Character education: The pillar to prevent achievement disease and exam cheating

Knowledge can open the door to the future, but character determines how we walk through it. The “achievement disease” in education arises when scores, passing rates, and good reports are considered the ultimate measure. When “form” overwhelms “substance,” cheating becomes a shortcut, school ethics are eroded, and society suffers the consequences of empty diplomas and diminished real abilities.

To cure the root cause, we need to shift the pillar from “scores” to “personality” - that is, restore the standards of honesty, responsibility, discipline and respect for fairness.

The disease of achievement does not appear naturally but is nurtured by a skewed incentive mechanism: school - class - teacher - student evaluation is mainly based on ratios and transcripts; exams are more about screening than development; parents are worried about "falling in rank" so they unintentionally encourage extra studying, cramming, and asking for points. In that dynamic system, teachers easily follow "quotas", students are pushed into "short cuts", and managers prioritize surface stability. To break the spiral, we must change the measuring stick: prioritize practical ability, civic ethics, and cooperation ability; reduce the proportion of individual test scores in overall assessment.

Illustration photo.

Character education is not a few “morality” lessons or wall slogans; it is a redesign of the school experience. Integrity education, critical thinking, and self-management need to be integrated into the curriculum; project-based learning, community service, and reflective journals need to be expanded so that students can compare “knowing” with “doing.” An honor code that students develop and commit to together is a soft but effective barrier that helps students understand why they should not cheat, not just fear of being caught. When students see the value of fairness and effort, the motivation to cheat naturally decreases.

The role of teachers as role models is key: recruitment and evaluation must value integrity and professional responsibility as much as expertise; all conflicts of interest must be made public; rewards must be linked to improving the quality of actual learning, not just exam results. Schools must ensure transparent examination processes, independent monitoring, anonymous feedback channels to protect whistleblowers; apply technology to prevent but not replace moral education. It is also necessary to separate teacher and school evaluation from the pressure of passing rates, replacing them with external accreditation, post-graduate capacity surveys and school integrity indexes.

Finally, parents and society are the remaining “legs”. When families firmly say no to buying grades, when the media honors honesty instead of fake achievements, when businesses recruit based on ability and credibility, shortcuts will lose their appeal. By placing character as the pillar, we will not only prevent the disease of achievement and cheating in exams, but also build a real education - where true values ​​are respected and the future is guaranteed by kindness.

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Source: https://baolaocai.vn/giao-duc-nhan-cach-tru-cot-de-chan-benh-thanh-tich-va-gian-lan-thi-cu-post881711.html