Is it OK to cheat on tests?

Wow. I thought I'd seen everything. Then I woke up this morning, saw a thread about cheating get twisted by its author into a thread about gay marriage (two topics which aren't even remotely related), and then I realized I was wrong. I haven't seen everything yet.

I'm tempted to award rep points just for creativity. But that would violate my own moral code to do so, so I won't.

Nipper said:

If the person being copied from and the person doing the copying are happy with that setup, is cheating on a test OK? Is anyone really hurt?

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Tests are conducted to prove that people are capable of understanding real problems they will eventually have to deal with. If cheating is allowed, unqualified people could put others at risk.

But, I always thought that was true with regards to acts of homosexuality also? But as with politicians, there are exceptions to the regulation?

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Oh I see what you did there.
Prize for the clumsiest segue into a gay marriage thread goes to Nipper.

LittleNipper said:

Why? Don't you like clever tactics? Beside, no one has agreed with me that cheating on test is okay and doesn't really hurt anyone. How much more important is the institution of marriage than taking mere tests..?

Funny how blind people can become when something involves their own desires...

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You're essentially asking a more elaborate scheme of "Do you still beat your wife?"

Cheating on a test and two people entering into marriage are not at all comparable. Your common ground is that the institution of marriage is like the institution giving the test. But marriage is not a test, it is not a certification to obtain a job or prove you are good enough to obtain a degree.

nipper said:

Why? Don't you like clever tactics? Beside, no one has agreed with me that cheating on test is okay and doesn't really hurt anyone. How much more important is the institution of marriage than taking mere tests..?

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Tests are much more important, tests are involved in qualifying people for certain positions. Unqualified people in certain positions is extremely dangerous.

Marriage is about the recognition of two people's commitment to each other and doesn't really have any impact on anyone else.

LittleNipper said:

If the person being copied from and the person doing the copying are happy with that setup, is cheating on a test OK? Is anyone really hurt?
If no one else is hurt does that make it okay? Are teachers just bigotted
against those who cheat and are those teachers being unfair and unrealistic?

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No.

Cheating maybe proof of inborn survival traits.

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So?

Perhaps any punishment against cheating is based on old fashion "religious" bias that has no place in our "modern society."

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If this is true the basis is not sufficient.

What are your feelings? Do you feel churches will eventually be won over by such notions?

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Don´t know. Since "such notions" aren´t widely spread, anyways, I guess there´s not much chance that they will win over churches.

Glad to see you have made a thread that is not about homosexuality, for once.

LittleNipper said:

Why? Don't you like clever tactics? Beside, no one has agreed with me that cheating on test is okay and doesn't really hurt anyone. How much more important is the institution of marriage than taking mere tests..?

Funny how blind people can become when something involves their own desires...

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There is no comparison to be made between the two. It's actually quite ludicrous. There are enough threads about gay marriage in this forum, you might as well stick to those instead of using "clever" tactics to twist other people's words into proving YOUR point.

Gay marriage =/= cheating on a test because gay marriage is in no way cheapening the idea of marriage. Quite possibly in your eyes it is, but to anyone else with half a brain, it is not. Is it cheapening it because you don't get to feel privileged anymore because you as a heterosexual aren't the only sexual orientation capable of getting married? Do you not feel special anymore and thus it makes you angry?

If anything, allowing gay people to marry is further reinforcing the idea of family and that children should be raised in a stable, committed family with two parents who love each other, regardless of their gender...

Wouldn't cheating on a test be baring false witness on what you know ?

gwenmead said:

Wow. I thought I'd seen everything. Then I woke up this morning, saw a thread about cheating get twisted by its author into a thread about gay marriage (two topics which aren't even remotely related), and then I realized I was wrong. I haven't seen everything yet.

I'm tempted to award rep points just for creativity. But that would violate my own moral code to do so, so I won't.

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Opps guess I should of read the full thread before posting

When completely ignoring the gay marriage thing, this thread actually has some life left in it..

Say that I'm in high school, I have brilliant grades for maths, physics, chemistry, biology, I'm planning to be a scientist, I have the brains required, I'll probably cure cancer and win a nobel prize, etc etc etc

But I suck at french. And german. (both required subjects here in Holland).

Now, I normally study JUST the correct amount to pass the tests, and thus get my diploma.

But on one very unfortunate day, both my french and german teachers decide to give a surprise test on a subject that I was supposed to study, but which I hadn't studied yet since the scheduled exam was in 2 months and I was busy reading issues of Science and Nature. (and yes, they actually give surprise tests here..)

Now, I'm going to get a horrible grade for this test. One that can't be compensated anymore. So I'll fail the class, I won't get my diploma, I'll have to redo the entire year, and the cure for cancer will have to wait..

And that all because of French and German, two languages I'm not going to use. No one in my future career is going to care if I don't speak a single word of French of German.

...If you ask me, cheating on the test in this situation would be morally acceptable, if not the best course of action.

Too long; didn't read-version: is cheating also bad if you're never going to have to use the knowledge/skills tested? I doubt it actually.

edit: note the mention of skills in the tl;dr version. For example, my french/german grade on my diploma says SOMETHING, namely that I'm good at memorising stuff. A valuable skill. But if pure testing of memorisation isn't the goal (e.g., if you've succesfully remembered 10X as much for a previous test), then cheating on a "learn stuff you're never going to use!"-test can be excused I think.

If the person being copied from and the person doing the copying are happy with that setup, is cheating on a test OK? Is anyone really hurt?
If no one else is hurt does that make it okay? Are teachers just bigotted
against those who cheat and are those teachers being unfair and unrealistic?

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I think you could argue that cheating is not a victimless crime. At the third grade level, the only person being harmed is the individual themselves, who is depriving themselves out of the chance for a good education. On a high-school or college level, I think you could seriously argue society is being harmed. If the school produces a few excellent students and hordes of uneducated ones who cheat, it isn't producing the sort of minds necessary for economic stability, innovation, leadership and creative thinking. On a smaller level, what kind of a parent will a consistent cheater be? What contributions will they be able to make to their child's education? What kind of worker will they be? If someone cheats in middle school, no harm done perhaps - what about cheating your way through med school, then holding the lives of patients in your hands?

I don't think it is a truly victimless crime. If it's unrealistic to expect people to do their own work, then I think we're on a sinking ship with regards to the next generation.

You are all over the place with the points you are trying to make in this thread...first it is about if cheating on tests is okay, then it's about how gay marriage and cheating on tests is similar and now it's about how marriage itself is a test and that too many people are getting divorces because they don't want to work hard at it?

Stay on topic...

I admit that I have cheated on tests. I probably wouldn't have graduated from high school if I didn't cheat on a foreign language test. But school grades are so subjective and for some people college elegibility is dependent on a grade of "C" or better so the "C-" kid starts out life at a disatvantage because his teacher graded harder than another teacher did, or gave more tests, or....the list goes on.

It's kind of tricky because there are many opportunities like this that hinge on a persons ability to master something that, not only do they have no knack for but something they will never need to know. And prove it on a test.

LittleNipper said:

Marriage is about picking someone who you'd feel would make an excellent parent for any children a couple might have together.

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That is what marriage is to you. Which is sad.

Why does that have to be what marriage is to me or to everyone else? I like to think of marriage as a WHOLE HELLUVA lot more than just parenting capability.

LittleNipper said:

Why is it sad? I'd want to love the person also, but I also wish someone both I and any of our future children could respect.

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Would you marry a woman you loved if she was unable to have children?

LittleNipper said:

Why is it sad? I'd want to love the person also, but I also wish someone both I and any of our future children could respect.

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Ahhhhh, then marriage is not just about picking someone who will be a good parent to possible future children. It is also about loving the person. I am willing to bet there are other things too right? Didn't want to bring any of those up tho, since gay couples can also share those qualities...

Is it OK to cheat on tests?

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Yes, but only if the god you believe in commands it.