Cheating in Education Janai Anderson

Janai Anderson

Focused Inquiry II

Dr. Jason Corner

November 16^th ,2016

For decades there have been many questions posed on why people cheat while in school and exactly how did they develop these unethical traits? From primary school to the professional levels of education, we have seen countless acts of academic malpractice, not only in our school systems but throughout every branch of our society whether it is conducted by both the students and the teachers. There are many reasons why people fall to the pressure of cheating such as wanting to succeed in class and earn that confidence in the grades that they did not receive, maybe it is to reach the set quota, or simply because our society now is too lazy to actually comprehend the assignments at task. Many authors have taken the time to effectively evaluate other’s stories behind their cheating situations and the basic ethics behind it. And as each author presents a question, there are multiple answers that follow allowing great detail in why cheating has been the number one concern across the country affecting the integrity of our school systems.

In today’s educational society, one question that is frequently asked is why students and staff feel the need to cheat. Rachel Aviv, author of the article “Wrong Answer”, focused on the story behind the Atlanta Public Schools system as they were involved in a city wide cheating scandal in which the teachers where the main problem as they committed an unethical action by erasing and correcting student’s answers on their standardized test. Parks Middle School has been known for its struggle to stay open in the poor neighborhood that it resides in and because of that the main reason behind this cheating scandal was to help those student pass their standardized test. They stated that it was to help the students to excel to the next grade level but in reality it was done to meet their quota (Aviv,2016,p.51). Author Jessica Lahey’s article was centered on a valedictorian who cheated throughout his entire four years in high school. He stated that he cheated in order to show that he could master the subject and to prove that he was smarter than those around him (Lahey,2013). In addition, other author’s such as Arthur Harkins, George Kubik, and Kristin Finn all said that many students cheat for all the same reasons in order to fulfill their desire to succeed in school and to avoid the work given to them so they use outside sources as guidance.

In different situations, students and teachers use different methods in order to cheat. Rachel Aviv stated that Mr. Lewis and other Parks Middle School teachers would obtain the grade scheme for the student’s test a couple days before and would erase their answers according to the grade scheme or they would just provide the students with information a day before the test in order for them to prepare for what is ahead of them (Aviv,2016,p.56). In Lahey’s article she stated that student’s would copy each other’s classwork and homework in order to earn the grades they believed they truly deserved (Lahey,2013). While Harkins and Kubik (2010) stated that through the advancement of technologies students could easily use these as assistants in their scandalous works. And lastly author Kristin Finn too stated that through technology such as cell phones and their constant usage during class they were able to take advantage of this and use it for their own goods.

Since there are numerous cheating scandals being developed, the real question behind it is what benefits come with cheating and how did they help them in their situations. In Aviv’s article it showed that by the teachers correcting the student’s answers on their test the student’s overall performance rate rose through the data collected. Because of their actions, the teachers benefitted off of this tremendously as they earned bonuses for giving Parks Middle School the opportunity to compete with other public schools in the area and showing that it is indeed possible to see poverty stricken students succeed. In Lahey’s case, the valedictorian she interviewed was accepted into many prestigious universities, was an AP Scholar, and was a member of the school’s honor society all because he felt that it was ethical to commit academic malpractice in order to receive the education that he “truly deserved” (Lahey,2013). Kristin Finn found that the student’s grades began to rise consistently since they began cheating. And lastly Harkins and Kubik stated that the students began to gain self-confidence as they overcame the system and got away with committing academic malpractice.

Although there are many benefits that come from cheating, there are also plenty cons to follow behind it. Jessica Lahey (2013) stated that because of the cheating scandal, the valedictorian had to admit about his wrong doings causing a bad name for himself and the school and he took the wrong route to earn praise from his fellow peers and instructors. In Rachel Aviv’s, “Wrong Answer”, many students were not able to see their true progression in their academic fields and a countless number of teachers lost their jobs because of their senseless and selfish acts (Aviv,2016). Harkins and Kubik also argued that because many classrooms are leaving the traditional settings that helped students learn effectively, they were not able to see their full potential in the classroom setting (Harkins & Kubik,2010). While Kristin Finn stated that the student’s self-esteem dropped because of their wrong doings but they could not stop cheating because it became a part of their daily lifestyle (Finn & Frone, 2004)

Altogether cheating in education has always been up for discussion as there have been numerous instances that have occurred in our society regarding the integrity of the student’s work and whether teacher’s are playing their parts as well. Many state that since the introduction of technology and fast learning appliances and techniques, it has aided the students tremendously in their horrid behaviors. But it ultimately hinders the students as it does not allow them to strive for success by their own means and also does not allow them to truly value their education as they begin to take the easy route out. Cheating can also follow them as it becomes a never ending task as it can occur in many places beyond the walls of the school, which may bring harsh consequences to them as they grow older. Through the different questions presented and the background and in depth details from the author, it allowed one to carefully access cheating in education and possibly may bring light to a situation such as this to hopefully bring back the traditional learning environment to our schools nationwide.

Reference Page

Aviv, R. (2016). Wrong Answer. In Focused Inquiry Textbook Committee (eds.), True

Stories, Narrative, & Understanding. (pp.50-65). Plymouth & MacMillan

Finn, K.V. & Frone, M.R. (2004). Academic Performance and Cheating; Moderating Role of

School Identification and Self-Efficacy. Journal of Educational Research. 97(3) (pp.115- 122).

Harkins, A.M & Kubik, G. H. (2010).”Ethical” Cheating in Formal Education. On the Horizon.