Honor Code Pros And Cons

Honor codes have been a strong subject of dispute over the last few years. Whether to hold students accountable for their own actions, and allow them to control the cheating in a school is, in all regards, a major decision that could potentially be detrimental to a school’s society and reputation. However, the rewards for a successful honor code are exponentially higher than the cost. Schools should always have some form of honor code in place, whether it be something like a signed contract at the beginning of each semester paired with an honor court to hold violators accountable, or something as simple as a statement of trust on a worksheet.

Honor codes and codes of conduct have existed for about as long as systems of institutionalized education have, as they exist for the betterment of the students. Honor codes often consist of a set of enumerated standards that the aforementioned institution holds its students to. Without them, students’ cheating would go unregulated, which would overall just harm themselves, since it would be detrimental to their learning experience. The use of outside advantage to garner better grades would make it harder for the students to gain the help that they need, as well as allowing students to proceed without actually

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

Honor codes are the embodiment of two things – trust and integrity. When schools maintain these honor codes, it gives off many advantages. “Unlike the majority of colleges where proctoring of tests and exams is the responsibility of the faculty and/or administration, many schools with academic honor codes allow students to take their exams without proctors present, relying on peer monitoring to control cheating.” (Source F) By allowing non-monitored tests, the honor code instills a better relationship between staff and students. When a student is having a problem with the class, they will more likely talk to the teacher rather than resort to copying. The code makes staff more trust worthy.

Add in that no dishonest students can work together and should be seated away from each other, and this will allow room for the honor code to take effect and be integrated accordingly. One might argue, that putting honest students with dishonest student will not work, because of the fact that cheating has already happened in schools that are known to have strict honor codes, such as the University of Virginia, in which Chris Khan, the author of the article “Pssst—How Do Ya Spell Plagiarism?” discovers, “Since last spring, 157 students have been investigated by their peers in the largest cheating scandal in memory. Thirty-nine of those accused of violating the school’s honor code have either dropped out or been expelled—the only penalty available for such a crime” (Source D.) However, Khan overlooks that just because an honor code is strict does not mean that it is effective in reducing cheating.

Abiding by an honor code is nothing new to me. I currently follow the Lake Travis High School football honor code, which demands a life of cleanliness and stresses no consumption of intoxicating substances, as well as academic honesty. My football coaches have instilled a great sense of pride in me; being a Lake Travis football player means holding myself to a higher standard, because I represent both a prestigious organization, my school and a team of other individuals.  I have proudly lived up to these honor codes and led my team by being the first to sign up for the voluntary drug testing program at my school called Leaders for Life.  I am also fortunate to have parents that have always been strict in making sure I stick to my morals, even

The current regulations clearly define cheating, plagiarism and the consequences associated with being caught cheating and requires that students only read through the document and sign that you understand the consequences of cheating. Its simplicity contributes to its effectiveness in deterring cheating among students without the added tension of the possibility of stirring conflict between others. Even if an honor code with a focus on student-enforced reporting of cheaters, it’s unlikely that any students would actively choose to betray their

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.

People can very easily disobey the honor code even though many people may view that person as trustworthy or “would never do that.” They may just break the rule. The same idea goes with parents or teachers on students and kids. They always believe that a kid never disobeyed, cheated, or skip class but in reality, they actually did. In source C it says “The possibility that 125 Harvard students ‘improperly collaborated’ on an exam in the spring has galvanized a continuing discussion about the use of honor codes. While Harvard administrators hope that an honor code can improve the academic integrity of the college, critics--especially Harvard students--are skeptical that signing a piece of paper will suddenly cause a cheater to change his ways.” Many people who do cheat will tell their trusted peers. In Source E It shows highlights from student research in 2007-2008. 40% of students who have violated the honor code and not been caught. That’s actually a pretty high number and I don’t doubt that more students did the same thing but was not caught. In addition, no one wants to be that guy that points out that someone is cheating because other students will deem you as a “snitch” and feel that they can’t trust

In her article, “College Cheating: Success Above Honor,” Carla Rivera states that exams at Stanford aren't proctored, and students are expected to police themselves and report students they see committing violations. According to the article, Provost John Etchemendy from Stanford University reported “recent allegations may involve as many as 20% of the students in one large, introductory course." Cheating on exams exemplifies a lack of truthfulness in work. Another aspect of my definition of honor is being able to persevere through

One of the expectations for students is to do their work individually and with complete honesty. At Robert Vela High School, honor code system is established to help the students achieve those expectations. If they do not, there are underlying consequences that would teach them a lesson. The honor code established at Robert Vela High School (RVHS) should be maintained for it includes rules concerning the academic misconduct of the students, however, students tend to not take them seriously because they are not enforced efficiently. Without implementing the system effectively, students’ integrity will be at stake, teachers will lose their authority, grade point average and rankings will be at risk, and students will not be prepared for college.

Being a high schooler at Windham High School, I can say that I am not in favor of the honor codes being established at my school. I am a very busy student-athlete that always completes work on time, does what I’m expected to, and never cheats. Why should I have to follow honor codes that would make no difference in my life. Cheating, stealing, and plagiarizing are already not acceptable, we are told by our teachers constantly, and it is stated in our syllabi.

In my school of cheaters and collaborators, students do in fact “live in complete trust in each other” (Source B) to not report each other and to provide. If the goal of an honor code was to create a close knit community, I’d argue that the rebellion against it has therefore sufficiently done so. I’ve noticed that hand in hand with cheating, is the desire to help others keep up. Students expected to report each other (Source B) would only break the bonds between us thus changing our community for the worse, academic “integrity” aside. Thus, an honor code in which students are expected to report each other is a wedge in the communal quality of the educational

"The South Portland high school community will exhibit trust and openness." (Red riots honor code) The biggest part of the honor code is trust. The teachers must have trust in students,to do what is told of them, and that student are doing