article abt posting old exams online

Response to the article, “Finished With Your Exam? Good. Now Share It.” on Inside Higher Ed (http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/06/10/postyourtest):

I don’t think the creators of postyourtest.com have a defensible argument about their blatant copyright infringement. Asking students whether material is approved for posting is like asking my toddler if Daddy said he could have candy before dinner. Duh! Such third-party endorsement isn’t sufficient.

Besides the obvious legal concerns, posting test material without express permission from the author (ie, professor) is unquestionably unethical. Unless course content changes, many professors reuse some (if not all) test material in subsequent semesters. Although the site creator said that cheating is not encouraged, it’s hard to see how such action could honestly be considered otherwise.

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