Cheating Isn’t the Problem
Though rising cheating rates in schools have signaled for a decade that the hole in our moral ozone is getting bigger, the media seem to have just discovered that there's a problem. But the new hook they've seized upon concerns the use of high-tech tools from the Internet to cell phones.
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This drives me crazy because the more we focus on all the clever ways youngsters can cheat, the more likely we are to ignore the fact that the biggest single factor in escalating academic dishonesty is the failure of parents and teachers to diligently teach, enforce, advocate and model personal integrity. It's the adults, not the kids, who have the greatest responsibility to create an ethical culture that nurtures the virtues of honor, honesty and fairness.
One part of that responsibility is to demonstrate a commitment to the integrity of exams and grades. Thus, we can solve the problem of high-tech exam cheating by old-fashioned low-tech methods: Don't let students bring anything into the exam room that isn't essential to the test! And if calculators are really necessary, adopt a procedure that assures that students empty the device of any improper information.
There are many well-established procedures that eliminate or reduce cheating, such as having alternative forms of exams, not giving the same test at different times in the day, and assuring that the exam is proctored by an attentive adult who continuously walks among the test takers.
What message do you think schools send when these simple procedures are ignored?
The truth is we will never solve the cheating problem until those who have the opportunity to instill values and shape attitudes of young people engage in thoughtful, systematic and comprehensive efforts to promote integrity and prevent cheating.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.

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