business, Science, and Psychology majors. Professors typically constrain the paper size that can be used, but there are no clear instructions on the content or word count. Consequently, students handwrite or print formulas and theories they cannot remember with tiny fonts.
Cheat sheets created by a senior student over four years contain at least 1200 words each. Dense handwriting is hard for students to find the answer quickly. Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. [Photo/ Zhang Chong]
"One major problem with the cheat sheet is a mismatch of goals. The teacher's goal is for students to better draw on their knowledge, while students only utilize cheat sheets to achieve higher grades," said Chen Xi, a senior finance major who says he uses cheat sheets at least twice a semester.
Liu Xiaoyan, a business major, says that her effort and outcome are often disproportionate. "Less than 20 percent of the contents fit the exam questions," Liu said. "My grades have not improved."
Although using cheat sheets is optional, Chen said that none of his classmates were confident enough to take exams without a cheat sheet. "And when you find that others have written more than you, you panic."
Students rely a lot on cheat sheets during exams. "When you have a piece of paper that might have the right answer, you can't help but look at it from time to time," Qu said.
A junior psychology student from Wenzhou-Kean University is reviewing her cheat sheet. The sheet contains formulas, theories, and proper nouns that she cannot remember. Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022. [Photo/ Zhang Chong]
"I was significantly slower than I would have been without the sheet," Liu said. “I worried about being unable to finish all the questions."
Because most of the contents on cheat sheets are holes in students' knowledge, the notes on the cheat sheet did not stay with them after finishing the exam.
"On the contrary, if I didn't have cheat sheets, I would have done everything I could to figure out the problems before the exam," Liu said. "Because I knew that would be best."
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