Cheating in schools must be addressed. When we accept cheating in our schools, we are inviting it into our workplaces. Most people know that cheating is immoral and ultimately it is detrimental to our economy. Bribery and corruption are just terms that essentially mean cheating and are common in business and politics globally, which is exactly why cheating in our schools needs to be addressed. We need to teach students not to cheat before they enter the workforce.

Illinois is a great example of corruption that hurts the integrity of our institutions and our economy. The last two governors of Illinois have been convicted of corruption charges. Former Governor Rob Blagojevich made national news when he was caught trying to sell President Obama’s senate seat.

Bribery is too common, and it doesn’t only occur in the government sector. Recently, Wal-Mart was embroiled in a bribery scandal in Mexico. Bribery harms our society because it distorts market prices and decreases market efficiency.

A good start to fight cheating would be to eliminate grading curves in classes. Carlson School of Management (CSOM) has instituted a grading curve policy in order to fight grade inflation. All this policy has done is pit students against students. In some classes 90% is a B, and in other classes 75% is a B. Instead of a class being about measuring your learning, a class is more of a fight to the top. In these fights, rules are broken. I have no doubt that CSOM has some of the worst cheating in the University.

The problem with curves is that cheating has a direct effect on other students. Having a straight grading scale, students who cheat can benefit themselves, but the cheaters effect on other students is unclear. When a student cheats in a class graded on a curve, students who don’t cheat are at a disadvantage. When students cheat, they artificially raise the median of the class causing other students to receive lower grades.

This causes students that wouldn’t otherwise cheat to look at cheating as an option. They could abstain from cheating because they view it as immoral, yet it is unclear how often students will sacrifice their GPA to be moral.

Students today will be leaders tomorrow. I don’t want leaders that cheat. I don’t want students that cheat. When cheaters win, everyone else loses.