The honor code is a set of rules used by high schools and colleges to prevent the students from cheating, stealing and plagiarizing. The honor code puts the responsibility of maintaining academic integrity on the student’s shoulders instead of those of the faculty. Ideally, this code works well because the students are trusted, monitored and held accountable by their peers. Unfortunately, in reality the honor code is not successful and actually allows for more cheating. Rockhurst High school is better at preventing misconduct by enforcing stricter policies than the honor system. The honor code should no longer be implemented in Rockhurst High School because it is not necessary. The honor code system basically tells students that is up to them to decide whether it is acceptable to cheat or not. Although, most people would hope that the students at Rockhurst possess enough integrity to know that cheating is wrong, it only takes a few “cheater-types” to undermine the “honest-types”.(Source C). As Rutgers University professor Donald McCabe said “honor codes don’t always work. Their success depends on a culture of academic integrity”. The students need to have an expectation that cheating is not tolerated by their peers.
Unfortunately, the students at Rockhurst High school do tolerate cheating. Students in general are not willing to peer-regulate one another. In a 2007-2008 survey of a small public university, of the 275 students only 8% said they would report a fellow
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.
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.
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
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.
Honor codes, or sets of regulations "intended to cultivate integrity" have been brought to recent debate. Several educational establishments are initiating a culture of honor codes within their schools. My own school, Sheyenne High School, has such honor codes requiring that students have the responsibility to be honest in their schoolwork. However, disunity over these codes have brought to question whether the codes are honorable or improbable. While at first glance, honor codes appear responsible and promising the unfound skepticism of students brings to light the confusion and doubt of their ability to rewrite student life. Honor codes have been implemented in my school over the past several years, but these codes must be revised to ensure
The honor code is a system that many schools use to establish trust with teachers and students by having students report each other for cheating, plagiarizing, stealing, and getting consequences for violating those codes. I argue that it could be improved. I believe that giving students that much power to control each other isn’t a great idea. It may work in some schools but it could easily be corrupted. If you think about it, many students are broke, a student could easily pay the other student to allow them to cheat or copy. It’s an easy bribe and I'm sure it’s been done. I know people would attempt to counter my argument with “that’s why the honor code is there for,” but not everyone goes by their word, there’s always someone to
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.
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.
Periodically it is more suitable to have a set of rules in classrooms then to not have any at all. As the time flutters by, more plentiful crimes have been devoted despite the fact not many are in the great state of Idaho. Teenagers are more likely to commit more crimes then adults. Plagiarizing is the number one crime perpetrate by teenagers when they are in school writing an essay. Students like to plagiarize because they are timid of failing or they simply aren’t sympathetic in that subject. Schools need to have honor codes because it can atrocity the crime rate tremendously. Some schools in the state of Idaho have honor codes like Nampa Senior High School and Columbia High School. Although the students do not follow either honor codes at the high schools.
My position on the honor codes within a school system is that they can be beneficial during certain circumstances. I say this becuase honor codes are guidelines that usually are not enforced with more consequences behind them rather than morals. They are sometimes enforced with a pledge filled out with a signature but those who create the pledge fail to understand that the signature is on a sheet of paper that will deteriorate and has no moral value behind it in order to enhance its importance. An honor code is a necessity in a school that is trying to be an exemplary school which all schools should be striving to be. On the other hand it may cause many problems restricting students of their feeling of freedom because an honor code provides restraints and if the student body feels rebellious because of those restraints then they will begin to disregard the honor code thus giving no value in morals or importance to that education facility.
Part of the honor system is always having to report if someone is cheating. In an exert from “The Honor Code Vote: One Student Senator’s View,” Alyssa Vangelli, a student at a private boarding school in Massachusetts, states that students
As students progress through school, the feeling that they need to cheat increases. To prevent students from cheating, and to punish students who do cheat, a discipline system is needed. Some schools have opted to have an honor code, a system based on students reporting and punishing students for breaking the honor code. Northwood high school, the school the author attends, does not have an honor code. Northwood would not be a good school to have a honor code because Northwood does not have an honorable student body. Northwood’s system of discipline by teachers should be maintained due to Northwoods students immoral character.