Bullying Scandal From The Air Force Academy

Cheating has become very normal to students on tests or quizzes. Students don’t consider the consequences of cheating on a test (Source A). If you just walked into a classroom, most probably you would see students cheating on their classwork or quizzes. Measures should be taken to reduce the amount of cheating on tests or quizzes

Special Millennium Issue/Education: The New Morality: Welcome to the Evil House of Cheat: Large-Scale Testing and the Growing

A study done in Source E shows that there are only eight percent of students that would turn in a fellow student for cheating. If that sort of dishonesty becomes rampant in a school, the honor codes can no longer be upheld properly. The honesty of students is key to the success of honor codes. If a student is dishonest about the misbehavior of another student, then the honor code goes to waste, because now the cheating has not been taken care of by the justice of the honor system. There is no foreseeable remedy for such behavior, and there will always be a “bad apple to ruin the bunch.”

The Department of Education concludes that high-stakes testing and statewide standards puts too strain on both the teacher and student. Multiple studies show evidence of miscalculation of scores, teachers being blamed for low test score, and too much time spent on preparation for the tests. The purpose of this policy brief is to elaborate on the non-beneficial components of high-stakes testing and statewide standards. Thus, peer-reviewed research articles and evidential articles are reviewed on high-stakes testing and statewide standards. In addition, the state of Florida has shown the greatest amount of dissatisfied outcomes. The information provided in this policy brief will precisely indicate why high-stakes testing and statewide standards should be abandoned from the school system. I request the action of Congress to outlaw high-stakes testing and statewide standards for the betterment of all National citizens by passing a new law to force states away from standardized testing.

After the implementation of the “No Child Left Behind Act” high risk standardized testing has become a pressure cooker of corruption in the United States due to often unrealistic expectations, abundant incentives, and harsh punishments placed upon educators and administrators, overall resulting in the essential need for reform. The concept that every student’s academic ability can be assessed by a single universal exam is a misguided notion.

Another theme presented in multiple articles was a rise in cheating. Source number one, “Do Standardized Tests Show an Accurate View of Students’ Abilities”, believes that because the push to do well on standardized tests is such a priority, “some institutions consider cheating” (Concordia University). Source number two, “Is the Use of Standardized Test Improving Education in America,” disagrees, explaining that cheating by administrators and students is not an issue, and not a reason to terminate standardized testing. This source also clarifies that “[i]t is likely that some cheating occurs, but some people cheat on their tax returns also, and the solution is not to abolish taxation” (Standardized Tests - ProCon.org). Source number three, “Test Our Children Well”, proposes a solution that by using the “testing effect”, “teachers could develop new tests questions each week for each class…” (Emanuel 10) and by doing so, will eliminate the opportunity for student to cheat on exams.

Not only does the enforcement of an honor code influence if someone will cheat but it also makes it socially unacceptable to the students. Some may even “ be embarrassed to have other students find out they were cheating.” (Source F). Not realizing, the students are also enforcing the Honor code once it becomes unacceptable, creating a class that honors integrity.

It is proven that the honor code doesn't always work in full effect.Things Don't usually work in full effect at Rockville High school unless there are follow up consequences. Dirmeyer and Cartwright take their position on the topic stating , “our honor code is strictly enforced,and the enforcement is handled by an all-student court.Students convicted of lying or cheating can expect to receive punishment ranging from suspension to exclusion.”(Source C).Rockville high school administration can always revise this rule.Instead of students being suspended for cheating and lying there could be a different punishment. Let's face it,nobody likes to feel like a complete prisoner.It wouldn't hurt for the administers to take action by grabbing ideas

The one part of the honor code that was a staple of controversy was the end that says no cadet will tolerate any action that violates the honor code. This implied that if you knew anything about a violation that you were just as liable as the offender himself. This part of the code was troubling for many considering you were dealing with comrades who were training next to you in close quarters and with serious future implications. This can be a very precarious situation for many and by holding students to it can promote more honor code violations. The problem here is the fact that anyone can make mistakes and in the situations involving the honor code West Point has taken the honor out of supporting your comrades as well as the honor of admitting to your mistakes. They have done this by issuing expulsion to all violators. It can be said that someone who can admit to their mistakes knowing the consequences that will ensue is of a stronger moral background than one who may not violate the code in the first place or someone who does not get caught. (Note: the current honor code allows for reacceptance to the academy after violations and

In April of 1976 it was found that there was a possibility that over half of the junior class at West Point Academy had violated the West Point honor code by cheating on a case assignment. The honor code states "A cadet will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate those who do." This was by far the largest violation of the honor code in West Point history and presented some unusual challenges to the administration. As the year dragged on it was found that more and more students possibly had cheated on the assignment and was also becoming a public relations nightmare in the press and internally to the Army branch of the United States military.

The Washington Post published the story “2015 Superintendent of the Year: High-stakes testing is the ‘fool’s gold’ of accountability” by Valerie Strauss on August 27 about one superintendent’s discontent with constant “high stakes testing”. Strauss was covering the story of man who was named the “2015 American Association of School Administrators National Superintendent of the Year”, Philip D. Lanoue who is the superintendent of the Clarke County School District in Georgia, which is one of the most impecunious districts in the state. Lanoue believes that the constant pattern of standardized testing in schools is completely different from what he refers to as actual “meaningful assessment” and considers the tests to be unbeneficial for students.

Neil Tyson said, “When students cheat on exams, it’s because our School System values grades more than our Students value learning,” (Tyson, 2013) but who is to blame when teachers are caught cheating? The stress of performing well on standardized-testing is burdening. Performance, along with other factors, led to the Atlantic Public Schools cheating scandal, in which 44 schools altered their students’ scores and damaged their future academic success.

When implemented and data gathered correctly, in the best circumstance, standardized tests can reflect the teacher’s ability to teach. Their knowledge and ability to relate said knowledge can be effectively measured, by the scores of their students. As written by Grant Wiggins, about the proper use of standardized test, “reform of testing depends, however, on teachers’ recognizing that standardized testing evolved and proliferated because the school transcript became untrustworthy,“ (Wiggins 354). In this Wiggins describes how the modern tests developed because of a lack of trust. Teacher dishonestly turned in altered grades, for students, to fake successful teaching and learning. Because of this, these tests depict the students’ true knowledge learned. Another factor that promotes standardized test, is, as written by Wiggins “rather than seeing tests as after-the-fact devices for checking up on what students have learned, we should see them as instructional,” (Wiggins 354). By this Wiggins suggests that such

“ When Students cheat on exams it’s because our school system values grades more than students value learning - Neil Degrasse Tyson.” Cheating in school happens everyday around the world. This can be prevented by getting rid of tests, making class lectures more understable and fun, and also shortening the amount of homework students get.

In our Military Academies, honor codes are drilled into the heads of every cadet, midshipman and airman. This environment encourages fierce competition to achieve success in complex situations that are designed to eliminate even the best and brightest candidates. These military institutions pride themselves on maintaining strict honor codes that have been the cornerstones of integrity throughout time. But the demand to excel becomes the very tool that encourages the do anything to achieve mentality. Repeated incidents of cheating from 1976 through 2012, at every prestigious military academy, reinforce this contradiction of morality versus success in our society.