Why Do Students Cheat?

     

Parents helping students cheat in Bihar, India

          This past month has been a strange time for education. In Atlanta, 11 educators were charged in what has been described as the largest cheating scandal in American history, while in Bihar, India, over a thousand people were detained (and 600 students expelled) for widespread cheating on state examinations.

         Some students feel the need to cheat, and it’s important to ask why. The Atlanta and Bihar cheating scandals have some important things to remind us and it likely isn’t about the education system. The problem, rather, may lie with the private sector. In an increasingly mechanized workforce over three billion strong, one has to ask, “what sort of chances do I have?”

They aren't good, here’s the proof.

         In a study conducted by the USA Today, an estimated 70% of low skilled jobs, those only requiring a high school diploma, are at risk of being completely replaced by automation in 10-20 years. An additional 46% percent of mid-level jobs, those requiring some training up to a Bachelor’s Degree, are also at risk of replacement. The safest bet seems to lie in the high skill job arena, which will experience the smallest shock, with 8% of jobs at risk. This of course does not consider jobs created as a result of automation, which, unsurprisingly, are generated mostly in the high-skill job sector as well.

Assuming you do manage to keep a mid or low skill job through the Robot Apocalypse, the numbers just don’t support the decision. The pay gap between those with no to some secondary education, and those with it, are rising. At $17,500 (as of 2013), the gap is the largest it has ever been, and it appears that the chasm will continue to grow for the foreseeable future.

Jobs requiring low levels of education are not only disappearing, but are becoming less and less lucrative with time. So it seems, to keep your prospects for any sort of tenable career, one’s best chances exist in obtaining a so called 'high skill job'.

All you need is a Bachelor’s Degree.

 Here is where the problem lies.
     
        With the cost a Bachelor's Degree looming around $23,410 for In-State students and $46,272 for those in private education, students from lower income background just can't afford the sticker price. Top schools are also getting more competitive, accepting less students overall, making scholarships more inaccessible for the average student. With such a dangerous combination of selectivity and inaffordability, the few available opportunities around are met with fierce competition. Students are forced to grapple with applicants both at home and internationally, fighting with the best and brightest globally for the scarce positions available.
       Domestic students may be able to alleviate the need for scholarships by attending schools in-state, but for International Students coming from impoverished backgrounds, scholarships are a must. These scholarships are often much more limited in numbers than those available domestically, and in higher demand, often giving priority to domestic applicants.

 All this, for a degree has the same scaled earning potential as it did in the 60s.

      All considered, cheating seems to be a highly rational choice. With such tremendous odds stacked against the average student right out of high school, following the rules at the expense of a secure future just doesn't make sense. Concepts like honor and responsibility begin to lose water when your limited chance of future success rests on a single exam, and sometimes, the academic pressure cooker demands sacrifices.

    Unfortunately, there isn't much that can be done to put out the fire. As competitive careers pull from applicants internationally and a the percentage of educated workers grows, the occupational vice will continue to demand more and more from the average worker. Educational attainment will inevitably lose value over time as supply grows from every corner of the globe. Job growth may be our only hope, and that can't even keep up with population growth (much less our robot overlords).


     As long as these conditions continue to exist, there is little doubt that cheating will continue, I mean, why shouldn't it? The demand on the average student is tremendous, and it's growing at a startling pace. I can't help but think back to that old joke they often tell Liberal Arts majors, "Would you like fries with that degree?", even that, it seems, isn't a guarantee anymore.

...and we haven't even considered the competition at the Masters and PhD level.