It's safe to say these students thought they had hit the jackpot when their teacher accidentally published the exam answers—however, all wasn't as it seemed.
It turns out the freshman teacher Fern (@fer.saray) was pranking her 9th-grade class and, as a caption over a TikTok recapping the prank states, "many fell for it."
Racking up over one million views and almost 69,000 likes, the TikTok shows a laptop screen and many documents. One is titled: "Final Exam Answers DON'T PUBLISH." However, when she clicks on the link, it has a photo of a dog who appears to be smirking.
"I told them after the exam that I could see. It was hilarious!" wrote the California-based teacher in the comments.
It seems many of the students were willing to cheat. This isn't unusual according to research conducted by Dr. Donald McCabe, one of the International Center of Academic Integrity (ICAI) founders, who has studied academic honesty since 1990.
In 2020, McCabe surveyed more than 70,000 high school students across 24 high schools in the United States. The findings revealed that 64 percent of students admitted to cheating on a test, 58 percent confessed to plagiarism, and 95 percent acknowledged engaging in some form of cheating, including test cheating, plagiarism, or copying homework.
However, this isn't the case for everyone, according to the comments.
"I'll admit that I'd be the one to not open it and tell you that you accidentally put the answers up," said one user.
"I'd panic that I have access to the answers and might get done for [plagiarism] and cheating and spend the entirety of the exam stressing about it," said another.
While some users believe the teacher should have pushed the prank even further.
A third commenter said: "I would've put incorrect answers. Their fault for blindly trusting u even if it goes against their logic."
Newsweek previously spoke to another high school teacher who explained she isn't surprised when pupils cheat.
She explained that students "always copy" and now she has gotten used to it, whereas she found it "upsetting" during the first year of her career.
McCabe also wrote an article published on The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) website. It highlights how cheating has increased in the last few decades—most likely because of the internet.
He suggests that fostering a culture of academic integrity through honor codes, clear standards, and open discussions can reduce cheating. Teachers and schools must lead this effort, supported by parents emphasizing the importance of honesty.
Newsweek reached out to @fer.saray for comment via email. We could not verify the details of the case.
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About the writer
Lucy Notarantonio is Newsweek's Senior Lifestyle and Trends Reporter, based in Birmingham, UK. Her focus is trending stories and human ... Read more
