I’ve heard the following anecdote about cheating: a student (not from Sentinel) shows up on test day wearing a skirt and tights. Nothing out of the ordinary, right? Listen to this: when she lifted up her skirt and stretched out the tights, she could see the answers she’d written on her leg. Clothing as an instrument of cheating.
At Sentinel, we have a strong reputation for academic excellence, with our AP classes, French Immersion program, and great all-round students, yet there’s been a recent hike in such stories of cheating even at our school. The Sentinel Sun set out to inquire as to why… Other than the obvious reason--lack of preparedness or time management for tests--a deeper root cause may actually be the competitive culture of grading.
A teacher at Sentinel states that she sees it “more in the senior grades”, and with “students I wouldn’t normally expect or peg as kids who would need to cheat or would ethically compromise themselves. Kids that have strong reputations”.
An interesting observation that actually makes a lot of sense, since grades 11 and 12 are generally more high-stakes, not just in terms of testing, but grading as well (ex. universities like UBC have recently included grade 11 marks as part of the admissions requirements). The overwhelming pressure to succeed can lead people to resort to cheating. According to Carnegie Mellon University, “If the task is high-stakes and [students] must succeed at it anyway, they might try cheating instead of studying.”
Another teacher cites the goal orientation of students as the reason for cheating: “If the student’s goal is to learn, then often a student won’t cheat. But if their end goal is to get a certain grade, then they might find any way to achieve that [through cheating].” Carnegie Mellon is in line with this idea, stating that “many students are highly motivated by grades and might not see a relationship between learning and grades”. In other words, the emphasis placed on grades overrides what is truly important--the learning itself--which can ultimately lead to cheating.
Maybe the cheating is due in part of this whole culture of grades as the “be-all end-all”. I know that many of us students feel way too much stress than we should about getting good grades. And it’s easy to see school as being defined by them. But one step at a time, we can remove the stigma around getting less-than-perfect grades and lean towards having a “learning mindset” instead of a “grades mindset”.
Let the cheating not be a condemnation, but a testament to the the fact that grades are really, truly, overrated.
And we can change that.
Works Cited
“Explore Strategies - Eberly Center - Carnegie Mellon University.” Explore Strategies - Eberly Center - Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Mellon University , https://bit.ly/2vtETMSl.
“Explore Strategies - Eberly Center - Carnegie Mellon University.” Explore Strategies - Eberly Center - Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Mellon University , https://bit.ly/2PDwhwb.
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