Learn Dutch: Studenten worden geacht niet te spieken tijdens het tentamen. - Students are expected not to cheat during the exam.

Geacht is the past participle of the formal verb achten, which means to consider or to deem. Literally, worden geacht te means 'are considered to', but it is the standard formal way to express 'are expected to' or 'are supposed to', especially for rules and official guidelines.

Why is niet placed right before te spieken instead of earlier in the sentence?

The placement of niet changes what is being negated. Here, it negates the cheating itself: they are expected not to cheat. If you placed it earlier as worden niet geacht te spieken, it would negate the expectation: they are not expected to cheat. Putting niet right before te + infinitive specifically negates that infinitive action.

Is spieken the general word for 'to cheat' in Dutch?

No, spieken is very specific: it means cheating on a test, usually by peeking at notes or someone else's paper. If you want to talk about cheating in a broader sense, like scamming someone, you would use bedriegen. For cheating on a romantic partner, you use vreemdgaan.

Why use tentamen here instead of examen?