Biogate: The Ramifications of the Cheating Scandal Report 1

Casey McKinnon, Eleanor Guerin, Alexi Fleischer

Ms. Kusinitz

Writing 104

11 January 2018

Biogate: The Ramifications of the Cheating Scandal at Cumberland High School

The notecard lays between Keyla’s legs, resting on the wood of the stool. How does

Gatorade give you energy? is the next question to appear on her paper. She looks at the notecard,

searching for the answer that Anna* told her yesterday. Anna is never wrong. If Keyla writes her

exact answer, she is guaranteed to get the A she has been striving for this quarter. As she

carefully copies down the answer, word for word, she frequently peers around the room, making

sure no one is watching. As she looks behind herself, she locks eyes with Ms. Johnson, the

Biology teacher in the room next door. She had been looking through the window of the closet,

likely searching for people, like Keyla, who were cheating. Suddenly, she stormed through the

closet door and demanded that Keyla hand over her notecard. She handed it to her as her teacher

made her way over to confiscate her test. Immediately, her face reddens with embarrassment and

guilt washes over her, as she realizes what she has done.

Keyla's story is one of many revealing the motive behind cheating in biology. Two years

ago, an entire grade at Cumberland High School was punished for photographing a Biology test

key and sharing it. Some argue that this was an act of pure dishonesty while others argue that

students were poorly prepared.

 Biogate: The Ramifications of the Cheating Scandal Report 2

In a recent poll of Cumberland students, 66.7% of students admitted that they have

cheated on tests before. Biology teachers were baffled when they caught such an abundance of

students cheating on the tests. They were even more surprised when they found that all the

answers on the test were wrong. “The students made a Google Doc and looked up the answers to

the questions and passed it around. The problem was, the answers were wrong. They went into

topics that were not discussed so when we noticed the kids with the same answers we asked if

they studied together. We then asked to see their review sheet and it was the CP test.”(Thomas1).

Teachers were then forced to administer a brand new, significantly harder test to all of the

Honors biology classes.

Today, biology teachers are still unaware of the fact that students are cheating almost

every test. “The test comes from the notes and everything is in the notes,” (Thomas2). They

believe that students are completely prepared for every test, without a doubt. However, other

teachers within the school agree with the students, saying that some teachers do not prepare their

kids for the test, but rather give them pointless assignments that do not properly prepare them.

1
*pseudonym
2
*pseudonym
 Biogate: The Ramifications of the Cheating Scandal Report 3

Mr. Marsh3, a teacher at Cumberland High School says, “Some teachers have unrealistic

expectations for test scores. Because of the previous cheating problem in bio, the teachers have

become psychotic.” The Biology teachers give their students excessive amounts of work that

they say is to prepare the students for the test. However, the students feel these worksheets do

not correlate with the content of the test. Some students also feel the need to cheat to get the

grade they desire. For example, Keyla said in her interview, “ I had a C in the class and I needed

to pass with an A.” Keyla was desperate to achieve an A in the class, so she turned to cheating

due to the fact that she was overwhelmed with the amount of information she was told to study.

This is a problem that extends beyond the walls of Cumberland High School. The

valedictorian at a disclosed high school came forward as being a “serial cheater”.

“I cheated all throughout high school. Not only that, but I graduated as a valedictorian,

National AP Scholar, Editor-in-Chief of the school newspaper, and I was accepted into the

honors program at [school withheld]” (“I Cheated All Throughout High School”). The student,

pictured above, developed a philosophy on his cheating crimes, “It boils down to this: we are

3
*pseudonym
 Biogate: The Ramifications of the Cheating Scandal Report 4

told that cheating is wrong because we are attempting to earn a grade that we do not deserve. A

grade earned by cheating is not a grade reflective of our true achievement. But my contention

uses identical reasoning. I cheated because the grade I would have otherwise been given was not

reflective of my true learning. I never cheated in a subject that I did not learn on my own

terms”(“I Cheated All Throughout High School”). The student acknowledged the teaching

techniques and curriculum and decided his preparation given by teachers was not directed

towards test success.

“Never did I cheat on any [AP tests], because I felt that they were fair representations of

my learning. But in AP Biology, I cheated on literally every in-class test. The curriculum and test

techniques of my absolutely atrocious AP Biology class were not fair representations of my

knowledge. I felt cheated of the education I deserved, and thus to earn the grade I knew I

deserved, I had to cheat the system”(“I Cheated All Throughout High School”). By cheating, this

student was able to get a grade that he thinks fairly represented his knowledge of the topic.

In a conducted survey 57.7% of students that responded at Cumberland High School

admit to not feeling guilty after cheating. Unlike Keyla, these students empathize with the serial
 Biogate: The Ramifications of the Cheating Scandal Report 5

cheater’s argument that the act of cheating serves to make up for being cheated of their

education. On the other hand, Keyla admitted in her interview, “ I felt extremely guilty and

realized there was no point in cheating in the first place.” Some students at Cumberland High

School feel that the teachers are cheating them on their education and they think they deserve a

better grade than they will likely receive if they do not cheat. Others are like Keyla, who realizes

that it is more beneficial to study rather than be caught cheating. Keyla understands now that, by

cheating, she was not really learning the information. Now, by studying before every test, she is

not only preventing herself from getting in trouble but also actually comprehending and

remembering the information given to her.

Many students around the world turn to cheating when things get tough. Usually, it is

because they feel unprepared for the test or task. The students may consider the work that is

given to them to be inadequate when it comes to preparing for a test. Cheating is not always a

way out of studying, but an extra resource if what was given does not correlate to the test.

Impending pressure from parents, teachers, and administration to excel and compete with peers

for acceptance to the top colleges and class rank places massive amounts of stress on students to

comply. When students become desperate to keep up and compete, it can sometimes leave them

feeling as if cheating is the only choice.

 Biogate: The Ramifications of the Cheating Scandal Report 6

Work Cited

Casavant, Steven. Personal Interview. 21 Dec. 2017.

Johnson, Melissa. Personal Interview. 21 Dec. 2017.

Lahey, Jessica.“I Cheated All Throughout High School.” Education. The Atlantic, 2013. Web.

15 December 2017.

Lopez, Keyla. Personal Interview. 21 Dec. 2017.

Maloney, Tara. Personal Interview. 21 Dec. 2017.

McKinnon, Casey. “Cheating.” Survey. 14 Dec. 2017.