Cheating: A Growing Epidemic for High School Students
A common misconception about high school students is that every one of them has cheated at least once. Whether it is on a test, quiz, or homework assignment, I agree that cheating and plagiarism is a serious issue, but honesty and hard work still exist, although you may have to look deep into the populous of an average high school system to find it.
I define cheating not only as copying another person’s work or ideas too closely, but also as openly letting someone else copy your own. When my roommate offered to do my laundry in return for me doing his math homework, I was flattered, but I decided that maintaining my academic integrity was more important then wearing dirty, smelling clothing.
I, myself, have never cheated or plagiarized. Although I realize this blog is being written for school, I would not lower myself to that level of ironic hypocrisy by lying about this fact just to earn a little brown on my nose. Furthermore, by never cheating or plagiarizing myself, I have single-handedly disproved the common myth that all high school students have no academic integrity.
A few years ago in high school, my AP Biology teacher conducted an experiment with his freshman and sophomore chemistry class. He asked them to memorize the first sixty elements on the periodic table in one night; he told them that there would be a test the next day worth about fifteen percent of their class grade. After giving them the test, he suddenly walked out of the room and returned about ten minutes later to find that most of them had finished the test. The average grade was ninety-five percent. Later that day, he gave them a significantly easier version of the same test but monitored the students closely to ensure that no cheating would occur. It did not, but the average grade on this exam was less than fifty percent. I found this statistic startling, as it showed that most of the high school freshman and sophomores in the chemistry class had cheated on the test. However, there was some hope, as three out of the thirty students scored over ninety-five percent on the second.
What can be done about this? If there is little to no academic integrity in high school, how can it be developed in college? Rarely is it without proper enforcement. Whether it is through strict discipline or entire classes dedicated to the ethics of academic integrity, some action must be taken by high schools to prevent habits of dishonesty and cheating, or it will surely carry over into college. One method of eliminating the copying of homework or tests could be the use of writing, because it is completely obvious if a student has copied another’s work if it was a writing assignment. Every class in a high school should make writing a regular assignment, not only to get students in a habit of not plagiarizing but also to become better writers.
I firmly believe that without academic integrity in the high school classroom, the student will not succeed to his or her fullest potential in college, as they will not have the basis for honest learning. Students who do cheat on a regular basis are only hurting themselves, as when it is time for them to express their ideas in a writing assignment, they will not be able to entertain their own ideas and creativity.
Comments
Posted by: Ty Taylor
Posted on: August 30, 2007 04:52 PM
This article has changed my life and the way that I few the world. You, sir, are a modern genius.
Posted by: franco
Posted on: September 1, 2007 09:09 PM
Good to see that you think so highly of yourself!
I totally agree that cheating keeps students from ever reaching their full potential. It also keeps the cheater's classmates from reaching their full potential too!