Atchinson, B. (1992). Cheating in the classroom. S. Hamilton, MA: Center for Youth Studies.

OVERVIEW

If a student claims to cheat, should that student be believed? Most high school and college students cheat. Several recent studies indicate that three quarters of all high school students and two thirds of college students cheat. Donald McCabe, an associate professor of business ethics at Rutgers, expressed shock at the results of a survey (of more than 6,000 students at 31 of America’s most respected colleges) revealing that most students cheat. "The thing that scares me is that these kids are the academic elite—the future leaders of America—and their attitude is: ‘Society owes me. Why should I have to work?’ "

Cheating increases with age throughout adolescence according to a 1987 Gallup Youth Survey. Half of junior high students (ages 13-15) have cheated on an exam. The figure climbs to nearly three quarters for high school students (ages 16-17). There is little difference among above average and below average students. After adolescence, studies show a decline in cheating behavior (50% for ages 18-24, 34% for ages 25-44 and 29% for ages 45-64).

Cheating also seems to be global. Recently, in India, cheating has become somewhat common. It is reported that newspapers regularly post notices from colleges and universities indicating which students’ exams have been disqualified because of cheating. (AP news release. [1989, December 8]. New Delhi, India.) In 1989 and 1990, thousands of test scores were nullified because of widespread cheating. The Educational Testing Service (ETS) had to cancel 6,600 Graduate Record Examination (GRE) test scores in what they believed to be the largest scale of cheating ever.

Consider 1987, called "The Year of Lying Dangerously" by Washington Post writer Walt Harrington. He lists Gary Hart, Joe Biden, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, Oliver North and the Iran-Contra scandal, the NASA Challenger investigation, the Wall Street insiders...and more. Isn’t it somewhat logical that if today’s leaders lie and cheat, then tomorrow’s leaders will too? In his Washington Post article (1988, January 4), Harrington said, "People lie, steal and more today not so much because they don’t know right from wrong, but because in big, bureaucratized, corporatized, impersonalized America, it’s harder and harder to do the right thing and easier and easier to do the wrong thing."

It is not just the "big guys" that influence youth to cheat. Parents are often inconsistent with their children. When parents instruct their child to lie ("Tell him I am not home") they clearly signal that lying is OK. If parents cheat their employers out of vacation days or sick days then why shouldn’t a student cheat on their work as well? Parental influence on personal values is becoming a thing of the past. Only one half of today’s young adults (18-24 year olds) feel that they received strong, positive moral values from their parents. Compare that to 61 percent of the middle-aged population (ages 2-60) and 78 percent of the retirement generation (ages 65+). It is also interesting that students who think cheating is a major problem in their schools say that the teachers are to blame, a claim flatly denied by teachers. (1990, September/October. Journal of Education Research).

Do religious convictions make any difference in cheating behavior? According to a Gallup Poll it does. Of those who attend church services regularly, 55 percent cheat. While this certainly is not a moral majority, of those who do not attend services regularly, 66 percent cheat. Another study (Patterson. [1991]. The day America told the truth.) also shows that people who describe themselves as "religious" showed more of a commitment to moral values than "non-religious" people.

Among ninth through twelfth graders in public or private schools, cheating is most prevalent with white males in private schools. The reasons for their cheating are usually "to get ahead." On the other hand, if Asians or women cheat, it is more likely to be for the reason of helping someone else ([1990, Winter]. Journal of Research and Development in Education).

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. Whose responsibility is it to curb the trend of cheating among today’s students?
2. What can be done to support the task of moralizing youth? What can you do?
3. Why do schools that impose honor codes with high ethical standards have fewer cheaters? Discuss the following statements:

• • The quality of students who attend these schools is better than other schools.
  • The schools have taken the time and energy to express behavioral expectations to the students.
  • The threat of possible punishment for being caught is greater than the possible rewards of cheating.
  • Students’ behavior tends to rise to adult expectations: If adults trust them, they are more likely to become trustworthy.

IMPLICATIONS

1. Cheating relates to many factors, including the pressure to succeed, self-esteem, church attendance, adult expectations, and friendship pressures.
2. To curb cheating, youth workers need to find ways to level off the sensed pressure, build value into kids, encourage religious affiliations, help adults express expectations appropriately, and expose negative friendships.
3. Other adults can help. Teachers can become more capable of catching students, make tougher punishments when students are caught, and begin teaching moral values in the classroom. Parents can begin to catch their own inconsistent standards of behavior and be more honest with their kids. Churches and family organizations can encourage regular attendance and firmly teach values to teenagers.
4. Think about and list the real consequences of cheating. How many are concrete, immediate, and personal? The loss of a grade, a suspension, and extra homework are understood by teenagers. But what about the abstract, long-range, and corporate consequences of cheating? How can we help teenagers understand these consequences and their gravity? Loss of trust among friends and family members, the loss of a career, or even the loss of life can result from lying and cheating.