Consequences of Cheating in College Examinations

Cheating used to be considered an unmentionable sin. However, in this day and age, it has become more common and somewhat of a daily occurrence. Cheating is more widespread today than in the past. According to the article titled Education: The New Morality, cheating has not been an issue of values, but simply one of practicality. This shows that many view cheating as a mere occurrence and something that can often be skipped over. The reason cheating has become such a pervasive movement is because many students tend to rationalize their cheating behavior. A common rationalization that many students use is, " That 's the only way I 'll get anywhere in life." Many students also tend to incorporate reasons, such as parental pressures,

They may also cheat because of the pressure that has been put on them to succeed. Some may cheat because they are worn-out, lazy or not concerned with it. Some may because they feel flooded with all the info that our internet search engines provide them, so they feel that they really have nothing different to say. And finally some do it just to see if they can put one over on the system, the school and finally their professor. (Chace, W.M., 24)

Over the years, cheating does not carry the same stigma it used to represent. Because of competition and expectations, students are doing whatever it takes to achieve an A average. There are students who are fighting for scholarships or for the position to be on the top. Also, parents and teachers are the root cause of this matter because they have advocated the idea that high GPAs will lead to more successful futures. As a result, grades have become the main focus for most students,

As college standards increase yearly, students feel greater pressure to succeed. As a result of the rising academic expectations, cheating has become a national issue and most students have admitted to cheating at least once in their educational career. Overloaded with school work, students see cheating as an advantage and step towards academic success. Thus, cheating results from an urgency to do well in school and being overscheduled.

Cheating is the new culture, well it’s not the new culture is has been the culture. Cheating is when you be dishonest in class submitting work and answers to the professor as if they were your own. Not everyone has the same depiction of cheating. According to Rebekah Nathan, cheating has been part of the college culture for the last couple of centuries (Nathan 28). In college there is many ways to cheat. Throughout Nathan article, “The Art of College Management: Cheating”, she gives the readers a student perspective on cheating also their reasons and justifications. Not everyone feel the same way about the topic of cheating how Rebekah Nathan do. In Mathieu Bouville journal article “Why Cheating is Wrong?” he discuss the reasons why cheating is wrong also how it affects students in the long run. Cheating will become a more often thing and schools will continue to report high numbers of academic dishonesty. Keeping it part of the culture. Which is acceptable to Nathan, but she failed to layout the consequences of cheating. Throughout the four articles on cheating each author view it differently, but Rebekah Nathan article offers effective insight about the college culture and the practice of cheating.

Merriam Webster states cheating is to use unfair or dishonest methods to gain an advantage. Students who chose to cheat may get a higher grade but they do not get an overall boon. They will not gain the skills that employers assume are learned in college: how to write professionally, long term planning techniques, and time management proficiency when they use dishonorable tactics towards classwork. It is not the job of other students to police the actions of their peers, this takes time away from their own studies. Students who want to excel will put forth the effort and gain the skills they desire.

Many researchers have indicated that cheating is a serious problem on campuses (Bowers, 1964; Engler et al., 2008; Gallant, 2008; Leming, 1978; McCabe, Trevino, & Butterfield, 2001). Studies completed by Bowers (1964) and McCabe and Trevino (1996) revealed nearly identical results regarding student-cheating behavior despite the 30 year time span; both studies identified that

That reality, which shows students who want to pass on the subjects that they find difficult for them, is also another cause why they cheat on college exam. There are times that a student, no matter how hard he studies, still finds it hard to cope with lectures in a specific subject causing him to cheat during exams. A student may also be forced to cheat if there is a parental expectation regarding his grades. Another common reason why they cheat on college exam is because of the other students who also cheat, especially when they found out that the head of the class also cheats making them realize that cheating will give them better grades. If this is the case an effect would be more and more students will be attempted to cheat during exams provided that the first one who committed it was not caught.

The main reason people cheat is to pass the course. They might just need that one extra point to pass. Some students need those extra points to receive a scholarship. AB students will do anything to keep their GPA high, even if that means cheating once or twice. Therefore, on the next test they will probably cheat to maintain this. Even if it means glancing to the person next to them and hope that they have the right answers. As a result, if students’ grades are low the chances of them passing the class are slim. If the opportunity to cheat is near, they will take that opportunity as much as they need to,

Most likely, the majority of students have cheated at one point. In the moment, the student wants to get a good grade on the test, but they do not know the answer and cheating pops into their head. Then they will think of how to cheat successfully, without getting caught. They know that it is against the rules and if they get caught the teacher will be let down, but they continue because it is worth it, right? This dilemma has gone through almost every students head at least once in their academic career. Schools have tried to correct this behavior by introducing honor codes that are not always successful. Where in reality, the honor codes should be more focuses on the integrity of the student, rather than forcing the student to fit the mold held by administration.

Some students may cheat because they have poor study skills that keep them from keeping up with the material. Therefore, the students result to cheating as a temporary answer and solution to their problem. In many cases students result to cheating to make it through the subject they struggle on. It will only hurt the student and make them know less of the learning material. So to solve their studying problem many perform academic dishonesty without thinking of the consequences.

There are many reasons that make a person cheats, one of which is the fear of failing or not passing. Looking at the root of this problem, there are many possible solutions. If a student start studying and take things seriously from the first day of class, he/she will not end up using any cheating methods. Working hard in school is very important as well as learning adequately. We all need and must value hard work and never use any cheating methods. Moving to being unfair while cheating. When a person cheats they are setting a bad example for everyone. Not only it is not fair for the other students but also it is unfair to the student himself. The worst part about the cheating that

Academic cheating occurs when a student is being dishonest during the completion of his or her exams and assignments. In the June of 2005, Donald McCabe, a professor at Rutgers University, reported for The Center for Academic Integrity that 70% of public high school students openly admitted to cheating on their tests, or plagiarizing papers throughout their four years. These findings were provided by making use of a Gallup survey. Gallup is a private, credible company that provides a vast amount of research and consulting on behalf of its polls used by many successful organizations around the world. Based on this research, it can be concluded that cheating is a common occurrence in high school; and, as many may say, “old habits die slowly.”

According to a recent poll conducted at Iowa State University, 53% of the upper-class students cheated on a test or plagiarized a paper while at Iowa State and 91% know someone who has (Bishop, 1993). Cheating among students is drastically increasing, evolving, and diversifying in pursuit of that ‘A’ grade. Students are constantly coming up with new innovative methods to accomplish this reprehensible act to suit the need of the specific subject they desire to ace. This prompts the burning questions: what are the effects of an academic career that thrives on cheating, what is compelling this escalation in the lack of academic integrity, and what can the education system/society do to combat it?

Students of all ages have been caught cheating, some students cheat on their papers and exams and some people cheat on their jobs. Cheating is to cover up a period of time and bypass a situation of reality. In reality life tends to become hard so students take the easier way out. Students cheat in hopes of having a better grade.