Honesty in the Classrom

Honesty in the Classroom

As the number of student graduates rises with the increase in international students, more and more high school students struggle to get a good GPA so that they can have a chance to attend good colleges. So instead of actually learning to gain knowledge, students settle to do whatever means is necessary in order to survive the competition with other students. Therefore, due to the stress that comes with a more rigorous and competitive world, students often cheat in order to get better grades, and therefore, success.

Student life is filled with competing to be the top by any conceivable means possible, whether it means getting good grades or winning awards for a variety of talents. More than ever, students have participated in an inimitable competition in which many students, including an increasing number of international students, struggle to get into the nation's top schools and professions. According to Stanford University, "73% of all test takers, including prospective graduate students and teachers agree that most students do cheat at some point. 86% of high school students agreed...While about 20% of college students admitted to cheating in high school during the 1940's, today between 75 and 98 percent of college students surveyed each year report having cheated in high school" (Jaffe). Though a few continue to display a forbearance to follow the crowd due to puritanical principles, many students succumb to the pressure that society has pushed on them.

However, despite the constant pressure, another reason that students cheat is because many schools are not strict enough with their cheating policy, nor do they follow strict protocol for such situations. This makes cheating even easier and more of a temptation than it need be. Once a student cheats, whether it be on a test or a assignment, the student breaks their own moral barrier, making it easier for them to cheat over and over again.

The more highly ranked a school is, the more challenging it is to get into, especially in areas in which there are either a multitude of students or very little colleges or universities. This has caused the admissions process to become more and more competitive and selective, increasing the pressure and anxiety that students have to face. Although college admissions representatives do put much emphasis into unique characteristics and talents of students other than academics, grades do matter - significantly. If a student's GPA does not reach a certain requirement, the student's application for admissions is very likely to not even have a chance to even be looked at. Many students, especially those who seek high goals, chagrin to go to a top notch college or university and get high paying professions and such goals are a justification for the means. In some cases, teachers condone cheating from students because the higher the students' grades