Cheaters Never Win, Or Do They? Essay, Research Paper

Cheaters Never Win. Or Do They? Numerous studies have shown that both high school and college students oftencheat and lie. There are different methods and severalties of both offenses. I believe anyincidents of cheating or lying is wrong and unacceptable, but unfortunately it is becomingmore and more accepted by students as time goes on. A study was done by the California-based Josephson Institute of ethics. This studyinterviewed 8,965 young people throughout the nation. The results of the study showsthat people between the ages of fifteen to thirty are more likely to be dishonest andirresponsible than those in other age groups. Thirty-three percent of high school studentsand sixteen percent of college students admitted to cheating on an exam. I could onlyspeculate how many students lied on these surveys and did not admit to cheating. Also,students have admitted to having paid another student to take the test for them. Thismethod is obviously used more frequently in a university setting where teachers are notfamiliar with every one of their students. There are students who get caught cheating, butmore time than not they are good enough liars to get themselves out of trouble. There arestudents who have admitted that they are ashamed of cheating, however they claim thatthe pressure they receive to make good grades is worth the guilt. One obvious questionwould be: Why not study to earn the good grades? The answer seems simple to thestudents of today, why spend all that time studying when they can cheat and get an A ?

Cheating is wrong and it is definitely getting out of hand. The very reasonstudents go to school is to learn the materials required to earn a degree which will pg. 2eventually help them to secure a job. If they cheat their way through the material it will, inthe long run, only hurt themselves and the entire workforce as a whole. The leaders of thefuture will be less educated and more ignorant about the world around them. Statistics from the University of Wisconsin show the increasing rate of creating intoday s schools. During the 1988-89 school year the university officials tracked 51 casesof cheating. The numbers from the 1990-91 school year were tracked at 71 cases. Themethod of cheating is growing and becoming increasingly more prevalent on high schooland college campuses. I think very little can be done by school officials concerning cheating. I believe thesolution lies within the individuals themselves. Students of today have to become moreresponsible and honest for the problem of cheating to diminish. Yes, of course officialscan raise the penalties for cheating to be more severe. Some students will not cheat if therisks are too high. Other precautions could be taken to prevent cheating as well. However, I firmly believe that the only way society will ever escape the claws of cheatingis for students to realize that cheating will get them nowhere in the long run. They need todevelop their morals and raise their levels of maturity above the walls of cheating.