We don’t condone cheating. And we aren’t gloating because Kansas State University, and not Kansas University, is the subject of the latest cheating scandal in the region.

But, for the KSU instructor of a large Introduction to Sociology class in which many students now are accused of cheating on daily exams, we have one piece of advice: “Get real.”

Here’s how the cheating allegedly occurred. The instructor had the students in her class of about 200 split into groups of five. They then took a quiz, which had both an individual component and a section in which the group discussed and arrived at an answer. The teacher then read the answers to the group and had them record their own scores on the outside of a folder, from which the instructor transferred scores into her grade book.

And guess what happened? About a month into the semester, the instructor noticed that a large number of perfect scores were being recorded for the daily quizzes. In fact, she suspected, that other students in the groups were recording scores for students who weren’t even in class that day. The students were called on to account for this circumstance individually or risk receiving a special “XF” grade. An “F” would then stay on their transcripts forever, although they could expunge the “X” by passing the university’s academic integrity class.

Of course, it’s unfortunate that some students decided to cheat on the quizzes, but what did the instructor expect? She wasn’t a psychology teacher, but one would think she would have a better grasp of human nature than to expect all of her students to be completely honest on such a loosely policed grading system.

Even those who were trying to be honest, could rationalize a few upgrades because they were “almost right” or because, “well, that’s what I meant.” Why should the students take the quizzes seriously if the teacher’s attitude on grading them was so cavalier?

The teaching method employed by the sociology professor may be a great way for students to learn by testing their knowledge on a daily basis. Their scores would be a good way to monitor their own progress and determine whether they were absorbing the material being covered. But basing anything but a tiny portion of the semester grade on such a grading system would be silly. If the teacher or her assistants didn’t have time to grade the quizzes, they shouldn’t have much impact on a student’s final grade.

It will be interesting to monitor the progress of this cheating case to see who learns the more valuable lesson, the teacher or her students.