According to an expert in education psychology, school cheating has reached an epidemic proportion and the best way to combat it is to reduce the emphasis on testing.
Eric Anderman, professor of educational psychology at Ohio State University, addressed the APA's annual meeting last week in Toronto with a talk on cheating in schools (New strategy to beat school cheats, Halifax Chronicle Herald, August 9, 2009)
Anderman said that research shows up to 80 per cent of high-achieving high school students admit to cheating and more than one in five students who believe cheating is "unacceptable" still cheat.
His research shows that cheating is more likely to occur in classrooms where the focus is on getting good grades and doing well on the test and less likely in classrooms where the focus is on the "personal mastery" of the material being taught. He argues that standardized testing and programs like "No Child Left Behind" in the United States send the wrong messages to students and teachers and actually encourage cheating.
“These standardized tests aren’t going to go away, but we don’t have to talk about them in the classroom as the ultimate outcome and goal,” he said. “This produces anxiety and stress in both teachers and students, and that’s what leads to cheating.” (Schools should do more to prevent cheating, farmanddairy.com, August 20, 2009)
So, what do you think? Has cheating become an epidemic in Alberta's schools? Does the system emphasize testing results too much?
Have your say in our Discussion on Diploma Examinations.
