Why US College Students Cheat and How to Fight It

 

Everyone who has been a student has probably experienced¹ something like this:

It is the night before a big test in one of your most difficult classes. You tried your best to study all the information you think will be included in the test. But you are still worried that you have not studied hard enough.

If you fail the test, you will likely fail the class. You start to worry so much that you start thinking about doing something you know is wrong. You think about writing some of the information you think will be on the test on a little piece of paper and hiding it in your clothing.

You think, “Will my teacher really be able to see what I am doing? And in the end, does doing this harm anyone?”

Eric Anderman says he has known many young people who have had these or similar thoughts in his teaching² career. It began when he was a high school teacher, where he witnessed many students cheating in his classes.

Now Anderman works³ at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. He is a professor of educational psychology⁴ and head of the Department of Educational Studies at Ohio State.

Anderman says cheating happens just as much at the college level as it does in high school.

In fact, the International Center for Academic Integrity⁵ found that a majority of American college students cheat. In 2015, over 71,000 university students were asked about cheating. About 68 percent of them admitted to doing so at least once.

Anderman has been studying why students cheat and the ways in which they do it for over 20 years. His most recent research, published in September, provides interesting information about when students believe cheating is acceptable⁶.

His research involved a little over 400 students at two large research universities in the United States. They were asked about cheating. The study found that the students said it is most acceptable to cheat in classes they disliked. And the classes where students felt cheating was acceptable were often subjects like mathematics and science.

Anderman notes that it is difficult to say what makes students like or dislike a class. It could be the subject or the personality of the professor. And in the end, it is always up to the student to make the decision whether or not to cheat.

However, Anderman argues that college professors can design their classes in a way that reduces students’ desire to cheat. Students feel cheating is less acceptable in classes that focus on learning⁷ how to do something instead of memorizing information, he says.

“If you think about it,” he told VOA, “it makes logical⁸ sense if a class is set up so that you have to demonstrate⁹ mastery … of the content, cheating’s not going to buy you anything. A flipside of that is … a focus on testing. And so when a student goes in a class, and … all they think about or all they hear about is testing … and ‘If you don’t do well on the test, you’ll never move on to the second level’ … they cheat more often.”

So, Anderman says, when a math test is given to students, teachers should not test whether or not they have memorized the necessary formulas. Students might be so worried about recalling¹⁰ the formulas that they feel the need to cheat in order to succeed.

The more students cheat, the more their understanding of the subject will weaken¹¹, Anderman says. Instead, he suggests that the professor could provide the math formulas to the students and test whether or not they know how to use them to solve complex problems.

After all, Anderman argues, in the real world, many professionals use computer programs that already possess the formulas. It is up to the professionals to know how to use the formulas and their knowledge of the subject to solve the problems presented to them.

Anderman says professors should do their best to explain why they are passionate¹² about a given issue and why students might need such knowledge in the future. That way the students themselves will feel more connected to what they are learning.

Yet David Rettinger suggests that even with a connection to the material, there is still more to the fight against cheating. Rettinger is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He is also one of the heads of the International Center for Academic Integrity.

Rettinger says cheating is so difficult to prevent, in part, because of the examples students see in the world around them.

“Cheating is deeply ingrained in our culture,” he told VOA. “And when students look to politics, they look to business, and … they see dishonesty being rewarded, it’s very difficult for those of us in higher education to make an argument that they should do things the right way.”

That is why Rettinger believes professors need to clearly explain the rules about cheating. For example, actions such as plagiarism¹³ -- copying the work of others -- will likely get a student expelled¹⁴ from any college or university in the U.S.

Understanding these rules can often be especially difficult for international students, Rettinger says. The education systems in some countries do not place the same importance on individual work or presenting creative ideas in writing projects, for example. So some international students may be cheating without even knowing they are doing so.

But most of all, Rettinger argues, professors should explain that finding¹⁵ cheating acceptable can cause problems for students well after college.

“You can, perhaps, get a job by cheating,” he said. “But you’re not going to keep that job. Over time it’s going to become clear to the people you work with that you don’t really know what you’re doing. And so the knowledge that you claim to have isn’t going to present itself, and they’re going to be looking for someone who can actually do the things you say you can do.”

I’m Pete Musto. And I’m Dorothy Gundy.

Words in This Story

focus – v. to cause something, such as attention, to be directed at something specific

logical – adj. agreeing with the rules of a proper or reasonable way of thinking about or understanding something

content – n. the ideas, facts, or images that are in a book, article, speech, or movie

flipside – n. the bad or unpleasant part or result of something

formula(s) – n. a general fact or rule expressed in letters and symbols

professional(s) – n. someone who does a job that requires special training, education, or skill

passionate – adj. having, showing, or expressing strong emotions or beliefs

ingrained – adj. existing for a long time and very difficult to change

plagiarism – n. the act of using another person's words or ideas without giving credit to that person

1 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

2 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

3 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

4 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

5 integrity   

n.正直，诚实，诚恳，完整，完全，完善

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• He is a man of the highest integrity.他是个极其正直的人。

6 acceptable   

adj.可接受的，合意的，受欢迎的

参考例句：

• The terms of the contract are acceptable to us.我们认为这个合同的条件可以接受。
• Air pollution in the city had reached four times the acceptable levels.这座城市的空气污染程度曾高达可接受标准的四倍。

7 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

8 logical   

adj.逻辑(上)的，符合逻辑的；合乎常理的

参考例句：

• It is logical that the book is expensive.书贵是很自然的事。
• This is undoubtedly logical.这显然是顺理成章的。

9 demonstrate   

vt.论证，证明；示范；显示；vi.示威游行

参考例句：

• Let me demonstrate to you how this machine works.我给你演示一下这台机器的运转情况。
• How can I demonstrate to you that my story is true?我怎样才能向你证明我的话是真实的呢？

10 recalling   

回忆起( recall的现在分词 )； 使想起； 使想到； 勾起

参考例句：

• I was afraid recalling the past would only hurt you. 我不愿给你唤起往事。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• The company said it was recalling one of its drugs. 这个公司说正在召回他们生产的一种药。

11 weaken   

v.(使)变弱，(使)虚弱

参考例句：

• You can weaken the tea by adding water.你可以加水把茶弄得淡一些。
• We never weaken our efforts in face of difficulties.我们在困难面前从不软化我们的努力。

12 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

13 plagiarism   

n.剽窃，抄袭

参考例句：

• Teachers in America fight to control cheating and plagiarism.美国老师们努力对付欺骗和剽窃的问题。
• Now he's in real trouble.He's accused of plagiarism.现在他是真遇到麻烦了。他被指控剽窃。

14 expelled   

驱逐( expel的过去式和过去分词 )； 赶走； 把…除名； 排出

参考例句：

• She was expelled from school at 15. 她15岁时被学校开除了。
• After the outbreak of fighting,all foreign journalists were expelled. 战斗开始后，所有的外国记者都被驱逐出境。

15 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。