SF Gate: It's time to deal with students who cheat

Pre-College Issues High School Life
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<p>Yes, but this forum isn't about the devastations in the modern world. It's about trying to get into college, and attending college, and everything you could think about regarding college. So of course, a scandalous situation regarding college admissions is bound to be treated as a big deal, because it pertains to the subject of the website we are on.</p>

<p>I didn’t post this thread to get into a fight over what’s more important in the world. I posted it for others to be aware. I don’t think you understand that.</p>

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I was completely shocked and sickened to hear how rampant cheating has become in schools. I knew it happened, but in this amount? Ridiculous.

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<p>You said yourself it was already rampant, so I'm not sure you exactly intended to make others 'aware.' </p>

<p>I don't think you understand that many of these forum discussions veer far from their original topics; it's the nature of a online community of this magnitude.</p>

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<p>I didn't know how "rampant" it was, so I was "shocked".</p>

<p>And, if that's the case, then have fun.</p>

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Honestly Northstarmom, who would stop in the middle of taking an exam in which you have a limited amount of time to report cheaters? Reporting eats away a lot of time that could be spent doing quite a few problems that can in turn, make a difference in your score.

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<p>I don't think that's how reporting cheaters on the SAT works...</p>

25

<p>I'm surprised, I guess. I don't think many people at my school cheat at all, except there was a time in AP Chem when some group began to study well-graded previous-year exams in advance, so our teacher had to start making new ones. That was about all I've heard. Maybe I'm just naive? :)</p>

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<p>who cares?</p>

<p>if someone cheats it doesn't affect you</p>

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Cheating is never a new thing to students. Cheaters in the long run, however, will eventually get what they deserve.

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<p>Lol no</p>

<p>Cheating is HUGE at my school, the teachers know it but dont care because its been so accustomed (does that make sense?) to us.</p>

<p>As for the SAT cheating, WHO CARES!!</p>

<p>Me and my friend were going to switch tests for the math section (there was like 3 people from diff schools in the classroom) and no one would've said anything, glad i decided not to because i made 680 on math =)</p>

28

<p>What's the point of cheating? Tests are for you to evaluate your knowledge of the material. If you skew the measurements, don't they become completely useless?</p>

<p>Maybe it's just that I don't cheat and don't know anyone who does. At my college at least. And all our exams are take-home, too. I guess it's just never occurred to me as something you could do.</p>

<p>(Edit: Well of course to get a better grade. But then you end up at a better school and then you'll have weaker fundamentals than everyone else and you won't understand the classes as well...it's not good to bite off more than you can chew because then you end up washing out. Unless everyone else is also there because they cheated, I guess.)</p>

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<p>fizix2 couldn't have said it any better.</p>

<p>When I think about it, if you're an economics major and you BS'd your way through college by cheating then eventually your business (if you decide to get one) will crumble! why? Because you fooled yourself into thinking you were gaining something when you were really not. My mom always told me that whether you cheat or not, the only person you're fooling is yourself.</p>

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<p>^ i second that </p>

<p>i hate cheating. it's so rampant though. even the kids who you wouldn't think cheat, do. it sickens me. they don't even hide it either.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
When I think about it, if you're an economics major and you BS'd your way through college by cheating then eventually your business (if you decide to get one) will crumble! why? Because you fooled yourself into thinking you were gaining something when you were really not. My mom always told me that whether you cheat or not, the only person you're fooling is yourself.

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<p>So not cheating in college will ensure your business in succeeding? Lolz.</p>

<p>The only thing we gain from cheating is a better grade, and the people who cheat know it.</p>

<p>We dont cheat on tests and say to ourselves "OH MAN WERE ****ING SMART DUDE!!"</p>

32

<p>Gah. Some of us, like myself, are in the position where there is no way we can score any higher by cheating, meaning that even if we were tempted there would be no one in the room who would be able to know the answer to any problematic....problem.</p>

33

<p>Disciplining the teacher for catching a student cheating? OK, that's ********. I cheat, and I freely admit it, but...if I ever got caught, I would 'fess up.</p>

<p>The reason I cheat in some classes: my teachers are ****, and don't know what they're talking about, but they give tests that are hard as hell. In the classes where my teachers actually teach, I never have a problem, and I never cheat.</p>

34

<p>Ugh, physics was a circus today. The teacher gave us a quiz that no one knew about, and it quickly degenerated into an open-book assignment. People were yelling answers at each other across the room and flipping frantically through their textbooks; he saw it all and didn't even care. It was the weirdest thing ever.</p>

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<p>
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who cares?</p>

<p>if someone cheats it doesn't affect you

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<p>But if everybody cheats then you'll be at a significant disadvantage for not cheating.</p>

<p>Cheating on small things like hw is so prevalent now that you aren't really gaining a big advantage on anybody else... it's the big stuff that annoys me. Even when the teachers know a student plagiarized a project, they still grade them as if they didn't, saying they "aren't mature enough" yet and will learn when they "grow up"</p>

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<p>Not to mention how kicked to curb you will be when it comes to class rank. Those who cheat will end up moving high up the rank thus causing it a tip harder to be admitted to top schools.</p>

37

<p>I don't know why I've been avoiding this subject, but I guess I'll chime in now.</p>

<p>It would be very difficult to regulate cheating in standardized test situations without extreme measures being taken. Most proctors don't care enough to check which sections students are working in, nor do they know the difference between a TI-83 and a TI-89. Sucks, but it's the truth. A solution to this would be having each section collected after they are completed and desks with walls on 3 sides, but that would be ridiculous and a huge, complex inconvenience. Unfortunately, things like this are left up to the integrity of the students. Whether or not they make the right decisions doesn't matter to anyone but themselves.</p>

<p>In a high school setting, cheating is even worse, and also surprisingly widely accepted by teachers. I don't know how teachers can grade papers and not see trends, or even if they do, just overlook them without any suspicion or consequences. Perhaps its laziness, perhaps its ignorance, who knows? I can excuse cheating on homework, but that's where the definition of cheating comes in. Is working in large groups or using Sparknotes cheating? To me, no. Is blatantly copying someone else's work on a BS assignment cheating. Yes, but for some reason I see that as excusable too if the person takes the time to actually read over the assignment and learn the material. </p>

<p>What really irks me is cheating on tests and projects, where teachers don't do their part to ensure fairness to other students. If someone copies a wikipedia entry for a report and gets a 100% while I properly do research, citing sources and such and get a 100%, that's aggravating. Also, on tests, where answers are text-messaged across the room or someone passes around a set of copied answers. I KNOW that teachers know about this. Some interfere, some don't. Also, I don't see why innocent students should be put in the position of "snitching" on their classmates when a teacher is fully aware of the situation and will do nothing about it. I've had a few smart teachers that hand out different versions of tests and actually enforce their rules about cheating, but they are hard to come by. What's actually pretty funny about this situation is that most of the kids that cheat still end up failing or doing poorly anyway. Nonetheless, the kids that do cheat and are successful are more bothersome because they have a false sense of accomplishment and often receive recognition for it. Honestly, ranks don't matter at all, but I understand how dedicated, honest students feel when they are surpassed by their cheating peers. </p>

<p>That was pretty-long winded, but pretty much there's not much that can be done about cheating without serious effort from the people in charge. Students bringing it to their attention may help, but again, it depends on what type of school/teacher/environment you're dealing with. At my school the message is "graduate by any means necessary" while at other schools it may be "get into the ivies by any means necessary", so I could imagine two huge different perspectives on and methods of cheating. ::sigh:: oh well.</p>

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<p>Think about it this way: Imagine you're taking a test on, say, ancient Sumerian history. You're going to be an Engineering major and will never take a history class in college. Your teacher is very attentive; cheating is extremely difficult. The test itself is practically impossible; a B is just about unattainable, much less an A.</p>

<p>Which will be a more beneficial skill in the long run: the ability to pass such a test over information that is ultimately useless to you, or the ability to cheat successfully on it?</p>

<p>The answer should be pretty obvious.</p>

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<p>Yeah, I guess it would be better to learn how to cheat then actually be good at retaining information, if you wanna be, i don't know, a drug mule.</p>

40

<p>"Cheaters in the long run, however, will eventually get what they deserve."</p>

<p>...do they really?</p>

<p>"Cheating, so horrible. It's right up their with Darfur and Ugandan child soldiers."
=O</p>

<p>idk i dont really see any cheating in my hs. but i've heard about it quite often</p>