Students should not feel pressure to cheat for their grades

It is an epidemic that seems to plague most students that are striving to achieve that A+ average. With the pressure of seven classes, along with possible sports practices after school and maybe a part-time job, many students face the decision of having an extra hour of sleep or preparing for the unit test the next day. From second grade spelling tests to advanced placement exams, cheating is a constant trend appearing in many school settings.

In a study conducted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on high school students’ perception of cheating, a pattern of differentiating definitions was revealed among the results. While most students defined cheating as “glancing at someone else’s answers during a test” or “providing answers to someone during a test,” only 47 percent of students said that providing test questions to students who had not taken the test was cheating.

“I think cheating is when you look at somebody’s test, but if you look at it, it’s fine as long as you do not copy down the answers they have,” sophomore Kendall Rintamaki said. “I feel really guilty whenever I cheat so, if I accidentally do, I can’t put [the answer] down.”

Though many students have a set definition for what cheating constitutes, junior Helene Bechtel, distinguishes the issue differently.

“Cheating is taking credit for someone else’s work either by writing or looking off of someone’s test,” Bechtel said. “Obviously, if you’re looking off of someone’s [test], you didn’t do the work yourself so you took someone else’s work.”

In general, cheating comes down to more than just looking off of someone’s test when stuck on a question. It is composed of many individual acts that are not always viewed as consequential. The main underlying issue: grades.

According to theconversation.com, one of the main reasons students are inclined to cheat is because of “a cost/benefit analysis.”  Students are willing to cheat if it guarantees an improved score, as opposed to not cheating and getting a bad score. Math teacher Brandon Hawks said he thinks grades are one reason students are more inclined to cheat.

“I don’t know if it’s less stress, because if you know you’re cheating, there’s the constant fear of getting caught and that creates a different type of stress,” Hawks said. “But I do think it’s less pressure to prepare for a chance for a better grade. If you know that the people around you are going to be doing well on their exams, you can leave there feeling very confident that you did well if you didn’t get caught.”

Many high school students, although still focused on school work, are more focused on what the future will bring. The question no longer is “What do you want to be when you grow up?” It is now “What can you be when you grow up?”

“I think the main reason [students cheat on tests] is because everyone wants to get better grades,” Rintamaki said. “They want a better GPA so they can get into better colleges.”

According to a study conducted by oedb.org, pressure from teachers, parents and administrators can cause students to cheat to stay ahead of their contemporaries. Pressure is one of the issues faced when it comes to school and, although cheating allows for a diminished amount of pressure at the moment, students who cheat are distracting themselves from the content that they should know. The only way to know this content is to study and do the work.

“What I try to do is make my assessments more about the learning and the content than about the grade itself,” Hawks said. “In calculus and geometry specifically, we are trying a new thing with our formative assessments where students are graded on individual learning targets and they will continue to retake those learning targets until they’ve demonstrated mastery. The idea was to take pressure off the exam, while also giving more informative feedback for students. So, when they take a quiz, they know specifically what concepts they are doing well on and which concepts they’re not. Then they know they’re going to have an opportunity to improve on stuff they’re not doing well.”

One way for a student’s performance to be reflected is for more classrooms to integrate the concept of assessments for learning or AFLs. This is a way for students to see what they need help on without impacting their grade, eliminating the need to cheat.

“If you have to cheat, you end up not learning the content,” Bechtel said. “Then, when finals roll around or college rolls around, you just end up not knowing the topic as well as you thought, even though you got the grade.”

Homework assignments can add up to a large shortage of points if not constantly monitored. But, when it comes to homework, the points all boil down to accuracy or completion.

“On tests, I can see [cheating] being pretty hard,” Rintamaki said. “It can also be easy [to get caught] with tests because, if you get a hundred and this person [you cheated off of] also got a hundred, you’d have the exact same everything. I could see the teachers getting suspicious. But, with your homework, it’s very easy. They don’t really look at it as much, and most of my homework’s for completion so they are kind of like ‘Oh, it’s done. Five out of five.’”

Contradictory to Rintamaki’s statement, Hawks said he finds that going for completion-based homework takes measures to prevent cheating.

“I check for completion homework,” Hawks said. “It isn’t a large part of the grade, and another reason why is I don’t want them cheating for the homework. If you’re copying down answers, it isn’t doing any good. It’s not going to help you in the long run, gradewise. I want you to be thoughtful and really attempt the homework and, if you’re not getting them right, that’s okay as long as you’re trying, you’re recognizing it’s not going well and you’re asking for help. So, homework is more of a tool for the students to gauge their own understanding. Homework doesn’t necessarily have a direct impact on the grade. If you’re doing your homework and you’re using it the way you’re supposed to be — completing the problem, asking questions if you don’t understand — then you will have the ability and the opportunity to prepare yourself better for the exam, which does have an impact on your grade.”

Cheating in high school is one thing, but it cannot be easily done in the real world. Skills learned in high school will lead a student through college and, eventually, onto a job of his or her own.

“I think [cheating is] not learning the content, not holding yourself accountable, always taking the easy way out and claiming someone else’s work for your own,” Hawks said. “Eventually, whether it’s in high school or in college or in the workforce, you will be responsible for producing your own work. Developing the discipline to having your own ideas and to think on your own are not just skills you can turn on overnight. School provides the best opportunity to demonstrate those types of skills. If you’re passing up on those types of opportunities by cheating and stealing someone else’s work, then you’re not developing that light of thinking. So, I think in the long run, it has major effects on work ethic and perseverance.”

Students all face the stress that comes with trying to balance their school responsibilities and their lives. It may be difficult for a student to fit in reading for their English assignment or an extra hour of studying for the next math quiz. Folders and deadlines can only do so much to prevent cheating. But, as enticing as it is, a student who cheats is hurting no one but him or herself. At the end of the day, what it all must boil down to is the individual and the standards he or she sets for him or herself.

“It’s something that is more frequent than it needs to be,” Hawks said. “To be honest, there’s really no place for it. It’s simply just an accountability piece, and the people who don’t cheat are committed to the learning process, have strong character and do the right thing when no one’s looking. I think that’s an expectation we can hold of all people. I encourage people to collaborate, but everyone should know the difference between collaboration and working together versus cheating and taking someone else’s work for their own. I don’t see a place where anyone benefits by cheating, especially in the school setting.”