Annually, the College Board renews its threats on cancelling exams. Students must suffer the fear that their scores may be cancelled because of suspicious activity. There have been a lot of news stories about AP cheating scandals, or surrogate test-taking. But what about those who did not cheat and have to suffer along with those who did?

Aspiring lawyers at the University of Tasmania suffered that penalty this year. In these few efforts to stop the advance of cheating, we often delay a majority of honest people. This is another side to the cheating problem. Not only does its ubiquity cause our leaders to be dishonest, it also discourages the honest aspirations of many.

I would say that any meddling might worsen the problem, that allowing both the cheaters and the hard-workers to prosper would allow things to balance out a bit, but that is an extreme and a too hopeful view. I don't actually think that the re-take exams that students must sometimes take discourages our ambitious youths so completely. It is a rare enough thing, and the true leaders would certainly persevere. Additionally, if the cheaters prosper in school, what will stop them from continuing to prosper through the same methods as leaders?