Exam Malpractice: US Navy Officers caught Cheating

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cheating by matured adults
A cheat
The case of matured adult cheating in assessments is not considered a serious problem.  The rationale is that most assessment malpractice is committed by children and young adults who lack enough life experience necessary for making moral decisions about rights and wrongs. 

The case of 9 U.S. naval officers who were dismissed from duty last week for cheating in their test, however, demonstrates that test malpractice does not only belong to the so called vulnerable people but that matured adults can and do cheat in assessments.

The 9 U.S Naval officers were among those in charge of the U.S nuclear weapon defence programmes. Every U.S officer within this sector is subject to annual competency test to establish his or her fitness to remain in the service. Faced with the danger of losing their job, the dismissed officers resorted to cheating. It should be recognised that for most adults, the temptation to cheat under this difficult circumstance can be irresistible. This, however, cannot serve as justification for test cheating, not even when officers in charge of their country’s defence programmes are involved.

Any person familiar with university studies will not be surprised that matured adults were caught cheating in the U.S navy test. The cases of test cheating by matured adults is common at universities. The method of assessment at universities is largely based on coursework. Students are given such coursework to do at home. Matured adults who cannot do this work because it is either too difficult for them or are too busy with secular work can pay other people to do the coursework for them. They will submit the work later as their own. Universities tend to counter this problem by subjecting students to examination assessments in addition to those of coursework. However, the fact that marks from coursework tend to carry more weight than examination marks, means test cheating by matured adults at university is a big problem.

Cases of test malpractice involving matured adults can also be found in driving test. Cheating by matured adults in driving test can occur in one of two forms. It can happen without the consent of the driving examiner. In this case, another driver will impersonate the real candidate for the test and do the driving test for him or her. In other cases, cheating to pass the driving test will be facilitated by the driving examiner. The examiner will accept bribe, ignore driving errors by the candidate, and pass him or her. Due to the dangers posed by reckless and incompetent drivers, there is often severe punishment for individuals caught in driving test malpractice. The fact that the test result involving pass or fail is subjective (based on the examiner’s judgment and decision) means that this problem of driving test cheating cannot be stamped out completely.

These are not the only areas where matured adults tend to engage in test malpractice. If you look around you can identify other areas where test cheating is perpetrated on a large scale by matured adults. The question to ask is what message can such matured adults caught cheating in tests convey to their children?

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