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The Science of Cheating
Jun 2nd
I invigilated in an examination at a college in mainland China over
the past weekend and thought that invigilation is probably one of
the most boring jobs in the world for me.: )
But what turned out to be interesting was that, after the 3-hour
bored-to-tears work, I was told of cheating cases that ran rampant
throughout every exam every semester. And some perpetrators were
caught red-handed just the day before. Still, there are many others
who were not caught in the act and continue to cheat their way
through examinations.
Even the taxi driver who drove me to the ferry terminal en route
back to Hong Kong told me that cheating in China is a national
“sickness” and that the only lesson the cheats will learn is how
not to be caught next time.
The phenomenon is much like organized crime as the cheats band
together in groups with efficient division-of-labour. I’m sure many
of their teachers will wish they could put such resources to better
and more proper use in class.
Question is: Why do these students resort to cheating?
Is it the need to get ahead? Or is it simply that they want
something for nothing? As in, get on the fast track without any
effort…
While doing my doctoral studies, I came across one intriguing
theory that can perhaps explain the need to cheat and that is:
People who resort to cheating usual have very low self-esteem.
They do not think highly of themselves and yet, want others to
think highly of them. They want to APPEAR that they have achieved
something yet actually have achieved nothing.
Outwardly, some of them may appear to be very confident but
inwardly, they carry a deep fear of failure and deep fear of how
others around them will look down at them should they not do well
in their studies.
They think that intelligence is fixed and that they are either born
with it or they are not born with it. Yet, whichever the case, they
possess a pressing need to protect the image of “intelligence” that
others have of them that they’ll cheat just to continue to look good.
They think that smart people do not need to exert effort and if
they needed to exert effort, they’ll not appear to be smart. Hence,
they’ll choose to do tasks that appear to be difficult to others
but are easy to them. This is such that they’ll win praise.
They’ll choose to sabotage themselves and tend to procrastinate and
do things at the very last minute so that in the event they didn’t
do well with the tasks, they have the excuse of saying, “I didn’t
have much time anyway…”
Interestingly, these are the same people who will more likely slip
into depression and even kill themselves when things do not go well
or when they think that others do not think highly of them.
The sad fact is that these people live their lives like puppets -
constantly controlled by how other people look at them – hence,
devoid of meaning.
As they resort to cheating, they have trashed their integrity and
chosen the path of poor character. How can they be ever trusted
with anything?
China: Putting an end to cheating
Jan 22nd
An interesting news I read yesterday on a Singapore newspaper TODAY. While measures can be put in place to control the cheating in such public examinations, mindsets must be changed with foremost priority. Indeed, very good questions were asked by the media in China:
“if those aspiring to be civil servants do not even possess basic integrity, how can they hope to be leading examples of the community, let alone ensure social harmony and national development?”
“Many of these candidates will assume leadership positions … Will they abuse their powers for personal gain? Will they be corrupt?”
At this moment, the answer is a resounding “Yes!”
The integrity of a person is not he/she does when everybody is watching but what he/she chooses to do when NOBODY is watching.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this issue.
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PUTTING AN END TO CHEATING
Wednesday January 21, 2009
Methods may have changed, but not the desire to get ahead
MARIA SIOW
East asia bureau chief
TODAY
IN THE past, candidates for the Chinese imperial examinations would cheat by slipping tiny bits of paper with answers written on them into the examination venue.
Last November, some candidates sitting for the annual civil service examinations resorted to using neatly disguised wireless transmitters. Some wore micro ear plugs to receive radio broadcasts during the nationwide examinations. Others found proxies to take the tests.
The highly-competitive nature of examinations is hardly in doubt. Over 775,000 vied for 13,500 civil service jobs – or 59 contenders for every position.
Three hundred candidates were caught in the examination halls, while over 700 have “shared much conformity” in their examination scripts, said the State Administration for Civil Service, adding that cheating was done through a distinct “division of labour”.
A group would scan the answers using discreet devices such as “high-tech buttons and pens”. Another group would compile the answers, while others would transmit them. The administration said some of the cheating devices, such as surgically implanted ear plugs, were impossible to detect.
The offenders, mainly from Beijing and Liaoning, were disqualified and barred from local and central civil service examinations for five years.
While the methods of cheating may have changed, the desire to get ahead hasn’t.
In ancient times, it was the promise of prestige and higher social status for the successful candidate and his family. Now, even though a job with the government is not the sort of iron rice bowl it once was under Maoist China, it is still seen as a relatively stable one.
But unlike the old days, the response to last week’s cheatings can only be described as explosive.
A Xinhua news agency commentary noted that “if those aspiring to be civil servants do not even possess basic integrity, how can they hope to be leading examples of the community, let alone ensure social harmony and national development?”
A Guangzhou Daily editorial questioned: “Many of these candidates will assume leadership positions … Will they abuse their powers for personal gain? Will they be corrupt?”
Some candidates found guilty of cheating claimed they were wrongly accused. Over 20 candidates from eight provinces hired lawyers to look into their cases. But the authorities argued that the results of cheating were “rigorously and scientifically assessed”.
So, why the uproar given that cheating is common in a country where pressure to pass competitive college entrance examinations is intense?
Part of the anger has to do with the record number of offenders. The more than 1,000 found guilty was a five-fold increase from 2005 where 360,000 candidates sat for the examinations. But the main reason for the uproar stems from growing public scrutiny on the quality of public officials and governance.
The current Chinese leadership has often stressed on the importance of being people-centred by improving public service performance, and institutionalising management and accountability structures.
The leadership has also popularised an expression which it said public officials should be mindful of: “Listen to public opinion, think of the public’s distress, worry about the public’s worries, think about what the public is thinking, help the public when they are in need, and solve the public’s difficulties.”
Which is why efforts have been made to do just that, whether it is in encouraging the public to call up their public officials, such as in Kunming, or inviting the public to evaluate public servants’ performance, such as in Changsha.
Clearly, in a country where there are no avenues for the ordinary citizen to put public officials in and out of office, a quick and transparent response to a major public outcry is crucial to maintaining social harmony.