Schools are doing this because they do not know what to do in response to the problem of cheating and have begun to brainstorm what actions they could take to create a solution. As a result of their research, some schools have decided to make cheating legal by changing the rules, which would be eliminating any previous issues. The problem with this is that “In doing so, they’re permitting all kinds of behavior that had been considered off-limits just a few years ago” (Source B). Essentially, educators say changing what the rules are to allow people to cheat would not legally make it cheating anymore. This is not really a solution at all; it is just allowing the students to have their way. Although the reasoning behind allowing students to use computers during exams may seem unclear, “‘This is the way the world works,’ says Harvard Director of Admissions Marlyn McGrath Lewis, adding that whether a student was allowed to search the Internet for help on a high-school English exam wouldn’t affect his or her application” (Source B). If using the Internet would not affect the grade then it might as well not be used at all. When a student looks something up during an exam, their answer will be influenced by the new information they are acquiring. Being allowed to look online for information during exams enables the teachers from being able to tell what the student really knows and what they are claiming to
Schools are doing this because they do not know what to do in response to the problem of cheating and have begun to brainstorm what actions they could take to create a solution. As a result of their research, some schools have decided to make cheating legal by changing the rules, which would be eliminating any previous issues. The problem with this is that “In doing so, they’re permitting all kinds of behavior that had been considered off-limits just a few years ago” (Source B). Essentially, educators say changing what the rules are to allow people to cheat would not legally make it cheating anymore. This is not really a solution at all; it is just allowing the students to have their way. Although the reasoning behind allowing students to use computers during exams may seem unclear, “‘This is the way the world works,’ says Harvard Director of Admissions Marlyn McGrath Lewis, adding that whether a student was allowed to search the Internet for help on a high-school English exam wouldn’t affect his or her application” (Source B). If using the Internet would not affect the grade then it might as well not be used at all. When a student looks something up during an exam, their answer will be influenced by the new information they are acquiring. Being allowed to look online for information during exams enables the teachers from being able to tell what the student really knows and what they are claiming to