Signs of Cheating in Oral or Written Statements

A linguistic analysis enables finding the deceiving patterns in oral or written statements. Ten aspects shall be addressed in the analysis to indicate an attempt to falsify or hide facts. They are lack of self-reference, verb tense, answering questions with questions, equivocation, oaths, euphemisms, alluding to actions, lack of detail, narrative balance, and mean length of utterance.

The first sign of an attempt to mislead is the avoidance of using I pronoun. The deceiver tries to eliminate the personal pronoun or substitutes it with you to minimize the relation to him or herself. Also, a deceptive person can retell the story using a passive voice. The second signal of deception is the reference to past events using the present tense. It can either imply the accuracy in detail or rehearsal of an event that did not take place. The third sign is responding to questions with questions. This way the suspect can try to avoid replying at all.

The fourth method that signifies presumable deception is equivocation. If a person tries to give falsehoods, he or she can use noncommittal verbs or vague expression with a certain degree of uncertainty (sort of, perhaps, more or less and other). Further, the fifth linguistic means that implies a suspicious attempt is the usage of oaths. Such phrases like I swear may be used to convince that the suspect is telling the truth; meanwhile, a truthful witness knows that his or her words are the truth are they do not need to be backed up.

The sixth telltale mark of deception is euphemisms. The usage of words that have a mild meaning or substituting terms with a strong degree of expression may identify that the interviewee is trying to minimize the damage caused by criminal behavior. For instance, a suspect may say that the thing was taken rather than stolen to represent the demeanor in a more favorable light. The seventh indicator of possible deception is the allusion to actions. For instance, a person may refer to an action by mentioning an attempt or intention to do something without an actual statement of committing it.

The eighth reason to question whether the interviewee is telling the truth or not is the lack of detail. If a person fills the statement with many details, which may be irrelevant, it implies that he or she is retrieving the accident from his or her mind and it, as a rule, brings forth many facts or aspects that are related to the experienced occurrence. However, a dry retelling of facts may evidence that the story is being fabricated or some of the turning points are left out intentionally. It can be done to downsize the risk of being caught lying; the fewer facts are revealed, the fewer opportunities the investigator has to find a loophole in the story.

The narrative balance is the ninth issue to be analyzed throughout the oral or written statement. Prolog, critical event and aftermath are the essential elements of the story. The major part is the critical event, and it should take approximately 40-60% of the retelling while the prolog and aftermath should be close to 20-35% each. If a misbalance is present, it implies that the narration lacks crucial facts that have been omitted for a cause. Finally, yet importantly, the mean length of utterance, which is calculated by dividing the total number of words by a total number of sentences, is crucial. If the interviewee starts speaking in significantly shorter or longer sentences, it means that he or she is anxious. In this case, the investigator shall consider this part of the speech thoroughly. Thus, many issues should be analyzed when interviewing with a suspect. The attentive attitude toward linguistics may significantly assist in finding the deceptive patterns in the speech.

Signs of Cheating in Oral or Written Statements

A linguistic analysis enables finding the deceiving patterns in oral or written statements. Ten aspects shall be addressed in the analysis to indicate an attempt to falsify or hide facts. They are lack of self-reference, verb tense, answering questions with questions, equivocation, oaths, euphemisms, alluding to actions, lack of detail, narrative balance, and mean length of utterance.

The first sign of an attempt to mislead is the avoidance of using I pronoun. The deceiver tries to eliminate the personal pronoun or substitutes it with you to minimize the relation to him or herself. Also, a deceptive person can retell the story using a passive voice. The second signal of deception is the reference to past events using the present tense. It can either imply the accuracy in detail or rehearsal of an event that did not take place. The third sign is responding to questions with questions. This way the suspect can try to avoid replying at all.

The fourth method that signifies presumable deception is equivocation. If a person tries to give falsehoods, he or she can use noncommittal verbs or vague expression with a certain degree of uncertainty (sort of, perhaps, more or less and other). Further, the fifth linguistic means that implies a suspicious attempt is the usage of oaths. Such phrases like I swear may be used to convince that the suspect is telling the truth; meanwhile, a truthful witness knows that his or her words are the truth are they do not need to be backed up.

The sixth telltale mark of deception is euphemisms. The usage of words that have a mild meaning or substituting terms with a strong degree of expression may identify that the interviewee is trying to minimize the damage caused by criminal behavior. For instance, a suspect may say that the thing was taken rather than stolen to represent the demeanor in a more favorable light. The seventh indicator of possible deception is the allusion to actions. For instance, a person may refer to an action by mentioning an attempt or intention to do something without an actual statement of committing it.

The eighth reason to question whether the interviewee is telling the truth or not is the lack of detail. If a person fills the statement with many details, which may be irrelevant, it implies that he or she is retrieving the accident from his or her mind and it, as a rule, brings forth many facts or aspects that are related to the experienced occurrence. However, a dry retelling of facts may evidence that the story is being fabricated or some of the turning points are left out intentionally. It can be done to downsize the risk of being caught lying; the fewer facts are revealed, the fewer opportunities the investigator has to find a loophole in the story.

The narrative balance is the ninth issue to be analyzed throughout the oral or written statement. Prolog, critical event and aftermath are the essential elements of the story. The major part is the critical event, and it should take approximately 40-60% of the retelling while the prolog and aftermath should be close to 20-35% each. If a misbalance is present, it implies that the narration lacks crucial facts that have been omitted for a cause. Finally, yet importantly, the mean length of utterance, which is calculated by dividing the total number of words by a total number of sentences, is crucial. If the interviewee starts speaking in significantly shorter or longer sentences, it means that he or she is anxious. In this case, the investigator shall consider this part of the speech thoroughly. Thus, many issues should be analyzed when interviewing with a suspect. The attentive attitude toward linguistics may significantly assist in finding the deceptive patterns in the speech.

Reasons for Academic Cheating

Introduction

Cheating among student in collages is on the rife today and this is one of the serious challenging factors in most learning institution. According to the article written by Lawrence Himan, How to Fight College Cheating, he reports that about 74% of the students in colleges have accepted cheating in one or more of the several exams they undertake.

He also reports that the evolution of electronic devices have made is possible for the students to accelerate cheating and this includes gadgets like cell phones and PDAs (Anderman, Eric, and Tamera 86). It should also be noted that various colleges are enacted punitive measures to help curb the menace of academic cheating.

Failure in the academic paper, forfeiting of the degree course, and a poor recommendation for future jobs are some of the repercussions of cheating in colleges (Anderman, Eric, and Tamera 111). Thesis statement: Is academic cheating expected to be on the rise following the advancement made in the IT sector; Cell phones, I pads, and online assistance.

The acquisition of the cell phones which is essentially used for communication has been turned into academic assistance gadget, the cell phones have been made in away that they are able to access internet and this has provided students with the easiest means of reaching useful information regarding academic writings.

Student in most parts of the world have been found to engage cell phones widely in accessing information and pasting them in pretense that they are there own (Cizek 146). In this reference, most institutions have banned entrance of the exam room with any device that is internet enabled as this alone is tantamount to suspension as well as expulsion from studies in the institution (Cizek 177).

In the other way, the student have used I pads to plagiarize their papers. With the assistance of this device, the students are able to access already similar papers in the various sites in the internet at a fee. Today several sites are on the internet and have presupposed on the possible various papers the students might be expected to give a write up on and do the papers in prior for the students to purchase (Davis, Patrick, and Tricia 123).

This kind of arrangement has increased the complacency level among the students and most of the student wait and procrastinate until the last minute that they endeavor to beat deadlines. In this way, the students are able to submit papers not of their original work but in disguise (Davis, Patrick, and Tricia 158).

Online assistance also plays a major role as it segments another huge their cases online to freelancers who then undertake to deliver the papers on the time indicated at a cost. The online assistance has equally made it possible for the student to keep postponing their program as they are assured of assistance even in the shortest deadline (Lathrop, and Kathleen 44).

Technology has therefore made academic cheating very technical and no one can be apprehended of cheating as the source can not be ascertained. The learning institutions will therefore be forced to devise other methods that are equal to detecting even the far fetched academic cheating sourced even from the online assistance otherwise, the war against academic cheating will remain a mirage.

The question one may ask is, why do student cheat in exams?, the possible answers for the question may be as follows; most of the student are paid for the studies by the parents, this scenario makes it obvious for the parent to exert certain pressure form the students to reciprocate by giving viable grades that commensurate the fees paid for the students for their studies.

The students are on the other hand have to yield for the pressure and the easiest way of enabling this is by cheating in the examination. Procrastination is another reason as to why the students do involve themselves in academic cheating, in the colleges; the students get to be carried away with other extra-curriculum activities that are not linked to academic work taking place in the collages (Lipson 92).

In this case, the students get to be ambushed with the examinations and thus resort academic cheating. The students in a bid to keep cheating at a bay should then balance their time in collages to sit both of their requirements appropriately.

Finally, the students find it easier to engage in cheating at the expense of doing the real academic work (Spiegel, and Bernard 142). This is detrimental academically as it shutters the dream of the individual professionally as they will not be endowed with academic wealth as opposed to those who honestly earn their grades.

The act of cheating also inculcate the sense of no confidence in an individual owing to the fact that they are aware that their earned grades are not their own.

This low self esteem has also impacted negatively on the student in their various place of employment and this has resulted into high cases of doubt by the employees in some student and sometimes this leads to degradation of institutional status.

Works Cited

Anderman, Eric M., and Tamera Burton Murdock. Psychology of academic cheating. Amsterdam: Elsevier Academic Press, 2007. Print.

Cizek, Gregory J. Cheating on tests: how to do it, detect it, and prevent it. Mahwah, N.J.: L. Erlbaum Associates, 1999. Print.

Davis, Stephen F., Patrick F. Drinan, and Tricia Gallant. Cheating in school: what we know and what we can do. Chichester, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. Print.

Lathrop, Ann, and Kathleen Foss. Student cheating and plagiarism in the Internet era: a wake-up call. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 2000. Print.

Lipson, Charles. Doing honest work in college: how to prepare citations, avoid plagiarism, and achieve real academic success. 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008. Print.

Spiegel, Patricia, and Bernard E. Whitley. Academic dishonesty. Mahwah, N.J.: L. Erlbaum, 2001. Print.

Academic Integrity: Addressing Contract Cheating

The educational experience is of value to each individual as it provides the opportunity to achieve the best possible future outcomes. Of particular value in this process is academic integrity as an integral part of learning. It affects not only students but also educational providers, which makes it even more critical to study. Therefore, this essay will explore the basic concepts of academic integrity and its role in the learning process and provide a reflective account of its presence in the personal and educational experience.

First, it is necessary to gain an understanding of what academic integrity is. Thus, it implies adherence to such concepts as honest learning and not breaking the rules set before students regarding the educational experience. Poitras Pratt and Gladue pointed out that it promotes values of fairness, honesty, respect, responsibility, and trust as essential values to student conduct (104). Research stated that violation of academic integrity results in students academic misconduct, particularly plagiarism, collusion, and contract cheating (Morris 2). This aspect is critical not only in the field of learning but also in the entire life of individuals. This is due to the fact that cheating and breaking the rules presented to people can put many other things, such as money or personal reputation, in jeopardy. It is also worth noting that academic integrity is an aspect that one acquires and develops in the process of gaining experience and awareness of the importance of such things as honesty and responsibility. Academic integrity can include taking responsibility for ones own actions and helping others to recognize the need to take action on ones own.

Regarding the process of learning, academic integrity involves several concepts at once. First and foremost, it emphasizes proper preparation for the educational process that will make it a worthwhile educational experience (Taylor 1). This includes not only memorizing the necessary information but also critically analyzing it and considering it in terms of current events and getting rid of any questions. This will be effective not only for the individual but for everyone involved in the learning process because it can dispel misunderstood aspects and provide clarity.

Academic integrity becomes an area of responsibility in the classroom itself. Therefore, it implies a respectful and serious attitude toward all participants in the transmission and acquisition of knowledge. This includes not only following the rules regarding attendance and attendance. It is especially valuable for gaining awareness of areas that are difficult for students and motivation to limit data gaps in knowledge. Thus, reflecting on personal experience, we can conclude that academic integrity fosters peoples honesty and responsibility to themselves. It is worth adding that the above is reflected directly in the grades students receive. It makes it possible to have doubts about the validity of a given aspect and to challenge it with substantial evidence of a better result.

Critical to achieving the most productive results is adherence to academic accuracy during exams and writing assignments. Henceforth, the main problem is that students prefer to form themselves to cheating and use outside sources to find easy answers or those people who will do their tasks for them. This poses a threat to future development and functioning. This is due to the fact that individuals are immediately deprived of the ability to think and make decisions for themselves. Moreover, it will affect the ability to make decisions and take responsibility for their own actions.

Conducting a reflection provided a clear awareness that academic integrity involves a collaborative learning process in which individuals outcomes depend on the work of the whole team. This is supported by the fact that learning is a shared process in which everyone involved has value. In addition, it also means that the knowledge that students gain is the result of the work of multiple researchers and is based on evidence-based work. Therefore, academic credit is based on giving credit to previous researchers by examining their work and extracting the most value from it.

In conclusion, the concept of academic authenticity has a special value in the learning process. It is reinforced by the fact that it provides an opportunity to acquire characteristics such as responsibility, honesty, and an understanding of the importance of acquiring knowledge on ones own. Acts such as cheating and breaking the rules of the learning process can be the result of an individuals inferiority and unpreparedness for future experiences. This aspect applies not only to academic success but also to everyday life, in which integrity occupies one of the leading places. Thus, academic integrity applies to all phases of learning, such as preparation and direct participation in classes, exams, and writing assignments. Doing these things yourself develops responsibility for your own actions and the importance of living up to these responsibilities later on. Academic integrity also means recognizing the importance of previous contributions to science and education and giving back to them by using and learning from them to achieve personal and educational goals.

Works Cited

Morris, Erica J. Academic Integrity Matters: Five Considerations for Addressing Contract Cheating. International Journal for Educational Integrity, vol. 14, no. 1, 2018, pp. 1-12.

Poitras Pratt, Yvonne, and Keeta Gladue. Re-Defining Academic Integrity: Embracing Indigenous Truths. Academic Integrity in Canada. Springer, 2022.

Taylor, Bill. Academic Integrity: A Letter to my Students. OaktonCommunity College, 2004.

The Standards Of Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is one of the most important features when it comes to any type of research published or used to succeed and progress at an academic level. All the work prepared by anyone must be correctly referenced, so the ideas within the work would be correctly credited to the people who are the owners of the intellectual property. It means that research conducted by others can be still part of your work, however the right referencing techniques must be used to acknowledge it.

There are different ways how to fail the standards of academic integrity. From innocent mistake to purposeful cheating – the work is still going to be considered as a copy right. It is of high importance that the work is of your own. Things such as poor academic practice, academic misconduct, fabrication or collusion are not allowed and will lead to serious consequences. (Students.shu.ac.uk, 2019, p. 1).

Some of the most common types of cheating in academic field is re-submission of work and fabrication of data. Both are very different and unique; however, both classify equally the same – as cheating.

Re-submission of work is unique in a sense that not often it is mentioned when it comes to academic integrity. Some might even think that it does not belong in a same category with other types of cheating however it fully qualifies as cheating and consequences should apply to it the same.

This type of cheating can be viewed in two ways. First, there is a term defined as double-submission or self-plagiarism. It essentially means that, ‘’submission of work that is the same as, or broadly similar to, assessments you have submitted previously for academic credit, without proper acknowledgement and the prior consent of the module leader for subsequent assessments.’’ (Students.shu.ac.uk, 2019). Therefore, the same work cannot be used twice by student. Second way to look at is by considering actual re-submission of work. There are multiple rules that apply when a student has failed to get a good grade on his assignment or even has failed to submit it prior deadline. If student has failed due to a bad score / mark, then, depending on educational institution he might be allowed to remedy his work according to set of rules set by institution. However, if student has failed to submit in time, then he should not be allowed to re-submit the same assignment, since it would put in disadvantage the rest of the students as they had less time to get the work done. How to continue depends from educational institution, however normally it is either a new assignment, different project or some other task that can be proposed to a student for completion. (Warwick.ac.uk, 2019, p. 3).

Interestingly, this type of cheating applies to a student and a tutor / professor of the class. Student, even if it is not an excuse, might not know all the rules. On the other hand, all the correct academic practices should be known by tutor and he should always consider them before assessing how to proceed in specific situations.

Fabrication of data is a type of cheating that has been done with a clear intent to cheat. On a website of University of Sheffield, it is noted that, “Fabrication is submitting work (for example, practical or laboratory work) any part of which is untrue, made up, falsified or fabricated in any way. This is regarded as fraudulent and dishonest.” (Sheffield, 2019, p. 4). Facts and data cannot be made up just to serve the purpose of your academic work.

It is worth noting that fabrication of data also might be done accidently by more inexperienced academics. There is a difference between selective data used to support specific claim and falsified data. In one case, research is very biased and simply might not receive high marking, while in the other – serious consequences may follow.

Consequences depend on severity of the case therefore different outcomes are to be expected. In some cases, a person may get away with just a warning, while in other cases – a person might fail a module without a chance to re-do it the year after, which means expulsion from course. Depending on circumstances, there might be a possibility that a person is issued another attempt to complete assignment under specific conditions. (Students.shu.ac.uk, 2019, p. 7).

Irrelevant of the type of cheating and consequences, it will always remain on a record that a person has conducted malpractice in academic environment. It is strongly recommended to ensure that good academic practice is followed at all times, and if not sure – always double check your referencing before submitting your work.

Bibliography

  1. Students.shu.ac.uk. (2019). [online] Available at: https://students.shu.ac.uk/regulations/conduct_discipline/Academic%20Conduct%20Regulations%202017-18.pdf [Accessed 10 Feb. 2019].
  2. Warwick.ac.uk. (2019). Failure and resubmission. [online] Available at: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/english/currentstudents/postgraduate/masters/mahandbook/failureandresubmission/ [Accessed 10 Feb. 2019].
  3. Sheffield, U. (2019). Plagiarism, collusion and the use of unfair means in assessment – Postgraduate Taught Students – Current Students – ScHARR – The University of Sheffield. [online] Sheffield.ac.uk. Available at: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/scharr/current/pgt/plagiarism [Accessed 10 Feb. 2019].

Cheating in a Bottom Line Economy

The world is in a transition period where the economy is bigger and thriving more than ever. Each economy has had hits throughout its time. Economies are systems where money is accumulated by businesses and services. Under a magnifying glass, businesses and services are not anything without the people. People who have a role in a business have different morals and obligations to their organizations. The situations and results of what people do in their organizations are important because spectators view these situations through different lenses.

Business Ethics is important to the world. It offers different lenses in the business world to understand why businesses go into the negative or how they ran successfully. Each person is seen through the lenses of what motivates them and how they operate in the business. There is a broken culture of cheating in getting ahead. People cheat to get ahead and to be successful. Though there are people with ideas to restore balance in the capitalistic society that needs some sort of equality or justice. Business Ethics is significant because no matter how advanced the world becomes businesses will have the same motivational factors. Business Ethics provides theories and formulas for the dilemmas that happen in a business where it benefits all people in learning what issues can be avoided.

The understanding of Business Ethics is defined by authors, John Isbister and David Callahan. Both authors’ texts go hand-and-hand with the idea of trying to restore the economy and business. Isbister talks about the capitalistic society and challenges the readers how to creatively achieve social equality amongst all people. The correlation with Business Ethics is how the systems implemented by governments are trying to regulate and distribute money to everyone. Though the systems are getting beaten by everyone and trying to make and determine their own piece of the ‘pie’. Business Ethics is aligned with economics that in which everyone is taking what they deserve. In relation to the ‘Cheating Culture’ by David Callahan who talks about Americans wanting to be a part of the Winning Class —— the richest people who make up the top one percent and make more money than ninety percent of the population. The Cheating Culture is a serious matter and epidemic. The Winning Class cheats and faces barely any or not any repercussions for any wrongdoings. So the lower social class views these situations as a formula to become part of the social class. Both authors have based and written their books on why the essentials to live in society are hard to obtain. People cheat because in the capitalistic society to afford or maintain a way of living. Greed lies in some people’s morality because they want to think they earned it.

The dilemmas explained in John Isbister’s, Capitalism and Justice are questioned with the government’s system in the way it works. Isbister starts the book with the analogy of animals and what should everyone should get if they were put in the work. The face of the dilemma starts off, in reality, it is about capitalism. The true problem is that capitalism is broken along with its characteristics. According to Isbister, he states “In the United States, governments at all levels are responsible for almost one-third of the country’s output, and the government regulations influence the way in which the remaining two-thirds,” (Capitalism and Justice, Page 39). The government is the problem because they are supposed to regulate the market but have a laissez-faire of sorts. Business Ethics, from the perspective of libertarianism, believes that the government should imply contracts and have military protection. Libertarians want to hold people accountable for their role in the economy. Plus the government only provides protection to citizens from the military. The point of view of Libertarians would not solely work. Their view is slightly hard because the government lets its people have private ownership and business and not regulating the government would make the market go haywire. The current way the government is set up now could work or from the utilitarian perspective would work much more. Utilitarianism theorists believe that everything should be for the greater good of the majority. The leaders in the government believe that system works because most people get what they deserve. In agreeance, Isbister believes utilitarianism would work more than anything because he talks about Russia transitioning from an economy that was communist to capitalist. He condemns the libertarianism view with the results of what happened in Russia: high crime and mob-crime groups. Libertarianism theorists would not work because the world would not be any better. The market is ridiculously unorganized because the government would not have any interference. In addition, contracts would not really hold them liable for their business. The morality of some people would take over resulting in greed and taking more than can because there is not any constant restorative justice. Business Ethics is important because it revolves around what is best for society, and people with the use of historical situations that heavily failed. As society advances the idea of business is the same no matter how much the market grosses. The principles of Business Ethics are significant because it theorizes what could be the catalyst for productivity and efficiency for an individual or an entire economy.

The dilemmas explained by David Callahan, in ‘The Cheating Culture’ are far more individualized than Isbister’s writings. Callahan writes about notable failed or corrupted businesses and the leaders of these companies in how they conducted business. Callahan theorizes after breaking down all the scenarios how to restore balance to the corruptly run business world. For example, Callahan states, “The IRS goes after less-affluent tax cheats because they are easy prey. Middle-class and lower-income Americans don’t have the resources to put up a lengthy fight against the IRS. But America’s wealthiest taxpayers, backed by top tax lawyers and accountants, are adept at trying IRS investigators up in knots for years,” (The Cheating Culture, Page 157). The dilemma here is that taxation is not fairly based on income but on loopholes. The rich are not taxed as much as the middle class or poor because the rich can afford lawyers to get out by paying out a small chunk of their salary. Callahan’s response to the unjust taxation is that the wealthiest of people is who to point the finger at. The blame goes to the wealthiest people because they shape society’s social economics. They created loopholes and cheat codes for sustaining wealth in America. There is not any way to stop it. Callahan and Isbister’s theories correlate well together because capitalism is not broken equating to everyone wanting to cheat. Another example stated by Callahan is, “Economic insecurity is nothing new to the bottom third of American households. But the downsizing […] meant less job security for professionals who should reside securely within the middle class. Most of those who are downsized find other jobs, but these often pay less and carry few pension or health-care benefits,” (The Cheating Culture, Page 171). Economic insecurity happens and people are out of jobs then affects their life and well-being. People are being laid off and have new jobs where they might not be able to retire comfortably or have the benefits of working. Benefits and pensions matter because it not only ensures the individual working but the household of the worker too. The laying off of workers leaves workers scrambling for jobs and lowers their social class. Callahan’s response to economic insecurity would be to have the government step in to ensure more jobs are secure. The government has to do so because the income becomes vastly bigger. Plus the government has a social contract with its people to sacrifice social freedom for the protection of the country, or in this case, the country’s economy. Such as Isbister believes government participation is key to making the market more stable. Fewer jobs but more money being made would hurt the economy rather than everyone being able to benefit in some way. Business Ethics is significant to government and business because values need to be maintained, questioned, or revised for mankind to be successful or avoid situations.

Dilemmas in the news that affect the world currently. Such as:

The Germany-based luxury car company, Mercedes-Benz, says it will eliminate 9,500 jobs of its 61,000 jobs. The reason for the job-cutting is that the company plans on going on to electric cars, and lack of growth in China due to the trade war. From Isbister’s point of view, he thinks capitalism has to grow but there is an uneven balance as to why it has. If the car company cuts jobs mean fewer workers but more money made an appearance in the market. The owner is making that decision to appeal to the social culture of the car market on how everything is more eco-friendly. Plus Mercedes-Benz wants to have an equal market share as much or more than its competitors. With a lack of brand growth in China, the car company has to still sustain a certain economic value each year. The owner is thinking from a utilitarianism theory because it is all about what is best for the company. Or from a non-consequentialist view, the owner is not thinking about the consequences but more so the action itself. Importance of Business Ethics helps make a business more efficient which will later affect the economy in a good way or bad way.

Another dilemma happened in the United Kingdom where a deal with an advertising company caused debt for small businesses. According to the BBC, the small businesses made a deal with an advertising company and the businesses were going to finance and then be paid out later. The advertising business soon went out of business and could not pay its advertisers. The only way to be slightly compensated would be to sell more ads. Plus the paperwork that was made with the deal was not the best which resulted in them having debt. Some of the advertisers cut their losses. Then some asked the government to step in seeing what they can do to at least get out of debt. If Callahan were to figure out who to blame would be the advertising company. Callahan would think this dilemma would be categorical imperative. The owners acted and tried to get the government involved to make way for those who might have a problem like this in the future. Plus they want to make things right even though they will pay the personal debt from the ad deal. They want to be compensated but also they want other businesses to avoid a future business deal like this. Isbister would argue that capitalism and the way cash is dispensed are unbalanced. It is unbalanced people try to make their own businesses but sometimes go into debt. The debt kills the business and makes working-class individuals lose their spot in a capitalistic society. Plus the gap between the rich and poor opened more than ever due to people who tried to establish themselves in the working class to be in the Winning Class.

The last dilemma would be a Maltese businesses man who was convicted of murder. Morally, murder is wrong. According to ABC News, the young reporter that blogged about Yongen Fenech, a Maltese businessman, was an extreme lobbyist for his company. Fenech sent killers to kill her but soon was charged with her murder. According to David Callahan, Fenech would be an ethical egoist. Fenech cared about himself and his company. He knew that a blog about him would change his company economically so he did what was “right”. Capitalism corrupts the mind in how people strive to be successful.

Business Ethics is important to the world because the goal for everyone is to be successful and obtain astronomical amounts of wealth. The things people do not think of are the dilemmas it comes with them. Either the dilemmas might be with the individual, the business, or the economy. In some way shape or form, it affects a part of you. Business Ethics is important because business becomes more efficient in productivity and fewer problems to be avoided due to learning from past situations. Business Ethics questions morality and always finding out ways to achieve economic justice. Economic justice can be equality for all if sorted by the government or people cheating to gain their own economic justice.

Business Ethics deals with morality and social justice in relation to economics. The end goal is to have productivity in economics but sometimes greed and integrity interfere with seeking that goal. Business Ethics analyzes capitalism and the people involved in it. The significance of Business Ethics defines what business should or should not look like.

Opinion Essay on Cheating

I Would Prefer Even to Fail with Honor Than Win by Cheating

The world is becoming so dependent on the ‘human rights concept and is gradually resulting in a morally lazy public. Unlike the human rights perspective, the idea of human responsibility originates from the declaration that all human beings are free and equal in rights and dignity upon birth. It means that every individual is endowed with adequate reasoning and conscience and that people should act toward each other in the spirit of brotherhood. Human rights receive better protection when every person understands their duties to one another, as well as, to the local, national, regional, and global communities. However, steroid use is still a major problem affecting sports around the world. While the concerned authorities are doing their best to contain the problem, it still rests on the individual athletes to take action by reporting their colleagues breaking this policy. On this premise, I believe that despite steroid use being rampant in my sport, it would be cheating if I were to use them too.

The widespread use of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) and the associated drug dependency have altered the perception that steroidal use is cheating in sports. Kirkwood argued this point out from the perspective of cheating as an advantage-seeking behavior (485). This argument followed the example of doping, where sportspeople are allowed to use banned substances as long as there is medical verification. On a similar note, AAS addiction has become a problem among sportspeople. This addiction has caused athletes to become dependent on regular doses of steroids to keep them from developing withdrawal symptoms and becoming ineffective in sports. The question then becomes whether steroidal use becomes cheating, now that sportspeople are not seeking an advantage in the game itself but rather a relief from the effects of the drug addiction problem. McGrew also upheld this view in his research, when he propositioned that the medical community has effectively discredited myths revolving around the effects of AAS (234). For instance, steroid users do not exhibit destructive rage as many believe. From this angle, AAS have risks but are safe as long as they are administered properly.

Even though the previous articles view the use of steroids as not cheating, others have differing opinions. Dodge et al. contended that it is all a matter of perspective and demonstrates using two scenarios, i.e., representing the athletic and academic domains (678). On the one hand, an athlete abused steroids to succeed in a sports event while on the other, a student used AAS to pass midterm exams. The participants of the study were asked to select which of the two cheated and compared the responses. The findings revealed that most of the participants believed the athlete to be a cheater and many more believed that the student was justified to use AAS to pass exams. From this angle, the circumstances will define whether people will view drug abuse as cheating or not. One way to explain the percepts in the presented case regarding a student and an athlete is the fact that many would have believed the latter to be a frequent user, which is the characteristic of many sportspeople (Dodge et al. 681). As such, the student was more justified because it was probably the first time to use AAS. Despite taking a different viewpoint from the rest, however, this article only enhances the ambiguity that surrounds the concept of cheating in the context of AAS use in sports.

A moral criterion that will be useful in the evaluation of the action involving steroid use will be team responsibility. In any sport, an individual will have to partake in a team from local to international competition. That means that each person has a role to play in ensuring the success of the team. The premise of a team is shared responsibility, which means that the members of the group commit to the completion of the tasks given to them and aid their colleagues in meeting deadlines (Bonner et al. 1983). For such a goal to be accomplished, trust is an important element. If I were to engage in steroid use to enhance my performance, I place my entire team at risk of being excluded from the competition, as is the nature of shared responsibility. The rationale for this claim is that if my drug use is noticed, I will face expulsion from the competition and all my achievements will be stripped from me as well as my team. Furthermore, risking steroid use will damage not only my reputation but that of other athletes on my team that had probably no idea what was happening.

Another moral criterion that will be valuable in examining steroid use is accountability, which highlights issues such as answerability, liability, and blameworthiness. Heck et al. define accountability as the assurance that the performance of an organization or individual will be assessed based on that which they are held responsible (44). Within a team, each member is given a role to play to achieve an overall goal that would ensure victory. Success, therefore, depends on the ability of each individual to play his or her part by making certain sacrifices and meeting their obligations. Using steroids to boost my performance only means that I will be prioritizing my personal glory at the expense of my team. If the steroids were to cause unintended consequences, I would place the entire team at risk of failing. Steroids can be damaging to the muscles and can cause faster deterioration of muscle cells, resulting in burnout (Egner et al. 11). Being accountable means that I am responsible for the role I am given on the team and that means taking measures to ensure that I am ready for the competition using proper

Based on team responsibility, it is vital for a person to ensure that he or she behaves in a manner that brings success to the team. The premise is that the consequences of the individual actions of the team members have repercussions for the team. If one of them were to be caught using steroids to boost performance, he or she places the entire team at risk of losing the competition. For instance, most sports operate using a fixed number of players, which forces competing teams to have two teams in place as a precaution. In case one of the most crucial members were to be kicked out due to steroid use, the team will have to resort to a less-qualified player. The outcome will be that the team’s ability to function as it should diminish and so does the prospect of winning the tournament. Conforming to the requirements of shared responsibility means that any member should not take actions that would jeopardize the team.

In the context of accountability, a team player has a responsibility to ensure that he or she performs the role given to the best of one’s capabilities. Being a part of a team implies an unspoken form of a social contract that each member must strive to uphold. Accountability means that each team member does all he or she can win for the team within the requirements of the law. Steroid use entails breaking the anti-doping rules that make up most competitions, meaning that it is not within acceptable parameters. Accountability also means that in case a member discovers the other consuming steroids, corrective action should be taken before the problem graduates into one that could affect the entire team. Ignoring it will only allow the issue to fester and become more devastating once the bubble bursts. In summary, accountability requires that each team member should be liable for his or her actions and be ready to make amends wherever and whenever possible. The willingness to learn is at the center of this concept since it would be more troubling if a member was to repeat the same mistake.

Human responsibility is a much more effective framework for governing individual actions compared to the human rights perspective. Using team responsibility and accountability as moral criteria, it is evident that using steroids is not a responsible thing for an athlete to do. Not only does it place the individual at risk of suffering health damage but also places the entire team in jeopardy of losing its ability to compete. Thus, it would be cheating for me to use steroids to improve my performance in a competition. Despite the rampant use of AAS among sportsmen, I believe that steroidal use is synonymous with cheating in sports. This view stems from the standpoint that sports are motivated by rules, upon which competitors are expected to compete against each other in a fair manner. Literature evidence supports the existence of a conundrum in the perception of AAS usage as cheating because it is more about relieving addiction needs than seeking an advantage in the competition.

Studies on Cheating among Students with High Achievements

Cheating is a dishonest way to get information; 60.8% of college students admit to cheating. The Adventures of the Three students was written in 1904. Students in college cheat in many ways such as getting other students to do the work for them. Cheating has been around for many years and some staff and faculty assist students in cheating. In some cases, colleges cover up the cheating done by students. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle explains in the story of the Adventures of the Three Students the theme that cheating at the collegiate level is still around 140 years later.

Students come up with various ways in order to accomplish cheating. “The man entered and took the papers, sheet by sheet, from the central table. He carried them over to the window table, because from there he could see if you came across the courtyard, and so could affect an escape”(Doyle 3). This quote supports the thesis by describing how Gilchrist skillfully took the papers from the professor’s office. In the book Bannister explained, “he was nearly expelled over a card scandal in his first year” (Doyle 4). The quote relates to the thesis because it proves that Gilchrist previously cheated and continued to cheat throughout his college years. “A new investigation by Brad Wolverton of The Chronicle of Higher Education describes alleged cases of academic misconduct by former members of the Texas Longhorns men’s basketball team, including cheating by a player who ‘allegedly took some pictures of some test questions during a final exam for a remedial math class with his phone and sent them to someone outside his math class looking for answers,’ Wolverton tells NPR’s Arun Rath” (Wolverton 7). The online quote explains exactly how a college athlete cheated and shows how cheating still occurs in today’s times. “Just as higher education is changing…the cheating business is transforming as well, finding new and more insidious ways to undermine academic integrity” (Wolverton 5). The book relates to the thesis because it explains how today, the rate of cheating is continuing to grow.

Besides the increased rate of cheating, there have been various scandals involving cheating at the collegiate level. “When once the law is evoked it cannot stay again, and this is just one of those cases where, for the credit of the college, it is most essential to avoid scandal” (Doyle 1). The quote supports the topic by showing how even years ago, colleges wanted to cover up scandals. Colleges do not want bad news to be attracted to their universities. “Either I must find the man or else the examination must be postponed until fresh papers are prepared, and since this cannot be done without explanation there will ensue a hideous scandal, which will throw a cloud not only on the college but on the University” (Doyle 2). This proves that the administration of universities is prepared to do whatever it takes to not have a scandal in the mists of their students. The issue of scandal does not only happen in stories, it happens in the modern day as well. “More than 50 people have been charged with participating in the college admissions scandal, a scheme involving bribery, money laundering, and document fabrication to unfairly get students admitted to elite colleges” (Wolverton 4). The quote backs up the book by showing that multiple people are involved in scandals related to cheating. “50 college coaches, exam proctors, admissions counselors, and parents—are alleged to have done a lot of things that were clearly legally wrong” (Helling 2). This source proves that adults do things illegally just to help their kids and try to avoid scandal.

Parents, administrators, and coaches can elaborate on a student cheating. For example, when Bannister said, “Wasn’t it natural, sir, that I should save him, and wasn’t it natural also that I should try to speak to him as his dead father would have done, and make him understand that he could not profit by such a deed? Could you blame me, sir?” (Doyle 8). This quote explains that some adults are willing to cover for students no matter what. However, some adults may have guilt. “Bannister was very much upset by the incident. He had nearly fainted when we found that the papers had undoubtedly been tampered with” (Doyle 2). Bannister was trying very hard to make sure Gilchrist did not get caught so he had to lie. Some adults have no guilt in helping other people cheat. “For years, North Carolina gamed the system and cheated athletes. Some were funneled into classes that required little work for high grades. While their education suffered, the athletes entertained Tar Heel fans, minted money for the school, and helped line the pockets of coaches and administrators. And the school got away with it” (Gregory 5). The school purposely helped students cheat in order to gain something. Not only do adults assist students in cheating, but some students believe that they cheat because of their teachers. “People cheat when they have too much to do and too little time to do it. When teachers feel this time pressure, we sometimes blast through the curriculum, modeling for students that they can rush through it, too” (Tovani 3). Some students cannot learn by the way teachers teach, therefore resulting in cheating to be able to pass the course.

There are many factors that relate to students cheating. Adults have a big role in the way students cheat, and how students get away with it. Some students feel as if they are forced to cheat to help them get through their education. Parents, administrators, and coaches even assist people with cheating to cover up scandals. Even 140 years later, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s story of the Adventure of the Three Students still justifies how students in the modern-day deceive the education system. Think before you cheat.

Why Cheating Is Wrong: Argumentative Essay

Since entering the corporate world four years ago, unethical behavior and cheating have come up as frequent topics at work. In fact, there is so much cheating in every single organization experienced, I have become interested in becoming an auditor or investigating financial crimes. These situations literally make an organization collapse from the inside out. Student cheating, like cheating in any other business setting, undermines legitimate, hard-working students from reaching attainable goals. Eventually, all cheating will be exposed as humans are not perfect, leading to public distrust of a company or university, then a loss of investments or business. It is necessary to maintain integrity in an organization from a legal standpoint in regard to financial documents since past company scandals have led to stricter regulations and enforcement in the United States. People lose careers, and life savings, and potentially earn jail time from cheating in business or school.

Businesses pressure for results, especially when a company is declining so they can make up for the lost earning potential from the past. This is simply impossible, instead strategic plans that fail should be modified to work, instead of simply increasing the workload on bottom-level employees. Employees fear for their job security and production to the point they would rather cheat than be honest to survive. “.…not only in the case of Enron and other corporate scandals but also in a growing body of academic research demonstrating that giving people specifically, challenging performance goals causes them to cheat on tasks or misrepresent their performance (Healy, 2016).” Instead, many companies do not consider cutting their largest expenses, such as executive salaries or bonuses, and would rather fire an entire department of a company for not reaching an impossible goal. Many companies want a short-term financial benefit from their actions without concern for legal ramifications later, rather they could have created a long-term, stable foundation upon which to grow. Leader’s that fear the failure of a company or the loss of their salaries (much like lower-level employees with low morale) do not make logical decisions, nor provide good results. If people could change their personal model, so work would be less of a competition between employees and more so a group of people working together to reach a common goal, ethics may improve. “Our government… teaches the whole people by its example. If the government becomes the lawbreaker (or moral lawbreaker), it breeds contempt for the law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy. Louis D. Brandeis”

If all of the businesses I have worked for had cheating that impacted my performance, it is only logical to assume it is happening at schools as well. In a study of United States high schools, 56% of students had cheated on a test and 32% plagiarized content from the internet (Fugate, 2018). Cheating causes everyone to have higher standards, whether that is additional rules to follow after getting caught, or so many people did better than average due to cheating the overall expectation is elevated. Many companies have an ethics department; thus, schools should also proactively monitor for potential cheating. Turn it in is a great tool if it is used for every student for every assignment. It gives everyone a level of moral standing, to begin with, and thus proving yourself without a chance to be discriminated against. This takes the burden off of teachers for trying to catch cheating, especially embedded in a long essay for example. According to Reedy, if goals are attainable with an emphasis on following the rules first and foremost, this should prevent cheating. Thus, assignments should be clear about content and format, with the expectation of submitting to turn it in every time.

In conclusion, it is not okay to cheat on exams or papers, as the effect is far-reaching beyond a single event. It is a given that people will cheat if they need it to get ahead, and those with strong morals will not let another person’s behavior dictate their actions. If cheating becomes widespread amongst most students at a university, it undermines the value of education as it is not serving its purpose. Honest people are now at a disadvantage if cheating is widespread, as standards may increase. We have discussed the direct parallels between cheating in academic and business settings, and how they both have negative impacts on the entire organization.

Problem of Cheating of School Administration and Teachers in Standardized Testing

Mary Jones is the Principal of Elderberry Elementary school in Dacula, Georgia. She has been the Principal for almost 20 years. In the past five years the testing scores have gone down, and the district has been on her about what she can do to make sure the testing scores get better. When she first noticed the scores had started to drop, she instructed teachers to go over the curriculum with the students again before the testing started. When that did not help, she asked her staff to hold tutoring for the students that they saw were struggling for 2-3 weeks before testing started to see if that would help boost test scores. No matter what Mrs. Jones tried nothing was working to get the test scores to where they needed to be.

In February 2019 Mrs. Jones held a meeting with her teachers to discuss what needed to be done for the upcoming testing next week. In this meeting Mrs. Jones told the teachers that they are to pace the students and keep them on one page or one set of questions until the entire class has caught up. Mrs. Jones also instructed the teachers to have students write the answers in the test booklet and not on the Scantron sheets. Jones told the teachers that they are going to wander through the classroom when the students are testing to check their responses. Alert the child if an answer is wrong so they can try again.

Jones told the teachers that when they were satisfied that all students had completed that portion of the test correctly that they were to instruct the students to bubble their answers on the Scantron sheet. If the student doesn’t know the answers, tell them to leave the Scantron empty for that question. Jones then told the teachers they must then repeat the process with the next set of problems until the whole test is complete. Mrs. Jones gave the teachers instructions on how to help students cheat on tests.

Many of the teachers disagreed with what Jones was asking of them but did not speak up about it in fear of being reprimanded for going against what the Principal asked them to do. The teachers later met and decided that all they would do is pace the students on the testing so that they would have more time to answer. After the testing was done Jones asked for the teachers to bring her the test so that she could look over them.

When Jones realized the teachers did not do as she had asked, she spent the rest of the day fixing the test so that they would have higher grades on them. When a few of the teachers realized what she was doing they decided to report her to the state. The teachers tried to go to Jones first and asked her to change the test back or to have the students retake the test so that there would be no issue of their school cheating. Jones denied the request of the teachers and submitted the altered test.

The teachers went to the School Board and the state less than a week after Mrs. Jones submitted the testing to make them aware of what was going on. The School Board and the State launched an investigation based on the allegations of the teachers. The teachers asked to remain anonymous in fear of backlash from Mrs. Jones. Two weeks after the test results came in Mrs. Jones was asked to come to the School Boards office to talk about the test scores. Mrs. Jones was asked about the allegations made regarding the testing and she denied all of it. The School board told Mrs. Jones about how her teachers had come to them about what she had asked them to do and about the knowledge of her changing the answers when they did not do as she asked. Mrs. Jones was put on a non-paid leave of absence while an investigation could be thoroughly done.

The issue with this case is that school administration or teachers that cheat on standardized testing is unethical and immoral. Unfortunately, it is becoming popular to cheat on standardized examinations. The problem is it may also have long-term consequences on the academic performance of students. Like social promotion, cheating to help students pass a high-stake exam may allow those who fail to resolve technical obstacles, such as progressing to the next school stage, but it can harm them when they later attempt to progress to more challenging content.

Mrs. Jones knew that what she was doing was wrong and that there could be severe implications to her actions, but she was more concerned about getting the scores higher than figuring out what the true problem was. While the teachers told the School Board and the State what happened after the testing was over, they are somewhat at fault as well for going along with part of what Jones had asked them to do. The teachers should have spoken up and refused to alter testing in anyway.

By altering the test results the school has made a bad name for themselves and have hurt the students more than helping them. There is a lot more to school than just test results. Schools need to be able to identify what the problems are in their schools and what the students need to learn and how best they learn. By altering test results the schools are not teaching the students.

The topic of this case is schools, teachers and/or administration altering test results to make it seem that the students are doing better than they are. By altering the test results, it makes it seem that the curriculum that is being taught to the students is the best. This topic gives insight to difficulties schools have when it comes to testing and the extreme measures that school personnel sometimes take to make sure that they look better than what is going on. Schools are graded on how good the test results are and can potentially get more funding when test results are good. By cheating on standardized test this not only causes an ethical issue of honesty, but it is also one of taking money for something that is not true.

There have been many causes of schools altering test results or guiding students to the correct answers to achieve higher test results. Many of the cases that have been seen are of administration telling the teachers to do unethical procedures during testing and the teachers being afraid of the repercussions of what would happen if they refused to do what the administration said to the teachers being involved and ok with what is going on. All teachers and administration should have had to go through ethics classes or seminars so they know when they alter testing results, they are doing something that can cause major issues. In most of the cases they are hoping that they just do not get caught.

One case that happened in the state that I live in made national news. In 2009 around 150 teachers and administration from 44 different schools in Atlanta were accused of cheating on standardized test that were used to assess student performance and to grade schools on how well they are doing. They adjusted answers to meet raised demands and got bonuses and promotions based on false scores along the way. Eighty-two teachers admitted to the cheating right away. An 800-page study said there was almost a decade of deception. This first surfaced when the state found on the response sheets an unprecedented amount of erasure points. Teachers and administrators deleted the incorrect answers and filled in the correct ones. The staff also organized weekend dinner parties at one school to correct the answers before handing them in. Scores at school soared 45 per cent over the course of a single year.

Beverly Hall, the former Superintendent, was charged with motivating the cheating. In incentives related to better performance results, she won hundreds of thousands of dollars, gains that now appear to be fake. Out of the 178 teachers and administrators that were accused 35 were indicted and all but 12 took plea deals. Twelve also went to court. Hall never made it to court because she passed away before the court hearing. The jury opened on 29 September 2014, presided over by Judge Jerry Baxter of the Fulton County Superior Court. It was Georgia ‘s longest criminal trial and lasted for eight months. On the first of April 2015, 11 of the 12 defendants were convicted on charges of racketeering. Dessa Curb was the only professor not found guilty on any and all charges.

Another case that is similar to my case study is one that happened in Illinois. This case is of only one teacher instead of multiple teachers though. In this case Jennifer Longanecker, a tenured fifth grade instructor was suspected of intentionally cracking the seals on standardized exam booklets in order to help students manipulate the study. It was found that Longanecker had opened a sealed ISAT test booklet with the express intention of improperly assisting some students on the test despite knowing that such conduct was prohibited. Not only had she opened the test with the intent to teach the students straight off the test she also helped students answer test questions and tried to blame a student for the open test booklet.

Longanecker had a student teacher in her room at the time that she cracked the seals on the exams. Angela Michell was in the classroom the day that the exams were dropped off by Gaye Dunn, a school counselor. Mitchell said that Longanecker dismissed her students to the gym and then closed the door and opened one of the packets. Mitchell stated that Longanecker read through the booklet and started telling Mitchell what they needed to start teaching the students and key words that they were going to need to know. The day after the incident Mitchell went and spoke to her college advisor about what Longanecker had done. Kim Moreno, Mitchells advisor, called the University curriculum supervisor, Ann Gregory, who then called Ronald Harris, the principal of Jennifer Longanecker. Harris immediately called the Superintendent who advised him to have his assistant principal and East Moline Education Association Co-President go and check the booklets.

Harris checked the seals on the reading portion of the test booklets and found that the seals of all three parts of the reading sections had been broken on one child’s booklet. Harris question the student and asked if he had broken the seals. The student said that he had only broken the math section seals. The School board went to a dismissal hearing about what Longanecker was accused of. During the hearing the hearing officer recommended that Longanecker be reinstated but the School Board dismissed the recommendation and let Longanecker go.

Longanecker appealed the decision to the to the Third District Appellate Court. The Third District Appellate Court disagreed with Longaneckers claim. They cited the 2016 decision of the Illinois Supreme Court in Beggs v. Board of Education of the Murphysboro Community Unit School District No. 186, the court explained that, when reviewing a decision to terminate a tenured teacher, courts are required to defer the findings and determinations of the school board, not the hearing officer.

In conclusion, the fact is, the higher the demands put on standardized test results, the higher the burden on educators to do whatever it takes to juice the ratings, even though they undermine the standards of education. The importance of standardized test outcomes keeps on increasing, with state and federal policymakers using these test scores to grant school districts either bonuses or penalties. Many schools, particularly those in low-income communities who are still stretched their money too thin, face increased pressure to ‘teach the exams’ to ensure that all of their much-needed funding continues. Apparently, the pressure has led some teachers and administrators to ‘edit’ test scores so that schools are given a better overall performance.

While the debate about standardized testing is raging, school districts will continue to individually investigate and manage cheating teachers and administrators. When we consider the implications these controversies bring to both the schools and the children entering them, citizens may continue to doubt the appropriate approaches to measure student and school success, without the increased burden for the schools to succeed given the educational difficulties they might face.

Improved monitoring controls should potentially discourage unscrupulous instructors from changing student responses. However, only when the complexity of what leads to annual test score increases and decreases is recognized, the hard truth is that even our finest educators , administrators and school districts will decide to spend time on standardized test pep rallies and shaving time from science and civic lessons to drill children on bubble sheet testing tricks.