More Teens are Cheating in School, but Why?

By Jacob Key '20

Who Cheats?

Ninety-five percent of students admitted to cheating in some capacity (Andrew Simmons, (GEORGE LUCAS EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION). Teens working through high school cheating could be viewed negatively, but also, at the same time, it could be seen as a benefit. Many think that cheating is one hundred percent bad while on the other hand, many believe that sometimes you have to cheat in order to make the grade. Teens say that they cheat because they want the grade, and sometimes they don't have the time to do the work that goes into getting the grade. With many high school students working or participating in sports after school, there is less time available for out of school assignments, causing many students to resort to cheating on their assignments.

Why do teens cheat?

Zachary Goldman, a graduate student from Harvard, states that students cheat because of they, ¨critique both the individual decision-making of peers and the school-based structures that encourage cheating.¨ Outside pressures such as grades, peers, and parent expectations influence a student’s decision to cheat. Among these reasons, there are other reasons why teens cheat. Usually, teens feel if they have to cheat, these reasons could be because they feel as if their teacher has included new topics on a test/quiz and also to ensure they pass their classes. Research shows that many students struggle to understand concepts in class but they strive to pass their class, which could be another reason for cheating.

Besides passing a course, teens may also cheat because they feel as if they are peer pressured to do so. This is because having good grades comes with a lot of value, and many who have good grades feel ¨cool¨ (Harvard School of Education). It could also be seen that a lot of pressure that students feel comes from adults. Students feel as if they are pressured by adults for the demands of competing responsibilities such as standardized testing. With all of these pressures, students often resort to cheating to meet the demands of their teachers and parents.