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Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!rutgers!ames!cit-vax!trent
From: trent@cit-vax.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: Cheating on Programming Assignments (Honor System)
Message-ID: <2617@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu>
Date: Fri, 8-May-87 04:21:09 EDT
Article-I.D.: cit-vax.2617
Posted: Fri May  8 04:21:09 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 9-May-87 08:12:07 EDT
References: <263@rruxa.UUCP> <4546@utah-cs.UUCP> <264@rruxa.UUCP>
Reply-To: trent@cit-vax.UUCP (Ray Trent)
Organization: California Institute of Technology
Lines: 27
Keywords: cheating, honor systems, crock

In article <264@rruxa.UUCP> gwl@rruxa.UUCP writes:
>      Or maybe because people are human and may give in to temptations,
>especially when under great stress.  Are you trying to tell me that there
>is something about the people who attend U of Va. that sets them apart
>from the rest of humanity?  I don't think it is a case of the system
>works just fine, its more like people don't get caught that often.

Hmmm, I've said this before, but the real problem is that schools
don't want to work hard enough to find students that are more
interested in learning than in getting good grades.  The honor system
here works just fine. (believe me, I have expereince both as a student
and as a TA grading homeworks et al) There are occasional slime balls,
but the incidence rate of cheating here is *much* lower than at other
schools with Draconian test proctoring schemes. (or so my friends at
such schools tell me.) 

Of course, Caltech is the most selective school in the country (very
slight exaggeration), and we only have about 800 undergrads, but...I
never said this would work everywhere. 

The trick is to find people who don't have temptations to give in to.
I mean...why is it tempting to cheat...you don't learn anything. (yes,
yes, I've heard it all before...but *really*...think about it.)
-- 
BAN NETWORK TV!!!!!
					../ray\..
 (trent@csvax.caltech.edu, rat@caltech.bitnet, ...seismo!cit-vax!trent)