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DEL.ICIO.USScience Fair Cheating
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I was going to post a much shorter topic about integrated math, but this turned up in my inbox and is more compelling. It’s a long post, but it’s worth reading. We can talk math next week, can’t we?
Note: These ran in the school newspaper at Peachtree Ridge High School in Gwinnett County.
Science Fair: Excessive Expectations Lead to False Results
Sarah Pelham
Staff Writer
The end of last semester signaled the end of another Science Fair nightmare for students venturing into Honors, Gifted, or AP Science classes. They released months of stress, idle experimentation, and a successfully completed project onto the lap of an often unforgiving teacher. But about 60% of these Science Fair alumni couldn’t release the guilty conscience.
That is, of course, assuming they can feel guilt.
According to a survey that went out to 173 students in first semester Honors, Gifted, and AP Science classes, 13% of students make up all of their Science Fair data, 49% some of it, and 38% none.
Students are fabricating data, lying to their teachers and themselves, and dishonestly taking a grade it took others months of painstaking work to earn. After receiving a soaring grade from a trusting teacher, the cheaters then brag about it once they’re out of the science department, confessing their brilliant escape from hard work.
In some respects, though, it’s hard to blame the cheaters. Science Fair creates a package of problems: a toxic mix of unreasonable teacher expectations, amoral student ambition, and a flawed college application process.
Only two weeks after school starts from summer break science teachers expect students to submit an amazingly innovative project idea that will leave the judges wowing. Then, when that idea is shot down because earthworms aren’t allowed to be electrocuted or $300 is too much to spend on Science Fair, the students are stuck with some last minute project, researching and experimenting with the not-so-amazing effects of solar panels, or chlorophyll, or toothpaste.
The deadlines for Science Fair are so close together that there’s no time for ingenuity; there’s only time for the mountains of homework from each participant’s other life as a student, not a scientist.
The resources necessary to carry out many projects are also difficult for a high school student to acquire. The equipment may be too expensive or there may not be a willing mentor, as not everyone’s dad works for NASA. Finally, when facing a high school student talking about Science Fair, most sane potential human subjects will turn away. It’s easy to research a professional science experiment, where scientists have the resources to find committed and willing subjects, but it’s another thing for a high school student to be able to perform one, doubly so if the student plans to control the experiment to a location, age group, or time period.
By signing up for an advanced class, students are supposedly asking for a challenge, accepting a heavier course load, and expressing a willingness to learn and experiment with science. While this statement may be true for some, often students are only in the class to look good for colleges.
Most students have been drilled since freshmen year to only take the most challenging classes in order to excel in the competetive college application process. Not all students taking advanced science classes are looking to be scientists or doctors, but many would like to get rich somehow, so getting into a top-level college is a must. So while science teachers are expecting sincere, overachieving dorks in all of their Honors, Gifted, and AP classes, the reality is that many students are just in it for their resume.
Colleges see that piece of paper at the end, but the story of how one cheated on Science Fair, got away with it, and made a dishonorable grade is not included. On a college application it’s the ends, not the means – the grade, not the learning in between - that confirms success in a high school career.
And if students are smart enough to survive an advanced class, they’re smart enough to accomplish the ends by whatever means necessary. Science Fair is effectively teaching students how to cheat, survive, and get into college, where they can cheat, survive and possibly become America’s doctors and scientists.
Regardless of the bluffing teens in their classrooms, science teachers do have the consolation of knowing that there is still some learning going on. Students still have to go through the steps of researching, analyzing data, and writing a research paper in spite of their Science Fair fabrications. Even if those signatures on the Human Subjects Forms aren’t from actual tested human subjects, kids are still processing information and becoming familiar with the steps of the scientific method.
AP classes are special: those students are obligating themselves to a much heavier course load, and they’re stating their willingness to do over-the-summer work. Therefore, it could be mandatory for AP students to begin Science Fair over the summer, allowing more time to commit to the project, thoroughly research, and complete the project credibly. In Honors and Gifted classes, Science Fair should be voluntary. The students in those classes who really want to be scientists, or raise their GPA, could earn extra credit for the project. The rest of the students in these classes can become acquainted wit h researching, experimenting, and analyzing in some other way.
If the goal of Science Fair is to promote student growth academically, scientifically, and morally, then something about the current Science Fair system needs to change. The Science Department may be proudly sending an abundance of projects to the School Science Fair or further, but what is it worth is over half of them are fabrications? Under the right conditions, Science Fair is undoubtedly beneficial to student progress and learning. The set up of Science Fair now, with so much made up data and inconsequential results, is only teaching students how to take lying lightly.
There are those model students who are honest, studious, and still meet the one hundred data points mark: the ones who sacrifice the pleasure of a social life for school. These virtuous students go on to represent Peachtree Ridge at the Regional Science Fair, the Science Symposium, and then State.
Some 60% stay behind with second place, knowing Science Fair effectively prepared them for college, where cheating is on the rise.
The Roar thanks the members of the PRHS Science Department for their cooperation in the completion of this column.
Editorial Reply: Science Fair Cheaters Show a Lack of Character
Rosemarie Placek PRHS Science Teacher
What if the ref put the wrong time on the clock because he had bet on the other team and you lost by one point when the buzzer went off just before you took your shot?
And your shot had gone in?
What if you found out that the heartbreaking 2nd place medal you won in that neck-to-neck finish at state actually belonged to the athlete who got crowned state champion?
And in fact, you had won, but someone switched the results?
What if you found out the 79% you earned in your math class was really an 80, but your teacher decided to change it – “just because she wanted to?�
We surely want people to deal with us honestly and fairly, but it seems not everyone is willing to behave honestly and fairly.
Sarah Pelham has written a thoughtful and disturbing article which raises some important questions. It is important, though, to look first at her population sampling. 173 of the 630 students enrolled in Honors, Gifted and A.P. science here at Peachtree Ridge participated in the survey. That’s only 27.5%. Some broad conclusions have been drawn from the voice of only * of the students involved.
Our science department has made a thoughtful and considered decision that we value the science fair process. Colleges expect that science majors will be proficient in that process. By allowing our students multiple opportunities to engage in the process, we are filling their toolbox with truly useful skills. By allowing our students the freedom to self-select their science fair topic, we encourage investigations which are personally meaningful. The summer science cohort is available to ALL science students who want to get a head start on their science projects. It is completely free of charge and flexible in terms of attendance. So why should only A.P. students have the opportunity to develop their ability to be proactive instead of reactive to the challenges they know are ahead?
And what of those students who do not intend to pursue science as a major? Intellectual curiosity is not the exclusive realm of science and math. Language arts and social studies majors are equally committed to delving and sorting and analyzing in pursuit of truth.
In fact, the science fair process – the scientific method – is a map to take with you when you leave this place. Problem solving is a necessary life skill, regardless of where you’re headed. Life poses problems; you’ve got to look at the situation and determine a solution. Car mechanics, heating and air conditioning technicians, parents of tantrum-throwing two-year olds, all are daily faced with unique situations they have not exactly encountered before. They’ve got to look back on what they’ve already learned to be true (collect data), make a decision (hypothesize) and lat er evaluate that decision (analyze).
One last point to ponder, a question which Sarah doesn’t ask. Ultimately, who is hurt when students cheat? Is it the teacher? The parents? The school?
I think it is the cheater.
You see, the teacher, the parents and the school valued the student, took him at his word, respected her and treated her as trustworthy. The cheater lives with the knowledge that his or her word is really just breath, just air. And cheaters can’t even hide behind “everybody’s doing it� because everybody ISN’T cheating. 40% of the students polled had in fact said what they meant and meant what they said. And I have to ask this question: do you really want to create a world in which everyone is a cheater? Do you want your banker or your stockbroker to cheat you out of your money? When you’re sick, do you want to be treated by a doctor who cheated his or her way through med school?
So, if you think it is important that people are honest with you, then you’ve got to be honest with them. And you don’t just wake up one morning and decide you’re going to be honest. Like everything else, you get good at what you practice. Practice honesty, you’ll be honest. Practice lying and you’ll be a liar.
Yes, the science fair is hard work. Yes, it is difficult to balance school and sports and a social life. Yes, the temptation to take the easy way out is always right in front of you.
Those higher-level colleges value our rigorous courses precisely because it is understood that the expectations are higher there. It is understood that our students have been challenged and “stretched� intellectually.
Not everything in life is easy. Sometimes you work as hard as you can, and you still don’t get what you want. The world doesn’t end. You learn. You grow. And deep down you know the value of what you accomplished. It isn’t a letter grade or a ribbon. It’s the satisfaction of having given your best effort. It is meaningful to YOU because YOU earned it.
There’s a sign in my classroom which reads “Character is how you live life when nobody is looking.�
When nobody is looking, can you look yourself in the eye?
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By Dan
May 13, 2005 12:49 PM | Link to this
Kind of sounds like the professional scientific community, seeing as you can always find positions on each end of the spectrum, usually corrolating with the interests of who ever is paying there bills be it eco-radical grants or business. But seriously too often scientific method is stretched. Because seek facts that support a predetermined answer rather than analyzing the facts to develop and answer.
By Robert
May 13, 2005 12:51 PM | Link to this
I coach a Science Olympiad team (it is almost like Science Fair) and the cheating is ridiculous. There is one event where the student is supposed to build a plane and then fly it. What a joke. The planes that the kids bring have been professionally built and it is apparent that the student has never even seen it before the event. Many of them stand there in front of the judge trying to figure out how to fly it. And, many of them do figure out how to fly it and then they win top prizes.
Yet, it is the parents/adults that are doing the work for these students and the students are not gaining any educational value from this. My school comes in dead last in these types of events because I insist that the students do their own work. Some of their work is quite good but is certainly not up to the professional work done by the other schools. My students do get upset with they finish so low, but I remind them how much fun they had and how much they learned.
I watch the other school’s parents and teachers and they are all beeming with pride at coming in first place or second place….. and some of them will even admit that they (the adults) were the ones that built the airplane. Their students strut up to the stage to accept the first place ribbon without realizing that they missed the point of this competition.
By Don
May 13, 2005 01:19 PM | Link to this
Seems to me that the expectations placed on these kids are unrealistic. A challenge means to help them along at an advanced pace with rigorous subject matter. To think they can cure cancer or understand processes not discussed in class is a little much. Lets face it, most of these advanced courses and science fairs are dependent on parental involvement. Whether providing the finance or Dad lending his expertise because he has access to a centrifuge or some other expensive piece of equipment it becomes necessary. Of course kids whos parents are in that field of endeavor prove to do much better. They get the lesson learned at school reinforced at home.
By kemp
May 13, 2005 01:27 PM | Link to this
It seems to me that Science Fair entries are a long-standing part of the curriculum of the advanced class. If that is the case, then everyone must know all about the deadlines and what it takes to do the job right. Why not start formulating the ideas for your project a year (or more) in advance of the beginning of school? It’s not like Science Fair is a random event. It happens the same time each year and the rules vary only slightly. Given that, any student bright enough to take an advanced class surely is bright enough to get an early jump on things…at least the planning stages.
By Ann
May 13, 2005 01:52 PM | Link to this
Kemp, but that would make sense and place personal responsibility on the students. Why would we want to do that, when we can just blame it on the teachers and the schools?
By JR
May 13, 2005 02:30 PM | Link to this
Hey that survey on science fair cheating sounds like a great science fair project!!
I’ll just use those numbers since someone has already done the work. LOL
We need a couple of projects done on ethics, the scientific methodology and the peer review process.
It’s a sad sign of the times….
By Shauna
May 13, 2005 02:35 PM | Link to this
AP class or not, if you haven’t taught the material, how can students be expected to know the material? I hated the science fair when I was in school. I did everything I could to hurry up and get it done. AP students need a break to. If every teacher gave them projects like that, how are they suppose to get it all done. They can’t stay up all night and they have to eat. I know we want our kids to succeed, but at what cost?
By Amy W.
May 13, 2005 03:53 PM | Link to this
AP class or not, if you haven’t taught the material, how can students be expected to know the material?
Shauna, I think the purpose of a science fair project is for students to learn, i.e. RESEARCH and analyze the material themselves. Its not as though they can’t ask their teachers for help or advice. I’m interested in knowing how many of these students actually went to their science teachers for help instead of waiting until the last minute to complete the project. I have a feeling that those who waited until the last minute where the ones most likely to cheat since they procrastinated.
This girl is making justifications for cheating. Unless if this project was due at the beginning of the school year, which we know it clearly wasn’t, there is no reason for students to complain. Let’s see…they had the summer to get help, plus the entire fall semester? Hmm…that’s about 6 months. I really have no sympathy for them. No excuses.
I personally wish these students would get caught, because it seems as though this unfortunate trend of cheating will continue until they face the consequences. They truly don’t understand why cheating is wrong. Maybe if they earned an “F” on the assignment it would teach them a good lesson about the value of being honest.
I don’t mean to be so hardline, but this is an issue I constantly face while teaching. It needs to be addressed, unless we’re okay with students cheating.
By Shauna
May 13, 2005 03:57 PM | Link to this
Amy,
I don’t think that anyone is okay with kids cheating, I just think that they have a lot of pressure to do well. Especially the AP students. Kids should not be put under so much stress. They have the rest of their lives to live and deal with stress. These kids need a break. I’m sorry, I think we are pushing to hard.
By Amy W.
May 13, 2005 04:38 PM | Link to this
If they don’t want to deal with stress, then they shouldn’t enroll in an AP class or expect to get into a top college.
Not suggesting that you’re one of these parents, but I abhor parents who want their kids to take 5 AP classes, 6 extracurricular activities, do community service, etc, but then complain that teachers are “pushing them too much.” Hypocritical, much?
By David
May 16, 2005 08:51 AM | Link to this
The purpose of AP classes and a rigorous schedule in high school is to teach kids to deal with stress and the pressures of college and life. It isn’t all about what is in a textbook.
By Shauna
May 16, 2005 09:53 AM | Link to this
Amy W. and David,
Of course AP classes are supposed to be harder. I’m not saying that they’re not, I’m only saying that there should still be some limits as to how much work these students are given.
Amy W.,
I am not one of those parents, yet! HA HA. My oldest baby is only in the 2nd grade right now. But she is on her way to greatness. She already scores into the 4th grade level in reading, math, and one other subject,(I forgot which one) isn’t that terrible. So, now I just have to start teaching her how to adjust her mind and her time so that she can handle an AP schedule when she hits high school.
But, I promise to be very understanding and work with all of her teachers. If I feel that she is doing too much then as her mother I will take her out of AP classes. That will be my call, not the schools and not hers.
Plus, my baby wants to go to University of Tennessee. That’s not an Ivy League school. (and it’s close to me).
By David
May 16, 2005 10:58 AM | Link to this
GO VOLS
By David
May 16, 2005 01:48 PM | Link to this
Shauna, that is my point. There is no limit to how much they are given in college. Trust me, when they get to college they will thank their high school AP teachers for “laying in on them”.
By Shauna
May 16, 2005 01:56 PM | Link to this
David,
You’re a teacher and maybe you know more than I do, I just don’t want to see some children loose their love of learning by working too hard.
Hopefully, you’re right.
But, in their defense, a teacher doesn’t know that it is too much for a child if the child or the parents don’t speak up. If the teacher assigns a project and the project is turned in on time, I guess there is no way for the teacher to know how taxing the project was without any feedback. What do you think?
By ann
May 16, 2005 02:20 PM | Link to this
Shauna, Please try to understand that when you complain that a project is “too taxing” and then later complain that your student is not being challenged, you are creating an impossible situation. T
By Shauna
May 16, 2005 02:22 PM | Link to this
Can’t there be an even compromise somewhere though?
By David
May 16, 2005 02:32 PM | Link to this
well shauna i am pretty sure a teacher knows the limits on the amount of work…i know sometimes it doesn’t seem like that….i mean in college i didn’t think any of my professors knew…and i struggled in college mainly because there really weren’t any AP courses so to speak when i was in high school..i wasn’t prepared…i look back now and thank them for the amount of work they gave me…it made me a better person and more able to tackle whatever came my way…it made me realize that nothing comes easy in this world..i wish my teachers had been alot harder on me in high school…college would have been easier….
By Ann
May 16, 2005 02:34 PM | Link to this
Shauna, Yes. Try to trust that your child’s teachers are trained professionals who want what is best for your child’s education. If your child is struggling in an advanced class, then it is probably not the right place for her. If your child has to work hard to succeed, it’s ok. Nothing worth anything comes easily. Listen to the teachers. They know what they are doing. This is what they are trained to do. It is more likely that you are in error as to how much work is appropriate, than it is that the teachers are in error. No offense intended, but if you went to a Doctor and tried to dictate how she does her job, she would tell you the same thing.
By Shauna
May 16, 2005 02:35 PM | Link to this
Okay guys, I concede. Stop picking on me :( (Just kidding)
By Amy W.
May 16, 2005 02:43 PM | Link to this
I just don’t want to see some children loose their love of learning by working too hard.
If a student signs up for an AP course, the idea is that she is driven, i.e. MOTIVATED to do the work. She wants a challenge. If she didn’t want a challenge, then she would take the general education course in that subject area. My point is, the kids shouldn’t lose their love of learning by working too hard. In fact, their “love” should substantially increase because they are intrinsically motivated to complete the work.
Research indicates that students who are intrinsically motivated are more likely to academically succeed than those who are motivated only through extrinsic factors, such as grades or college resumes. If the kid isn’t motivated from the get-go, its going to create problems.
By Amy W.
May 16, 2005 02:47 PM | Link to this
Which further leads me to believe that in these cases, the student needs to make the decision, NOT the parent.
By The Coach
May 16, 2005 03:26 PM | Link to this
If a student signs up for an AP course, the idea is that she is driven, i.e. MOTIVATED to do the work
The problem with this idea is that many students who sign up for AP’s are not the kind of kid you describe. Unfortunately, someone somwhere decided AP classes should be weighted. Now students who should not be in AP’s are there to pad their GPA’s, not learn. Then they figure out that they are not strong enough to be in AP, the students start complaining about the work load, and ultimately try to cheat to survive. Until schools (and more importantly, administrators) realize that weighting grades is only hurting the AP programs (and ultimately, the students), the cheating will continue.
By Wendy
May 17, 2005 12:52 PM | Link to this
I must confess, I was one of those kids. I didn’t mean for it to happen. The water plants died on me. Rotten, smelly plants and no data for the project. So I made it up. I knew what the data was supposed to be, how the experiment was supposed to work, and why. I’ll be darned if I’m going to get an F on a project that’s a quarter of my grade when the actual experiment failed. It was the first and last time I falsified data for anything (including a BS in Biology) and I don’t regret it. Science Fair sucks…
I think my HS handled honors/AP grades the best way. It’s not weighted - the teacher just added 5 points to your grade since it was harder, but an A in honors was the same as an A in regular classes. Can’t pad a GPA that way. That was 10 years ago, though…
By Pete
May 17, 2005 03:09 PM | Link to this
Just a couple of quick comments. I’m a teacher who teaches the entire high school science curriculum to able students who for one reason or another have gotten at least 2 years behind their classmates and want to graduate. About 32 years ago I did take AP Biology in high school. One important point not made, AP classes are college level. In fact, college credit can be gotten if a sufficiently good score is attained on the AP Exam. This gives one a head start in college and allows students to avoid artificially difficult introductory science courses in college that are partially designed to weed out the unfit for Pre-Med. A second point about the girl who cheated when her plants died. I am not that familiar with the Science Fair. But it is interesting to speculate on how many projects have negative results? Failure is a part of science. Scientists often learn as much from a negative result as a positive result. If the young lady had had the courage to write up her experimental failure, present it in the proper form, and offer thoughtful explanations for why the experiment failed, would she have gotten a good grade?
By Joe
May 19, 2005 11:03 AM | Link to this
Now, there’s a good science project, “When nobody is looking, can you look yourself in the eye?” A definite winner.
Seriously, in my experience, nothign changes from high school through college, grad school, and even the workforce. There are plenty of cheaters & some are successful at it. However, the most successful & content people, emotionally & financially, are the honest, intelligent, hard-working people. The cheaters are always worried about the next dollar because all they’ve made to this point is a sham & they’re waiting to get exposed. So, even if they are very wealthy, they are very seldom content with their life. When you achieve your success with honesty & hard work, then the path for continued success is already paved. Finally, don’t confuse honesty with marching like an ant. You will have to occassionally break rules & buck the system to stay true to yourself.