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A new survey shows 64 percent of high school students admit cheating in the past year.
East High biology teacher Anne Story says she sees more cheating in her AP and honors classes. She says, "I've had kids who were in the top 3 percent of their graduating class that were regular cheaters to maintain that position in their ranking."
She says there is more competition now for students to get into a good school, but she still doesn't believe that justifies society's apathy about honesty.
Story says technology also has helped cheating. For example, she now prefers handwritten assignments so that students can't cut and paste.
Cottonwood High School Assistant Principal David Gattie says students can take a picture of an answer sheet with their cell phone and send it to others. But he says when they address cheating with students, they do it in a way to help the students learn. "We can work with a child who cheats because they are trying and they care," he said. "A kid with a zero doesn't care."
Both also say students see cheating all around them. Story says, "I think society as a whole puts less worth on honesty than it used to." But they will not give up the fight. Their policy is that students will fail anything they cheat on.
Perhaps the most surprising thing the study revealed was that those who cheat aren't bothered by it. Ninety-three percent of the students were satisfied with their personal ethics and character. Most of them also said they were more honest than other people.
A West High School ninth-grader named Cassandra couldn't believe so many people thought cheating was OK.
"To some people it is, to some it isn't, but for me, not really. Even though you may get a good grade, it's not your work you're doing to get the grade," she said. She says her parents and teachers taught her better.
Other findings from the survey:
--Cheating in school is rampant and getting worse. Sixty-four percent of students cheated on a test in the past year and 38 percent did so two or more times, up from 60 percent and 35 percent in a 2006 survey.
--Thirty-six percent said they used the Internet to plagiarize an assignment, up from 33 percent in 2004.
--Forty-two percent said they sometimes lie to save money -- 49 percent of the boys and 36 percent of the girls.
--Thirty percent of students have stolen from a store. About one-fifth stole something from a friend or family member.
The Josephson Institute, a Los Angeles-based ethics institute, surveyed 29,760 students at 100 randomly selected high schools nationwide, both public and private. All students in the selected schools were given the survey in class; their anonymity was assured. See details of the study at the link on this page.
E-mail: mrichards@ksl.com
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
