Consequences of Examination Cheating - Essay Example

Running head: Examination Cheating Consequences of Examination Cheating Insert Insert Grade Insert 20 May Introduction Education and skills acquisition are the foundations upon which modern society influences monetary income. Therefore, more and more people seek education for monetary gain. In my understanding, exam cheating denotes the act of copying or fraudulently obtaining desired grades or marks. The definition encompasses any technique to boost grades that would otherwise lead to penalties if discovered. It could include copying, handing out assignments to third parties and any dishonest behavior in tackling assignments, homework, and examinations. This paper delves into the causes and effects of cheating, especially among distance learning students. Causes of Cheating Incidences of cheating have always bedeviled students since the advent of exams. Pressure from both family and schools has not made the issue any better. In earlier times, cheating happened crudely with students craning their necks to copy from their fellow students or simply gesticulating and writing small notes in papers. In institutions of higher learning, copying also involves passing off the work as original. With the advent of technology, cheating has taken new forms, the shear easiness and availability of information has abated this problem, with students ignoring the effects of cheating. There is a myriad of reasons as to why students cheat; firstly, it is undeniable that the main reason is to pass examinations. College students are normally encouraged to have an impressive grade point average (GAP). Colleges expect passing of exams to be an obvious endeavor for each and every student. Furthermore, the job market frowns upon low grades; with this in mind students use all tricks in the book to enhance their job prospects. Lower grades may send false signals to potential employers that a student is not a focused individual and is unsuitable for the organization. Another issue that leads to cheating among students is potential opportunities for scholarships. Normally, scholarship applicants far outstrip the few spaces available for students. Given that some students learning under distance learning want to continue their education, competition becomes intense and fierce; hence cheating may be employed to attain scholarships. The lack of physical presence makes monitoring difficult to achieve for online students. Thus, scholarships may be awarded to undeserving students. Cheating involves lack of conscious by the doer. It is, therefore, clear that morality is ignored during cheating. Morality denotes feeling remorsefulness and a clear distinction between good and evil. If morality were to be adhered to, then cheating would end. However, cheating is mutating into newer forms each and every day. This mirrors the society’s attitude as a whole to the issue of morality. Peer influence also affects cheating among students. Peer groups influence behavior of members hence the social setting is equally culpable. For students with lower academic achievement, cheating is likely to occur so as achieve better grades like fellow students. For academically gifted students, cheating would primarily be aimed at maintaining higher grades and prestige. Effects of Cheating On Society According to Corrl (13), cheating reduces the credibility of examinations, since students give the impression that they understood the course whereas it is the opposite. It gives wrong impressions to the examiner brought about by wrong evaluation. Learning may hence get impaired by the impressions derived from cheating. Ultimately, it defeats the purpose of examining and assessing students’ progress due to low credibility. Thus, cheating has the negative consequence of producing students who are intellectually ill prepared arising from persistent cheating. Additionally, cheating has the unintended consequence of masking one’s true self. Corrl (14) asserts that Bishop from Iowa State University considers education as a journey to figure out the inner self. Contrary to long held beliefs, education is, therefore, not primarily aimed at acquisition of skills or facts. Without understanding self, then education merely represents knowledge and facts regardless of whether exams are administered and copied. Prevalence of cheating also results in downgrading the worth of academic papers. The outside world attaches value on college degrees based on credibility and worth of assessment. Where the papers are associated with academic cheating, then it becomes hard to change this perception among job recruiters and other colleges. In the end, it creates a vicious cycle upon which less and less people get associated with the institution, leading to loss of revenue and manpower. Cheating may be dismissed as a common occurrence among distance learners and viewed as normal. However, cheating is related to other forms of dishonesties. Behavior is learned and if students perceive that cheating yields to better results, then ‘success’ becomes the ultimate goal at whatever cost. Ethics and morality are relegated to the back seat in pursuance of ‘success’; often this leads to rule breaking. Plagiarism is a criminal offence, which signifies intellectual property theft. Effects of Cheating On the Cheater Research shows that the well being of individuals is related to the morality and ethical inclinations of that individual. Persons who adhere to moral principles are socially integrated and aware of their self actualization state. On the other hand, individuals who are amoral and prone to cheating tend to show disaffection to the society. Thus, the dislike for society leads to negative thoughts and dysfunctional personalities (Corrl 19). According to Covey (2004) as quoted by Corll (19), positive thoughts and images of a person emanate from respect to ethical principles. Ethical principles are like laws to the extent that obeying them ensures tranquility, while disobeying results in disharmony. Cheating can lead to expulsion or cancellation of degree awarded. The law on intellectual property puts guidelines on how to use other people’s copyrights. Plagiarism, which results in copying written work without proper acknowledgement, is the main culprit in this. Originality in academic papers leads to better performance and knowledge enhancement than simply copying. It also enhances the quality of writing in the longer term. Conclusion The value of education increases over time, so is the number of students enrolling in distance learning. The advent of the internet based education has created new hurdles in the provision, evaluation and monitoring of distance learning. Job prospects improve for those with good grades, signifying the importance of education. The consequences of cheating are adverse to the society and individuals involved. Examiners should consider designing tests in a manner that minimizes academic cheating. Penalties should also be considered to curb this menace. Work Cited Corll, Vivian. Cheating, Plagiarizing, and False Excuse Making: A Study in Student Ethics. Michigan: ProQuest, 2007. Print Read More