By Sara Kaplow (October 4, 2002)

"What’s unique about George Mason is that many high schools across the nation realize that cheating is a problem but want to cover it up. Mason did recognize the problem and decided to do something about it," said Dr. Donald McCabe, a professor at Rutgers University and a nationally known expert on academic integrity, today in a presentation to Mason faculty, students, and parents. 
 

Principal Bob Snee poses in front of the poster of the newly  instituted honor code.  (Photo by Kate O'Hara)

Dr. McCabe, who traveled up from Charlottesville specifically to talk to the Mason community about its new honor code, has done studies on the prevalence of cheating in high schools and colleges. Students from every grade attended McCabe’s presentation as did faculty members and parents.  McCabe spent the first hour presenting facts and figures from his extensive research on the topics of cheating and academic integrity.  In his 2001 survey of high school students, mostly juniors, he found that 74% of students had committed a "serious" cheating offense on a test or some assignment one or more times.

Serious cheating is defined, in this circumstance, as copying from another student’s work, helping someone cheat, or using crib notes during the actual test. Over 30% admitted to having cheated repeatedly on a test or exam. 

Dr. McCabe’s research suggests that the occurrence of cheating has increased in recent years; however, this may be due to more people admitting to cheating. During discussions after Dr. McCabe’s power point presentation, students expressed concern for cheating becoming an accepted practice. McCabe said that students have found it easy to rationalize cheating, and they report that there are many reasons to cheat.

Some of these reasons include laziness or lack of preparation, too much pressure to succeed or time pressure, and lack of knowledge of the subject matter. Additionally, there are factors that play into the decision to cheat, such as who the teacher is and how they run their class, and the type of assignment it is. 
 

During a break in the round table discussions about academic  integrity, Dr. Donald McCabe exchanged remarks with several of  the many students in attendance.  (Photo by Tammy Ashworth)

Besides simply stating the problem, Dr. McCabe suggested solutions for the problem. He particularly stressed the need for teachers to clarify what cheating is, because it varies from teacher to teacher and even among different cultures. Another important factor is talking about the problem, which is helped by instituting an honor code. It was clear from his comments that McCabe strongly approved of George Mason’s recent instituting of an honor code and honor pledge that students must write out and sign on every test, quiz or paper submitted for assessment.

The important thing about the honor code, Dr. McCabe said, was that it "promote integrity, not punish dishonesty." While he said that the honor code might not affect outgoing seniors that intensely, hopefully the freshmen will reap the benefits of having discussed academic integrity consistently over the years. Additionally, Dr. McCabe feels that it is important to continue to write out the full honor pledge, despite student complaints. "Writing it out constantly reminds students of what they are pledging, and may make them think about their actions more seriously," said McCabe

While cheating is a problem, there may be hope through character education, and the enforcing of the honor code. Today’s high school students "still have an opportunity to do something worthwhile," Dr. McCabe said.