How many high school students admit to cheating recently? Statistics show cheating is at an all time high.
No Stigma for Cheaters
In the past there was great shame attached to being a "cheater." Today, it seems to be accepted. A Duke University study shows that 75 percent of students admit to cheating. 90 percent of student admit to copying someone’s paper.
Denise Pope, adjunct professor in the School of Education at Stanford University says, "Nationally, 75 percent of all high school students cheat. But the ones who cheat more are the ones who have the most to lose, which is the honors and AP (advanced placement) students. Eighty percent of honors and AP students cheat on a regular basis." [Regan McMahan, San Francisco Gate.com, sfgate.com, September 9, 2007] Therefore, the better the student--the more likely they are cheating.
Students Feel Pressure
Students in high-pressure high schools are expected to get into "good" schools and have "good" grade point averages. One student is quoted as saying, "There’s so much pressure to get a good job, and to get a good job you have to get into a good school, and to get into a good school, you have to get good grades, and to get good grades you have to cheat." There is pressure to be in many activities and maintain a top grade point average. Students are overwhelmed with pressure and have little time. The result is cheating. When top students watch the honest kids struggle and get lower grades, they develop the philosophy of "cheat or be cheated."
Athletes Cheat, Too
A survey of nearly 5,300 high school athletes (2005 and 2006) by the Josephson Institute of Ethics in Los Angeles shows that 65 percent of high school athletes admit to cheating. Non-athletes cheat at 60%. The institute states that this difference is statistically significant. Varsity athletes cheat more than non-varsity. [Regan McMahan, San Francisco Gate.com, sfgate.com, September 9, 2007]
Some sports have more cheating. Girls in softball are more likely to cheat than those in other activities. Football, baseball and basketball athletes are more likely to cheat than students in other sports are. Track, golf and soccer athletes cheat less. Perhaps, athletes in football, baseball and basketball are more likely to be going for the athletic scholarships. Some states like Iowa have made stricter grade requirements to play sports. This could increase the pressure to cheat if a scholarship is at stake.
Coaches Teach Cheating
Coaches used to be outraged if student athletes misbehaved on the basketball floor. Now, some are actually teaching students how to cheat and beat the refs at their own game. Illegal moves and faking an injury are commonly taught by coaches. Winning is #1. How many students say it is acceptable for their coaches to teach them illegal moves?
- 43 percent of boys
- 22 percent of girls
Michael Josephson, of the Josephson Institute of Ethics, wonders if the win-at-any-cost in sports is spilling over into the classroom.
College Cheating
Denise Pope is concerned about drugs used on a college campus to assist students staying up all night to cram for a test. Ritalin and Adderall are controlled substances but students will ask a doctor for help focusing and then use the drugs to do better in school without having true attention problems. Pope has also noticed students using Ritalin to do better on the SAT tests. This is becoming a similar scandal to athletes taking steroids.
Odds Of Getting Caught
Josephson says that the odds of getting caught are not great.
- 2 percent get caught
- 1 percent get punished
With these odds, most consider taking the chance as worth it.
Technology Helps Cheating
Students can go on a computer and download research papers from
- Cheaters.com
- Schoolsucks.com
- Schoolpapers.com
Some schools use a scanning device to fight plagiarism called TurnItIn.com (Turn It In). They find that plagiarism occurs at about a 30 percent rate. [Regan McMahan, San Francisco Gate.com, sfgate.com, September 9, 2007] Again, the student that does his own work, writes his own research paper and produces a less quality product is less respected by teachers.
The Future
It shouldn’t be surprising that so many students don’t travel the higher road. The media is filled with movie stars that don’t follow rules and don’t seem to suffer many consequences. Politicians are caught with illegal funds and they merely return the money. There seems to be an attitude that it is okay unless I get caught. And, if I get caught it isn’t a big deal. Students are not that different than our adult society.
However, these students that view cheating as a way of life will be our future lawyers, CEOs, doctors, stockbrokers and government leaders. We should expect more Enron-type scandals and $50,000 in cash in freezers.
译文:
调查显示高中和大学学生的诚实度降低
最近多少高中生承认作弊？数据显示作弊的人数一直都很多。
不觉耻辱
过去，作弊者会有一种很强的羞愧感，今天，这看来是可以接受的，杜克大学的一份研究显示，百分之七十五的学生承认作弊，百分之九十的学生承认抄袭别人论文。
斯坦福大学教育学院的副教授丹尼斯·蒲柏（Denise Pope）说；“全美国来看，百分之七十五的高中生作弊。但是作弊最多的是最有潜力的学生，有百分之八的优秀的学生经常作弊。因此，成绩越好的学生就越有可能作弊。
学生感到压力
高中生压力很大，他们希望进入好的学校，得到很好的平均学分。一个高中生说“找到好工作压力太大了，你需要先进入好学校，进入好学校你就要有好成绩，有好成绩你就不得不作弊。”参加很多活动，还要维持好的平均学分，就会压力很大。学生被压力逼的无法喘息，也没有多少时间，结果只能是作弊。当好学生看诚实的孩子在低分线上挣扎，他们就总结了自己的一套哲学“欺骗自己还是被别人欺骗”。
运动员也作弊
洛杉矶约瑟森道德研究中心的调查表明，5300名高中运动员(2005和2006年)其中有百分之六十五承认作弊，而非运动队员有百分之六十作弊。这个结论显示出的差异十分重要，大学里的运动队员比非运动队员作弊的多。
一些体育项目的运动员比其他的运动员更容易作弊。垒球运动员比其他的运动员更容易作弊。足球，棒球和篮球运动员可能会比其他项目的运动员更容易作弊。田径，高尔夫和橄榄球运动员作弊较少。可能足球、棒球和篮球队员更需要运动员奖学金。有一些州，如爱荷华州对这些运动员的分数有很严格的要求。这种得到奖学金的欲望可能增加作弊的可能。
教练
过去一些教练看到球员在篮球场上犯规会很生气，现在，一些教练开始教球员如何去犯规并取胜。犯规动作和假动作已经成为教练的必教课程。胜利才是最重要的，手段不重要，多少学生说教练教他们犯规动作是可以接受的？
百分之四十三男同学
百分之二十二女同学
洛杉矶约瑟森道德研究中心的迈克尔·约瑟森怀疑这种只求胜利不问手段的方法已经进入的了课堂。
大学作弊
丹尼斯·蒲柏很关心，大学校园里有些学生为了熬夜复习考试吃药的现象。学生从医生那里要来利他林和多动障碍药这些违禁药物来帮助他们集中注意力复习，然后争取考出更好的成绩，其实他们没有任何病。蒲柏发现服用利他林的人在SAT考试中成绩很好，运动员在比赛的时候也服用这样的药品。
被抓的可能
约瑟夫森说被抓的可能不大
2%被抓
1%被惩罚
被抓的几率小，所以冒风险是值得的
技术帮助作弊
学生可以上网登陆以下几个网站去下载论文
Cheaters.com
Schoolsucks.com
Schoolpapers.com
一些学校开始使用一种网络扫描技术来对付剽窃。他们发现剽窃率在百分之三十左右。那些自己写作业，写论文的学生，写出的东西质量不高，也不能被老师看好。
未来
这么多的学生作弊并不值得惊讶，媒体里到处是电影明星，他们不遵守规则，也没有受到惩罚。政治家犯法被抓，也只是把钱还回来而已。所以大家就都任务，如果不被抓，一切都可以做，如果被抓，也不是什么大事，学生也是成年人差别不大。
然而，现在作弊的学生未来会成为律师，总裁，医生和政府官员，我们也许会看到更多的丑闻或者在冰箱里还藏了50000美元。