Cheating in Exams: What can we do about it - Assignment Example

Cheating in Exams: What Can We Do About It? Cheating is an offence in any learning and such cases should not be allowed to go unpunished. This is because the academic vice has a similar consequent behavior in social life of the student after college; either in marriage or job. Cheating in examination does not serve any educational purpose; instead, it leads to undeserved high grades. Some students may cheat because their parents, peers or a societal perspective on the course has pressurized them. Some teachers promote cheating by not being vigilant of their student’s needs and capabilities. Students should be made to understand why cheating is wrong instead of just telling them it is wrong. This is done to prepare students for life challenges and make them understand the steps needed to succeed in life the honest way. This involves dealing with cheating cases in an intelligent way which supports and promotes honesty in the student. Letting students get away with cheating or imposing severe and destructive punishments does not favor them. Instead, Gardner et al (103) proposes that different punishments such as failing the students and calling their parents to talk to them may offer the best solution. The punishment issued should not affect the student’s future and thus requires the lecturers to be vigilant so that fairness can be achieved. Lecturers need to take a holistic view of exam cheating specifically in the current times where the students are brought up in a decadent society. Colleges need to devise better ways of solving students’ problems that prompt them to result in cheating during examinations. Automatic dismissal is too harsh and painful both for the students who are caught cheating and for the overall community. Cases of examination cheating have tremendously increased in colleges today which renders automatic dismissal inadequate solution. Students who cheat are prompted by the desire for higher grades and the fear of failure. Students cheat for various reasons some of which are psychological. As such, the foundation of the solution lies in understanding the core reason of cheating. Cheating has many forms ranging from copying from a friend’s works, using phones, the internet, plagiarism, sneaking books and other written materials and passing off as another person into the exam room. The severity of the punishment deserving of students cheating in an examination should be moderated depending on the gravity of their actions as opposed to dismissing all examination cheaters alike. College life requires hard work and determination in studies to build on a person’s future career. However, the promise students normally make to study hard gradually change because of the college social life that distracts them from their studies only to get serious slightly prior to examinations. According to Berschback a distinguished professor from Walsh College, some students will always settle for average after realizing that a sociable individual cannot compete in every field (Berschback 41). Though there are self-motivated students who drive themselves through hard work in their studies, a significant number of students would always want to sail with little or no effort perhaps because the social life and the stressful nature of either college life or lack of self-esteem have overwhelmed them. This group of students strives to find various ways of passing exams and achieving better grades such as through cheating, especially during their final examinations. Allowing such students to pass is better than the hardworking students would encourage others to cheat, while imposing severe punishment would demoralize them. Responsible institution authority should weigh on the best option or remedy that could be applied on the cheating students. There are several factors that encourage students to cheat in their examination, thus, college institution should analyze them before imposing stern action on the cheaters such as automatic dismissal. Some of the inventions of the contemporary civilization have encouraged cheating such as the online companies, writing on body parts or using mobile phones; the root of such behavior should therefore, be analyzed and dealt with before punishing the cheaters. Supporters of automatic dismissal argue that it gives justice to the students who have worked hard to gain better grades. However, Gardner et al (67) holds that the cheating students affect themselves more as they face challenges of keeping up with the high expectations in their position of employment due to undeserved high grades; they only affect other students’ morale when they perceive they are ranked lower than the cheating students. Since such grades could ruin the future lives of the students, colleges should formulate measures of dealing with the problem and instilling a culture of exam honesty by communication as opposed to dismissal. Automatic dismissal is very harsh to the students as there are other intermediary steps of mediation that are fair on the students. The students’ rights and safety should be considered because dismissal may prompt a student to even commit suicide. This is because most of the cheating students do it for fear of their parents and peer stigmatization and would not be able to handle it after their dismissal. At times, automatic dismissal may mean that there is no investigation carried out to determine the cause of cheating. There are many students who are in the wrong career and are experiencing extremely difficult situations in their studies. Cheating in examination should therefore be a good indication of the challenges that a student faces. Interestingly, some students may not realize that there are other options in their career and thus should be helped to understand their abilities especially in their careers. The existing academic policies could be changed to ensure fairness amongst students. Lau et al., (2012) argues that, considering that students go to college with an intention of passing their examination, they may not be happy having lost track on their education. As such, automatic dismissal holds the end of that student’s career. The students should be directed instead of using punitive actions on them because punishment is meant to correct and not to destroy. Automatic dismissal based on examination cheating is unfair especially where correct procedures are not followed prior to dismissal. Some legal actions taken against the cheating students would be fairer than automatic dismissal. Automatic dismissal may be very harmful and the colleges that apply it should face lawsuits for using excessive power in handling a minor case. Decisions regarding whether or not to dismiss a cheating student automatically should be based on the capacity of the student to remain safe and productive during their lifetime. Counseling or using another criterion that is less punitive than automatic dismissal may be fair to students who may have done well in school had they been allowed to stay. Lau et al., (2012) is in the opinion that automatic dismissal has unfair consequences to the students such as difficulties of readmission, especially where the student cheats for the first time and an automatic dismissal is granted. It would be unfair to dismiss a first time cheater in examination especially after performing very well in the previous examination without cheating. Other measures should be taken to ensure that the student’s behavior does not affect others and that they still benefit from the college. There is a high level of student dismissal and the subject colleges should take responsibility in providing both emotional and educational support. An academic institution should perform the role of educating the student on various ways to help them succeed in their future endeavors but not dismiss them. Colleges should be more involved in educating and supporting the students such as good faith to help the student succeed instead of using a dissatisfying style. Automatic dismissal has negative consequences to the broader community where the students return after dismissal. This means that it may prompt a student to become a nuisance to the community especially when they become hopeless as automatic dismissal leads to sidelining of those students socially. The issue of examination cheating should not be viewed as a form of isolation or a narrow focus that does not affect the community because its effect on the society is immense. Dismissed students may be distressed and engage in irresponsible behaviors such as theft. The college’s quest to protect the interest of other students exposes the entire community to negligence and irresponsible behavior and wrecks the life of a young person which could otherwise be rectified by other lenient means. Policies and beliefs on cheating are different between various countries. This implies that while certain countries have strict measures for punishing a cheating student, other cultures view cheating as normal. In Saudi Arabia, teacher-student relationships are formal both in and out of the classroom. The Arabic community teaches its students to respect and fear the teachers. As such, the students are usually hesitant to ask a question since the instructors express approval or disapproval to the students openly. Muhammad, (2011) acknowledges that there are many reasons that prompt a student to engage in exam cheating in Saudi Arabia. In this society, absenteeism does not result in failure, especially if the student can pass the exams. The grading system in most Arabic schools is unified among the instructors and not determined by a single teacher. Such factors in combination with the pressure placed on Arabic students to pass exams lead to an increase in cheating cases. The students can even negotiate the grades they get with their teachers mostly because testing is based on subjective instruments. The tests are biased and prone to manipulation by both the students and the teachers as they leave loopholes for results adjustments according to students’ wishes. After all, students are given an opportunity to explain themselves to their teachers increasing their subjectivity. This develops lack of standardization leaving room for negotiations. Cheating in these academic institutions is not penalized through expulsion of the individual. Furthermore, cheating is not viewed as a vice that affects the morale of other students. This implies that it is typically normal to cheat in Saudi Arabia, although students caught cheating fail the examination. In fact, cheating is viewed as sharing by some students since English is their second language and many students have difficulties studying. The students encounter many challenges while trying to learn in an unfamiliar language. Until the language problem is improved in this society, helping each other during examinations will always appear as a means to an end. Students caught cheating in Saudi Arabia continues with their normal learning but the subject is listed as failed. At times, the institutions give the students a second opportunity to re-sit the failed examination. The common cheating techniques, most of which are well known by the teachers include note passing and texting, if the students manage to sneak mobile phones into the examination rooms. The teachers themselves seem to have taken the trend to the point of allowing it to happen in plain sight. If a student is caught cheating, they provide a weak excuse to avoid punishment (Sidelights, 2009). This presents one of the biggest differences between the system of college education in Saudi Arabia and schooling systems in the West. Research also suggests that Saudi teenagers do not take education seriously. As a conservative country, most students’ view colleges as more of outing places than academic centers. Although the teachers know that there exists extensive cheating in Saudi colleges, an automatic expulsion policy has never been implemented. In most instances, the students get away with the cheating behavior, as most of the teachers appear to have allowed the vice because it is extensive among these schools. The students do not consider turning to check their friend’s answers as cheating but getting help. Cheating is also viewed as ensuring a good mark at all costs. For students with such perception, dismissal would seek to ruin their lives since they are not aware of the correctness of examination honesty. The University of Dammam in Saudi Arabia has very rigid punishment policies for exam cheating. Academic integrity is given much attention especially with the rising trends of using technology as a learning tool. The Saudi Arabia students have a history of exam cheating as they basically study by rote learning which highly induces cheating. The University of Dammam holds that students who cheat in their exams become irresponsible later in their lives. Cheating is therefore a vice should be shunned early, and that is why they automatically dismiss any cases of exam cheating and especially plagiarism. Grand Valley University in The United States employs more lenient measures of dealing with exam cheating. In the United States, the culture of exam cheating starts at a very tender age such that students grow up not knowing the seriousness of this educational vice. Grand Valley University gives the students an opportunity to explain why they cheated. When an instructor catches a student cheating, he/she discusses the issue with the student after which a decision will be made. The seriousness of the punishment will depend on the gravity of the cheating offence. The instructor has several options to impose on the student after his/her judgment; to do nothing, adding more assignments to the student, requiring the students to work on that assignment again, fail the student on that exam or the complete course. It is evident that examination dishonesty is treated differently in the University of Dammam in Saudi Arabia and Grand Valley University in The United States. While the University of Dammam employs very harsh punishment like automatic dismissal and expulsion, the University of Dammam is more lenient to such cases. Unlike in The University of Dammam where the student has no say in his/her dismissal, in the Grand Valley University, the students can appeal to the university judiciary for punishment resulting from examination dishonesty in which case, the judiciary will make the final decision. In conclusion, automatic dismissal is not the best way to deal with cases of examination dishonesty in colleges. There are other preventive and mitigating ways which are more lenient and supportive of the student’s education. Maintaining positive student and college relationships is very important particularly a continuing relationship between faculty and the students. Colleges should initiate advice proceedings to maintain the positive relationship with students by implementing procedures that are least detrimental to the relationship with the student, the student’s family, and the community. The best thing to do, as an institution, is to consider a policy that may foster a positive relationship between the student, the institution and the community. An appropriate punishment for transgressors should provide more procedural rights that may make them appear more fair and reasonable to the students. Automatic dismissal tends to focus on the conduct alone but not the students’ challenges in academics and their social lives that may have driven them to cheat during their examination. Decisions based on the importance of fact-finding are more critical in solving the issues of exam cheating. As such, the punishment should be decided upon after evaluation of the seriousness of the offence as opposed to same punishment for all types of examination misconduct. Students should be taught the values of honesty as opposed to be told cheating is wrong for the sake of it. Works Cited Berschback, Richard. What New and Adjunct Faculty Needs to know about Exams, Grades, and Cheating? Journal of College Teaching and Learning, 2011, Volume 8, No. 7: 39-51. Available at: http://search.proquest.com/docview/882840334?accountid=45049. Web.17 April. 2014. Gardner, John N, A J. Jewler, and Betsy O. Barefoot. Step by Step to College and Career Success. Southbank, Victoria], Australia: Thomson Wadsworth, 2008. Print. Lau, L. K., Haug, J. C., & Wright, L. B. College Faculty and Administrators Perception of Student Ethics.2012. The Journal of Business Diversity, 12(1), 107-121. Available at: http://search.proquest.com/docview/1117832029?accountid=45049. Web.17 April.2014. Muhammad, H. 11 Students Caught Cheating in Exams.2011.Washington: McClatchy - Tribune Information Services. Available at: http://www.arabnews.com/node/379400. Web.18April, 2014. Sidelights. Students Develop Sign Language for Cheating. 2009. Washington: McClatchy - Tribune Information Services. Available at: http://www.arabnews.com/node/325673. Web.18 April, 2014. Susan, S. Cheating Could get Students F! .2006. Washington: McClatchy - Tribune Information Services. Available at: http://newsok.com/cheating-could-get-students-f/article/2836736. Web.18 April, 2014. Read More

Though there are self-motivated students who drive themselves through hard work in their studies, a significant number of students would always want to sail with little or no effort perhaps because the social life and the stressful nature of either college life or lack of self-esteem have overwhelmed them. This group of students strives to find various ways of passing exams and achieving better grades such as through cheating, especially during their final examinations. Allowing such students to pass is better than the hardworking students would encourage others to cheat, while imposing severe punishment would demoralize them.

Responsible institution authority should weigh on the best option or remedy that could be applied on the cheating students. There are several factors that encourage students to cheat in their examination, thus, college institution should analyze them before imposing stern action on the cheaters such as automatic dismissal. Some of the inventions of the contemporary civilization have encouraged cheating such as the online companies, writing on body parts or using mobile phones; the root of such behavior should therefore, be analyzed and dealt with before punishing the cheaters.

Supporters of automatic dismissal argue that it gives justice to the students who have worked hard to gain better grades. However, Gardner et al (67) holds that the cheating students affect themselves more as they face challenges of keeping up with the high expectations in their position of employment due to undeserved high grades; they only affect other students’ morale when they perceive they are ranked lower than the cheating students. Since such grades could ruin the future lives of the students, colleges should formulate measures of dealing with the problem and instilling a culture of exam honesty by communication as opposed to dismissal.

Automatic dismissal is very harsh to the students as there are other intermediary steps of mediation that are fair on the students. The students’ rights and safety should be considered because dismissal may prompt a student to even commit suicide. This is because most of the cheating students do it for fear of their parents and peer stigmatization and would not be able to handle it after their dismissal. At times, automatic dismissal may mean that there is no investigation carried out to determine the cause of cheating.

There are many students who are in the wrong career and are experiencing extremely difficult situations in their studies. Cheating in examination should therefore be a good indication of the challenges that a student faces. Interestingly, some students may not realize that there are other options in their career and thus should be helped to understand their abilities especially in their careers. The existing academic policies could be changed to ensure fairness amongst students. Lau et al., (2012) argues that, considering that students go to college with an intention of passing their examination, they may not be happy having lost track on their education.

As such, automatic dismissal holds the end of that student’s career. The students should be directed instead of using punitive actions on them because punishment is meant to correct and not to destroy. Automatic dismissal based on examination cheating is unfair especially where correct procedures are not followed prior to dismissal. Some legal actions taken against the cheating students would be fairer than automatic dismissal. Automatic dismissal may be very harmful and the colleges that apply it should face lawsuits for using excessive power in handling a minor case.

Decisions regarding whether or not to dismiss a cheating student automatically should be based on the capacity of the student to remain safe and productive during their lifetime. Counseling or using another criterion that is less punitive than automatic dismissal may be fair to students who may have done well in school had they been allowed to stay. Lau et al.

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