Cheating Isn’t the Problem 657.2
Although 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 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. If calculators are necessary, adopt a procedure that assures that students empty the device of any improper information.
There are many well-established procedures that can 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.
What do you think of this commentary?
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Comments
This is so inspiring and touches me. Cheating is not a good thing and hurts yourself and other people, especially those special people in your life.
Posted by: Jose | February 11, 2010 10:08 AM
This is so inspiring. Cheating is not worth it, and I love how you show that in your writing. Cheating hurts you and others around you.
Posted by: Logan | February 11, 2010 10:08 AM
I think cheating is wrong. Cheating on tests is hurtful to those who worked hard.
Posted by: Richard | February 11, 2010 10:28 AM
I think that is a good idea not having students bring what they don't need for the test, but just because they have their phone doesn't mean they are always cheating. So there needs to be trust between the teachers and students.
Posted by: Heather | February 11, 2010 11:50 AM
It's true what they say about cheating. Why not have different tests given out to the students? That way they would not be tempted to look at some other test. Teachers being able be to trust their students is important.
Posted by: Yamiley | February 11, 2010 11:55 AM
Well, this article is really cool. I don't think I could agree with everything that you say, but what can i say? Everybody has their own beliefs. Yes, it's true that students are nowadays cheating in school in tests and in everything they're doing in class.
Posted by: inez | February 11, 2010 11:55 AM
This article is good because it shows how the students are cheating in school. The students are cheating more every day and it's true. I don't think it's because of the parents, though. I think it's because they don't study before they come to class or the night before. When they get to class, they feel tempted to cheat and look at other students' papers. When the time is up for the test, the student is all sad because he or she didn't finish it or they are afraid their grade on the test is going to affect their whole class grade.
Posted by: odalis | February 11, 2010 11:56 AM
Years ago when I was in the Army, one of my jobs as an NCO was to administer physical fitness tests including a two-mile timed run. I had a buddy who was taking the test and I was timing it with a stopwatch. He missed making the qualifying time by several seconds only. I could have posted the results as "pass" but did not. As a result, he had to take the entire test over again several weeks later. We both knew it was the right thing to do then. We both ended up having careers in the Army for over twenty years.
Character is what you do when no one else besides you is looking.
Posted by: Bruce | February 12, 2010 7:30 AM
Talking about cheating without understanding the reasons behind this action is not enough. It is much easier to find the cure, once the cause is known. The suggested methods to make it difficult to cheat are like a pain medicine or Band-Aid. It is not the cure.
We are successful if and only if we can teach everyone to stop cheating because we know and believe it is the wrong thing to do and nothing else matters.
Posted by: Saeed | February 12, 2010 11:11 AM
The students who cheat are the same students who lie, and I don't think it's because the teacher has failed to "create an ethical culture that nurtures the virtues of honor, honesty, and fairness." Most teachers are offended by cheating and certainly don't condone it. By the time children start formal schooling, the patterns for lying and cheating have already been set. As long as students view cheating and lying as strategies for reaching their goals, chances are they will not change their course. Some students do gain some integrity and honesty as they progress through school, but many don't see the benefits of these virtues. And it is not because teachers have not tried to instill within them these virtues. By a certain age, students know the difference between right and wrong. They are able to make their own decisions. They choose to cheat and lie because they are the easier roads to follow.
Posted by: J. Jimenez | February 12, 2010 4:27 PM
I believe there is more going on here than a failure to teach ethical behavior. We live in a society where people are afraid. The structures they have trusted are not working very well. Everyone feels driven, sometimes by factors we cannot even name. Some students are afraid to fail so they take the only route they know. We need to encourage honesty in students and in each other by providing safe places for that honesty to take place. Whatever happened to the idea that tests were learning experiences? We want a true picture of what a student knows in order to teach that student more effectively, not to embarrass or shame the student. Too many students are afraid of being caught doing something they are not supposed to do, but they do not realize that honesty benefits everyone, including them.
Posted by: Sally Scheib | February 18, 2010 3:55 PM