Cheating happens mainly because it’s so easy to exchange the tang of guilt with less work and less effort. Copying homework, plagiarizing essays and projects are all wrong, but out of them all, cheating on tests is the worst. Here’s why.
In this year’s AP World History class, or WHAP, a cheating incident occurred on December 19, the first day of finals. Students in second and seventh period took the WHAP final on that day. Turns out that a student from the seventh period took pictures of the exam with a phone, and opened a document to share with many students. The pictures were spread widely through group chats along with discussed and shared answers to later period students.
Tony Chan, who teaches WHAP, only discovered this truth on the second day of finals, when he caught students looking at test pictures and answers through phones and papers during the exam. The initial picture-taker took most of the blame, receiving a zero on the exam, a suspension for one day, and a call to parents. On the other hand, the cheaters who were caught did not get any disadvantage except for a call to their parents. They were given the same retake chance as other students who did not cheat.
All non-cheaters had to retake the exam after Christmas break including second period students who took the test before the incident occurred.
Whatever students may think, the standard of fairness always depends on how the teacher sets it, even more for something serious like cheating.
This was no joy for Chan himself, as he worked over the break making new test questions for the unexpected happening.
Chan revealed that he had conflicting feelings about the whole cheating incident as he tried to put himself in students’ shoes. He understood pressure of getting good grades, prevalence and destigmatization of cheating, ease of using social media tools, and numerous other factors used as justifications. “Nevertheless, understandable does not mean excusable” he said, pointing out how disappointed and embarrassed he felt about the scope and number of students involved.
As for the consequences to all students(the student who took the pictures excepted), besides making them all retake the exam, Chan had them fill out a questionnaire about their level of involvement in the incident without giving further punishment no matter how they answered. Did they have access to the exam before taking it? Did they share it? Did they collaborate to answer the questions ahead of time? “I decided to give an opportunity for students to take responsibility and own up to what they had done”, he explained.
He said, “never to be punitive, but allow students to reflect on their choices and hopefully build in them the moral courage to do the right thing and make better choices in the face of all the reasons to do otherwise.”
In the future, Mr. Chan hopes to prevent the likelihood of cheating by collecting students’ phones prior to the exam and proctoring more closely. He is also planning to continue host after school reviews with students before tests, to offer retakes and rewrites to improve scores afterward. “But at the end of the day, it’s really up to the students. How they handle the pressure, the stress, the temptations, and the different situations will determine the kind of success and the kind of life they choose to live” he said. “I truly believe that you reap what you sow, regardless whether you get caught or not. Our choices shape our character. There’s no one to blame but ourselves. That’s the lesson I hope students learn”, he said.
In this year’s AP World History class, or WHAP, a cheating incident occurred on December 19, the first day of finals. Students in second and seventh period took the WHAP final on that day. Turns out that a student from the seventh period took pictures of the exam with a phone, and opened a document to share with many students. The pictures were spread widely through group chats along with discussed and shared answers to later period students.
Tony Chan, who teaches WHAP, only discovered this truth on the second day of finals, when he caught students looking at test pictures and answers through phones and papers during the exam. The initial picture-taker took most of the blame, receiving a zero on the exam, a suspension for one day, and a call to parents. On the other hand, the cheaters who were caught did not get any disadvantage except for a call to their parents. They were given the same retake chance as other students who did not cheat.
All non-cheaters had to retake the exam after Christmas break including second period students who took the test before the incident occurred.
Whatever students may think, the standard of fairness always depends on how the teacher sets it, even more for something serious like cheating.
This was no joy for Chan himself, as he worked over the break making new test questions for the unexpected happening.
Chan revealed that he had conflicting feelings about the whole cheating incident as he tried to put himself in students’ shoes. He understood pressure of getting good grades, prevalence and destigmatization of cheating, ease of using social media tools, and numerous other factors used as justifications. “Nevertheless, understandable does not mean excusable” he said, pointing out how disappointed and embarrassed he felt about the scope and number of students involved.
As for the consequences to all students(the student who took the pictures excepted), besides making them all retake the exam, Chan had them fill out a questionnaire about their level of involvement in the incident without giving further punishment no matter how they answered. Did they have access to the exam before taking it? Did they share it? Did they collaborate to answer the questions ahead of time? “I decided to give an opportunity for students to take responsibility and own up to what they had done”, he explained.
He said, “never to be punitive, but allow students to reflect on their choices and hopefully build in them the moral courage to do the right thing and make better choices in the face of all the reasons to do otherwise.”
In the future, Mr. Chan hopes to prevent the likelihood of cheating by collecting students’ phones prior to the exam and proctoring more closely. He is also planning to continue host after school reviews with students before tests, to offer retakes and rewrites to improve scores afterward. “But at the end of the day, it’s really up to the students. How they handle the pressure, the stress, the temptations, and the different situations will determine the kind of success and the kind of life they choose to live” he said. “I truly believe that you reap what you sow, regardless whether you get caught or not. Our choices shape our character. There’s no one to blame but ourselves. That’s the lesson I hope students learn”, he said.