The deceptiveness of cheating

Unfair advantage: When does gaining an edge drift into moral lapse? Discuss

OK, class: your case studies for discussion today. Problem One: Students One and Two lead their class. Both are gifted. A crucial exam occurs tomorrow.

At stake is entry to the topflight grad school on which both have their sights.

Both are reviewing lecture notes, reading intensively and framing potential questions and answers.

Student One crams until 4 a.m., then falls asleep, exhausted. Three hours later, it’s up for a quick shower, then off to write the 9 a.m. exam with bloodshot eyes, a headache and the nagging feeling of having arms and legs that are about to float away, which comes with not enough sleep.

Student Two, on the other hand, has prescription medicine that is a powerful stimulant. This student powers through the night and shows up feeling fresh, alert and full of energy, totally focused on the material studied overnight.

Is Student Two cheating; obtaining an unfair advantage over Student One with a legally prescribed drug that enhances performance during the examination?

Before you answer the question, consider the next case.

What, if anything, could or should be done to eliminate unfair advantage or disadvantage? Is this desirable, or not?

Problem Two: Student Three and Student Four also approach the end of term. They, too, are deeply anxious about exam performance, which will determine whether or not they are accepted by a quality university.

Both are completing long essays required to obtain the honours standings they know will enhance their eligibility.

Student Three hires a professional editor to help polish the thesis. This editor contributes no knowledge but corrects grammar and spelling, offers advice regarding syntax, flags logical inconsistencies and structural problems. The editor does what editors do for novelists, historians, journalists and professors submitting papers for publication — improves clarity and ensures that literary style enhances rather than impedes the narrative.

Student Four is extremely short of funds having accumulated large debts in financing this course of education. There will be no editor for this thesis; it will live or die on the merits of the student’s own ability to organize the narrative and write it clearly with the proper spelling, grammar and syntax.

Considering your potential answer to Problem One, is Student Three cheating by obtaining editing advice regarding the preparation of the thesis, which provides an advantage over Student Four who cannot afford to consult an editor?

Before you answer that question, consider the next case. Problem Three: Students Five and Six attend high schools. They prepare to enter projects in a science fair.

Student Five attends a public school in a class of 31. While passionate about the subject, as the child of a single minimum- wage parent, the student is extraordinarily limited in resources, although working part- time provides some funds. Complicating matters, younger siblings must be minded and are often an irritating distraction. There’s no computer at home. Book research requires a bus trip to the public library, which is distant, and the material largely out of date.

Student Six attends a private school in a class capped at 10. While equally passionate about the subject, as the sole child of professional parents, the student has many resources, including access to specialized scientific instruments at the parents’ workplace.

At home there are computers, high- speed Internet service, high- resolution scanners and printers. The student has access to their professional expertise and access to an extensive array of databases to which the parents subscribe. Furthermore, the parents have special extended borrowing privileges at the university library.

Does Student Six have an unfair advantage over Student Five in this science fair competition? Could this be considered cheating?

Before you answer that question, consider it in the context of the final case. Problem Four: Student Seven and Student Eight attend the same public high school. Both are exemplary students, volunteers and school athletes. They share the same math class and both are having difficulty. Provincial exams loom.

Student Seven’s parents hire a math tutor at $ 35 per hour to intensively prepare their child for the provincial final that will determine advancement to a university.

Student Eight’s parents are struggling financially because of illness and a layoff, so no funds are available for a tutor; the exam must be written without outside assistance beyond what’s available from the teacher after class.

Is Student Seven cheating by obtaining highly specialized extracurricular help that is not available to Student Eight? Remember, acceptance to the university they both wish to attend hinges in part upon the outcome of this exam.

Considering these scenarios, what comprises cheating and what does not?

What are the reasons for your conclusion?

What, if anything, could or should be done to eliminate unfair advantage or disadvantage? Is this desirable, or not? Why? Keep your answers brief, say 100 words.

See you next week.