Definition Essay: What Is Cheating?

Cheating. It is not right, ethical nor honest. Yet many students and teachers are pressured by today’s society to commit this indiscretion. So what is cheating? According to an article by Standardized Testing, “Cheating can be defined as any intentional action or behavior that violates the established rules governing the administration of a test or the completion of an assignment.” In other words cheating is acting dishonestly to have an advantage over others. This can be done by those taking these tests and by the ones who are administering the tests. Additionally, cheating can be done with school assignments, homework, and/or projects. There are many contributing factors as to why people cheat in academics. Students often find their selves

Students find it challenging to balance school, work and let alone their social life; they turn to cheating as a way to help make their lives more simple. Even though it is wrong and unfair to other students, cheating is caused by society itself: “We are a society that bestows ever larger reward on the winners, whatever field they may be in, while leaving ordinary people feeling more insecure about their economic prospects” (Lathrop and Foss 1). Society teaches students that to succeed in life, failure is not an option. How are students supposed to learn from the decisions they make if they’re going to be criticized by every small move they make? For this reason, students feel they need to cheat to get the grades they need. Students might get a quick easy grade but it does not help them in the long

According to Cizek Gregory, “Although most research on the topic of cheating has focused on inappropriate behavior on the part of those who take the tests, cheating in academics can also include cheating by those who give tests.” One of the ways teachers cheat is by cheating for students. For example, teachers and administration in the Atlanta Public Schools were purposely changing the students’ answers on standardized tests for ten years. According to an article by Standardized Testing, “The unreasonable pressure to meet annual 'targets' was the primary motivation for teachers and administration to cheat on the CRCT in 2009 and previous years.” Teachers and administrations that neglected to reach these targets would receive negative performance evaluations and/or job termination. There is so much competition among schools to meet annual targets and have the best students possible. In the end, the only ones who were suffering the consequences were the