Elizaveta Harvey

1

Harvey

Elizaveta Harvey

Georgie Monahan

Essentials of Argumentation 220

27 November 2013

Proposition of Policy

Background of controversy:According tothe recent data from the report, the Learning Curve, prepared by theEconomist Intelligence Unit (2013), the United States is ranked 17thin the assessment of the education systems of 50 countries.Despite the variety of effortsand large amount of money invested into the programs of improvement ofthe educational performance, American students continue demonstratingaverage scores. Thus, grades became an indicator of the effectiveness of the educational process for students, instructors, and administration of the educational institution. Hyper-individualized society and focus on high-stakes testing as the only quantitative characteristics of the result shifted the educational system and displaced the true purpose of learning process, obtaining the knowledge, witha constant competition for better scores or GPA. Better grades means better funding for the school, an equivalent for competence of instructors, and rewards from parents (Howard Blume). And when stakes are high, the actions are “easier” to justify. The study of self-deception made by Zoë Chance et al. in Harvard Business School in 2011 explains: “People often rationalize their behavior in an effort to maintain a positive view of themselves.” Some people say that “cut the corners” and get ahead in life have almost the same meaning within the framework of excessive modern standards. They claim that everyone cheats, “it is cheat or be cheated” (ChallengeSuccess 2011).Others, in order to underline the detrimental effects of academic cheating, connect this notion to the thriving cheating culture, which poisons different areas of modern life. The controversy exists regarding the methods targeting to reduce the existence of cheating culture. Research leads to the specific proposition of policy:

Policy proposition:Educational institutions, State,and Federal governments should significantly strengthen and enforce laws and create educational programs to reduce the culture of cheating.

Definition:For the purpose of this research, the definition of “educational institution” was found in the glossary of statistical terms for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD):“Educational institutions are defined as entities that provide instructional services to individuals or education-related services to individuals and other educational institutions.”According to CheatingCulture project, “cheating is a violation of established rules or ethical principles for financial, professional, or academic gain.” … “Cheating includes, but is not limited to: lying; copying from another’s test; taking or receiving copies of an exam without the permission of the instructor, using or displaying notes, ‘cheat sheets’, or other information devices inappropriate to the prescribed test conditions; and allowing someone other than the officially enrolled student to represent same.The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes plagiarism/to plagiarize: “…to commit literary theft: to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own; use (another's production) without crediting the source.”Academic dishonesty is defined as “obtaining or attempting to obtain, or aiding another to obtain credit for work, or any improvement of evaluation of performance, by any dishonest or deceptive means.”The School for Ethical Education (SEE) defines academic integrity as “honest academic work where (1) the ideas and the writing of others are properly cited; (2) students submit their own work for tests and assignments without unauthorized assistance; (3) students do not provide unauthorized assistance to others; and (4) students report their research or accomplishments accurately.” Another definition was found in the same source: “An Honor Code briefly summarizes the school’s Honor Policy, which defines the expected standards and core values of student conduct in academic affairs…The purpose of an Honor Code is to communicate the meaning and importance of academic integrity to all members of the school community.”

Claim 1:The culture of cheating in the U.S. is a problem.

Sub-claim A:Academic cheating is a significant problem in American educational system.

Ground A1:The evidence of academic cheating in the United States is found in different educational institutions. This notion was confirmed by Sarah Galzer in the article, “Plagiarism and Cheating,” forCQ Researcher, published on January 4th, 2013: “In surveys done between Fall 2002 and Spring 2011 by Donald L. McCabe, founding president of the International Center for Academic Integrity, more than two-thirds of college students admit to cheating on a test or on written assignments — including plagiarizing from published materials or getting someone else to write their term paper — according to the International Center for Academic Integrity, a coalition of colleges and K-12 schools based at Clemson University in South Carolina… “Teresa Fishman, executive director of the center, points out that the two-thirds cheating rate has remained fairly steady over the past 20 years — before the World Wide Web existed. ‘This is a longstanding problem — not a problem just from the Internet age,’ she contends.” Ground A2: As being revealed in ChallengeSuccess report, [Project at Stanford University] of 2012: “In 2010, the Josephson Institute of Ethics surveyed 43,000 students from both public and private high schools and asked them about their cheating behaviors. They found that 59% of students surveyed admitted to having cheated on a test in the past year, and more than 80% of students admitted to having copied another student’s homework (Josephson Institute of Ethics, 2010).” The report continues: “Challenge Successresearchers surveyed over 1,400 high-school students and found similarly high rates of cheating: 97% of the students admitted to cheating at least one time in the past year, and 75% admitted to cheating 4 or more times in the past year(Challenge Success, 2011).

Ground A3: The recent report(2011) from the survey of 23,000 high school students, which was conducted by the Los Angeles-based Josephson Institute of Ethics demonstrates “…more than one in four girls (28%) and nearly half of the boys (45%) believe that ‘A person has to lie or cheat at least occasionally in order to succeed.’” “...more than half (52%) admitted cheating on exams in the past year, 20 percent said they stole something from a store, 18 percent admitting stealing something from a parent or other relative, and 14 percent (19% of the boys versus 10% of the girls) stole something from a friend within the previous 12 months.”

Ground A4: Teachers and school officials falsify students’ standardized tests results in order to get State and Government funding. A journalist for New York Times, Michael Winerip, reveals in the article “Ex-Schools Chief in Atlanta Is Indicted in Testing Scandal,” published on March 29th, 2013: The 2011 state [Atlanta] investigation concluded cheating occurred at 44 schools so educators could avoid losing their jobs and earn bonuses… Beverly L. Hall earned more than $500,000 in performance bonuses while superintendent. Dr. Hall, one of 35 Atlanta educators, who was charged with racketeering, theft, influencing witnesses, conspiracy and making false statements. …Dr. Hall and the 34 teachers, principals and administrators ‘conspired to either cheat, conceal cheating or retaliate against whistle-blowers in an effort to bolster C.R.C.T. scores for the benefit of financial rewards associated with high test scores,’ the indictment said, referring to the state’s Criterion-Referenced Competency Test…Teachers and principals whose students had high test scores received tenure and thousands of dollars in performance bonuses. Otherwise, as one teacher explained, it was ‘low score out the door.’”

Warrant A1&2&3&4: Data clearly demonstrates the evidence of academic cheating related to cheating culturein different educational institutions. (Generalization/Sign)

Sub-claim B:The culture of cheating is harmful to society as well as it creates obstacles to solving the problem of academic cheating.

Ground B1:Cheating is harmful to those who cheat and people around them. Margaret Hogan, Ph.D., the member of the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy in Salt Lake City, Utah, further supports the statement on the mid-March, Spring Education Meeting in 2013: “The first person who is harmed is the person who cheats. You develop a character for yourself. If you cheat, you’re creating yourself to be a cheater. You hurt your colleagues. If you help create physical therapists that are cheaters, you hurt your patients. The strength of society depends on the strength of each one of us.”

Warrant B1:The example proves that cheating is harmful to society (Sign/Generalization)

Ground B2: People who have history of academic dishonesty cheat in many areas of life. The effect was noticed by Josephson Institute of Ethics and found in the article “Plagiarism and Cheating,” which was mentioned above: “…those who cheat early in life are more likely to cheat later in life, for example, by lying to customers, bosses, or significant others, overstate insurance claims, and falsify tax returns. [The report is based on 6,930 respondents in five age groups (17 and under, 18-24, 25-40, 41-50, and over 50]. Regardless of current age, people who cheated on exams in high school two or more times are considerably more likely to be dishonest later in life. Compared to those who never cheated, high school cheaters are:

• Three times more likely to lie to a customer (20% vs. 6%) or inflate an insurance claim (6% vs. 2%) and more than twice as likely to inflate an expense claim (10% vs. 4%).
• Twice as likely to lie to or deceive their boss (20% vs. 10%) or lie about their address to get a child into a better school (29% vs. 15%) and one-and-a-half times more likely to lie to spouse or significant other (35% vs. 22%) or cheat on taxes (18% vs. 13%).”

Warrant B2:Report showsthat academic cheating leads to further cheating in life, so that cheating becomes an essential compromisewith one’s ethical/moral code. (Causation/ Sign)

Ground B3:Societal nihilism is particularly dangerous for children. Mass media bombard children with the messages about success at any cost and that “the ends justify the means.” Dr. Jim Taylor provides the explanationin the article “Media Teaches Bad Values to Your Children,” posted in his blog on November 8th, 2012: “This culture of avarice not only tolerates, but also encourages this “win at all costs” mentality by modeling and messaging dishonesty, cheating, manipulation, and back stabbing. Examples of this distorted view of success abound in our culture. Reality TV relishes lying and deception. Corporate malfeasance, for example, insider trading and tax fraud, is revealing itself to be the rule rather than the exception in Big Business. Sports has seen the proliferation of illegal performance-enhancing drugs among star athletes who are revered by young athletes.” Ground B4:Many young athletes use illegal performance-enhancing drugs.Dr. Taylor in the same article, which is mentioned above continues: “Research for the American Academy of Pediatrics indicates that between four and 12 percent of high school male athletes—500,000 to one million by some estimates—said they had taken steroids. Pressure to make varsity teams, receive college scholarships, and pursue the dream of professional or Olympic success compel many young athletes to take drastic steps to improve performance. These athletes are heavily influenced by professional athletes who act as their role models. They see that the benefits of steroid use are significant and the consequences of being caught are minimal.” Ground B5: Society is “poisoned” with cheating culture, and young people are the most influenced ones. Dr. Taylor explains: “There is a “social contagion” effect in which young people are more likely to cheat when those around them cheat. When children hear or see others cheat, they assume it’s acceptable to cheat or feel that they must cheat to keep up with their peers. Before the recent advancements in technology, though, the circle of contagions to which young people were exposed was quite small, for example, a group of friends or a sports team. The Internet now exposes children a much wider and more diverse range of contagions, from peers to professional athletes to politicians to businesspeople. The messages from many of those contagions tell children that everyone cheats, it is okay to cheat, and they must cheat if they are going to keep up with those who are already cheating.”

Warrant B3&4&5: The research provides examples that media and technology promote spreading of the harmful cheating culture, which targets the most susceptible classes of the society. (Causation/ Generalization)

Sub-claim C: We are failing to solve the problem of academic dishonesty because of the high-stakes settings of the educational system, poor law enforcement, and many people are unwilling to realize the harmful consequences of academic cheating.

Ground C1:Academic cheating is an ethical problem of society. Chris Rashidian, a staff writerfor Orange Coast College newspaper Coast Report Online in the article “Cheat and win,” published on Nov. 2nd, 2011, support this position: “‘Academic dishonesty is not as addressed as it should be,’ said Rendell Drew, a social science instructor at Orange Coast College. ‘Instructors do not address it as they should because there is a major problem with a lack of ethics from both instructors and students.’”

Warrant C1:The reasons for cheating are rooted in human psychology. In order to solve the problem, the actions should address the roots of the academic dishonesty. (Causation)

Ground C2:The existing evaluation of knowledge system forces students to cheat. It was clarified by Josephson, of the Josephson Institute of Ethics: “When I asked one superintendent why schools had so little interest in taking up my institute’s character-education programs to fight student cheating, I got this answer: ‘Cheating is not the problem; it’s the tests: You have to expect kids to cheat if we test them this way.’”

Ground C3:Focus on grades as an indicator of the effectiveness of the educational system hurts the educational process. Rich Motoko, a journalist for the New York Times, observed this notion in the article “Latest Cheating Scandal Reignites Debate Over Tests’ Role,”published on April 3rd, 2013:“‘Evidence of systemic cheating has emerged in as many as a dozen places across the country, and protests in Chicago, New York City, Seattle, across Texas and elsewhere represent a growing backlash among educators and parents against high-stakes testing…The widespread cheating and test score manipulation problem,’ said Robert Schaeffer, the public education director of FairTest, the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, “is one more example of the ways politicians’ fixation on high-stakes testing is damaging education quality and equity.’”

Ground C4:The educational system is set to question the moral beliefs of the instructor. Sarah Glazer demonstrates this idea in the article, “Cheating and Plagiarism,” which was used above: “…fear of poor student evaluations, which can mean reduced pay, often discourages professors from pursuing cheating or plagiarism. ‘Many teachers don’t want the hassle of pursuing a case of plagiarizing … through numerous administrative levels,’ Gardner [a psychologist Howard Gardner and a professor at the Harvard School of Education] says. Nor do they ‘want to be threatened by parents or students with lawsuits or even physical harm. So at many places, there is in effect a kind of ‘don't ask, don't tell’ policy.’”

Ground C5:The excessive demands of the educational system regarding students’ grades force teachers to cheat. According to the article “Pushing Teachers to the Edge?” from the Los Angeles Times, written by Howard Blume on November 7th, 2011: “‘The current system sets it up so students and teachers must succeed on a multiple-choice test, but it does not provide the resources to do so effectively,’ said one administrator [California] who did not want to be identified because she was concerned about possible career repercussions. Some educators say the pressure to raise students’ test scores creates an atmosphere where it’s no longer unthinkable to cheat…Boththe system and the cheatersare wrong.”

Warrant C2&3&4&5:The examples demonstrate that grades-oriented educational system promotes cheating culture. (Sign/Generalization/Causation)

Ground C6: The educational system set the high standards for teachers removing creativity and professional freedom. Lynn Stout, a journalist for the Los Angeles Times, explains in the article “‘Pay for Performance’ Pitfalls,” published on April 12th, 2013: “Policymakers and reformers assume the solution is ‘getting the incentives right.’ They believe incentives might help and can’t possibly hurt. But as the Atlanta scandal shows, and as social science has proved, incentives can hurt. Pay for performance can create workplaces that suppress ethics and conscience. Instead of more productive employees, you get more opportunistic, unethical and criminal employees. Incentive plans are like dynamite – useful but also dangerous. These plans should be handled only by experts, with great care and in small amounts. … We should let employers and supervisors on the front lines of the workplace – not politicians, bureaucrats or would-be reformers – decide how best to motivate employees. They might decide they need more trust, and fewer incentives.”

Warrant C6:This example proves that teachers are the ones who can promote “healthy” studying environment, not policymakers and reformers (Sign).