Does the Honor System Work Essay

There will always be students who cheat, no matter the environment. Source C collects a statistic from Harvard University, stating that “125 students ‘improperly collaborated’” on a certain exam they took. In an elite environment such as Harvard, one would hardly believe that so many students were caught cheating on an exam. Dirmeyer and Cartwright explain that there are

The conflict of whether or not honor codes should be established has been brought up again due to an increase in cheating and collaborating on tests and school work. Recently, a surplus of students have been caught cheating in unexpected places, like Harvard and the University of Virginia. Those colleges are considering using honor codes to counteract the surge of cheating that has arisen. Although there is currently a cheating problem that needs to be dealt with, incorporating honor codes into high schools and colleges is not the most effective way to solve the cheating problem, and will not solve the cheating problem indefinitely. It is very difficult to change a person’s personality and their morals, no matter what paper they sign, but there are ways to make people’s convictions stronger. One of which is student interaction. Like many people, students have a “follow the herd” nature and want to fit in with the crowd. If many students discourage cheating, the “crowd” may choose to not cheat in fear of being shunned. Student interaction is much more effective than honor codes, and is a much less drastic change.

If a college campus harbors an environent where cheating is seen as acceptable and an activity many people participate in, even students with correct morals and no desire to cheat themselves are less likely to report fellow students for unsavory behavior. This can also go a step further and that same student who failed to confront a peer for cheating, may give in to the school’s atmosphere and start cheating themselves. This makes them all the less likely to report other students for fear of appearing hypocritical and/or being reported themselves. A study on honor code effectiveness was completed by Sally Sledge and Pam Pringle at a small public university (Source E). Their results showed that only 8% of students would report a fellow student for cheating. Even more surprisingly, 40% of students anonymously stated that they had “violated the honor code and not been caught”. This points to a very cheater-friendly attitude at this particular school and shows that the honor system is not very effective in this

The motivation to follow the honor codes ties with the development of a positive peer culture. As source F States, a positive peer culture is, “A culture that makes most forms of serious cheating socially unacceptable among the majority of students. Many students would simply feel embarrassed to have other students find out they were cheating” This desired positive peer culture will only be achieved through the honest student body. The cheating student body can be encouraged to be honest with the harsh punishments.

“At the University of Virginia, there’s a saying that students soon commit to memory: ‘On my honor as a student, I have neither given nor received aid on this assignment/exam.’ Students write this on every test in every class during their college career, pledging as their predecessors have since 1842 never to lie, cheat or steal.” (Source D) By making students write this statement, it creates a false sense of trust that can be abused. They are more likely to cheat because they think that no one will notice just because they wrote a saying on a paper. By putting the honor code in students faces, it creates a fake trust that can be easily

In recent years, many schools and institutions have introduced an “honor code”. The idea behind an honor code is that, if a student is caught cheating or in violation of the honor code, then there are serious consequences. Also, in some institutions, if a student catches another student violating the honor code, then the students must turn in the violator. While in theory this sounds like a good plan, many cases have shown that this code does not work in a practical application. Even with the introduction of the honor code, many schools have found that students continue to cheat, and students refuse to turn in their peers.

Many schools tend to have problems with cheating and trust between students and teachers. Many schools have introduced honor codes which have either significantly improve these issues or have had no effect. Honor codes, if effectively integrated and properly interpreted, can help my high school minimize serious cheating, increase student morality, and improve trust. Honor codes can help students become more honest and make the classroom less vulnerable to dishonesty. An online article from the perspective of Alyssa Vangelli, a senator, establishes the way she perceived honor codes by illustrating the idea that “reminders of these moral values [give the student] a responsibility to perform honestly in the school environment” (Source B).

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)

When an honor code is strictly implemented, for example by making students sign a paper that states that they will not cheat, it will negatively affect their ethos, or character, when they do cheat. In an environment where honor codes are implemented, if a student get caught cheating, that student will be deemed a bad person and lose everyone’s trust never to gain that trust again fully no matter how hard he or she tries. Increasing the awareness that the students can get caught and reminding them that they have “responsibility to perform honestly in the school environment” (Source B) discourage them to cheat. As a result, implementing an honor code provides an environment “where students and faculty could live in complete trust of one another” (Source B). Students should not have to worry about the consequences they will face just because another student is cheating off of them.

Rules governing academic integrity among students and schools is a practice deeply entrenched in the American education system and that of those around the world. Likely beginning at the University of Virginia in the United States during 1842 as a way to discourage cheating, dishonesty, and plagiarism, it soon spread throughout the nation. Today, the overwhelming majority of schools in the US, from elementary to collegiate, have their own form of a honor code. Among these schools is Port Charlotte High School, PCHS abbreviated, whose own code of conduct is based heavily on students being educated about the effects that their cheating will have on their academic future and punishing those who are discovered to have cheated in any form. So far, these particular academic regulations have proven successful and because of this, the charge put forward by the school should continue to be maintained. Revising the Code of Conduct into a peer-enforced system creates is statistically inefficient, hostilities between students, and eliminating the honor code would easily produce a school where cheating reigns free.

During the seminar, the students unanimously agreed that PCHS does not have an honor code to prevent cheating on tests, or school related projects. Therefore, many students take the chance to copy answers from other students who work hard to earn their grade. That’s why these students ask that an honor code be implemented by the student government, monitored and enforced by PCHS faculty, and be constantly revised to make PCHS an exceptional learning environment for students.

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,

An honor code is a set of rules that might be enforced in schools. Children sign an agreement contract that says if they break these rules they accept the punishments. I believe that honor codes should be enforced in schools when cheating or other misbehaviors get out of control. In some schools “ students convicted of lying or cheating can expect to receive punishments ranging from suspension to expulsion .” I believe at this moment hotchkiss high school just work on revising our honor system.

In discussing the issues with having an honor-code and why colleges don’t need this practice, Susan Greenberg, author of “Why Colleges Should Ditch Honor Codes”, examines the conflict at a Stanford

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