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After researching about the cheating epidemic, my group concludes that cheating is a growing problem in schools. Since technology has become so integrated into school systems, cheating has become easier and more popular. Kids think that to get a good grade in their classes and succeed in school, they need to cheat to keep up with the other kids. Other factors such as stress and multiple assignments being due at once, some kids think that cheating is their only choice.

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In this article, it states that most kids cheat because they "felt entitled to." What does this say about our society? Kids need to cheat to succeed in school? In some schools, students claim everyone cheats. Cheating affects not only a students academic integrity, but their work ethic. Once these kids start taking the easy way out...they will never go back to working hard on an assignment.

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The other day, a beautiful and bright high school senior sat in my office discouraged with school. Why? "Half of the kids are cheating" she told me. They pass around notebooks with exams, papers and other materials from past students.

Sadly, I wasn't surprised, Despite more than 20 students being caught in a single cheating scandal at the same school last year, most students feel entitled to cheat. What most of them don't realize is that they are setting a dangerous precedent. In addition to skipping the building blocks of knowledge for college, students are also putting their futures at risk.

Cheating: an acceptable "prank"

Students think about getting caught and suspended, but they rarely consider how it will affect where they matriculate for college-and it WILL. Students have handed in papers that another student authored the previous year, copied lab reports, plagiarized from the Internet, and received pictures of a test taken by cell phone. Among many high school groups, cheating has become viewed as a sort of acceptable "prank", a rite of passage, a cultural norm.

What students fail to understand is that colleges view it much more seriously. They regard academic dishonesty as one of the most egregious offenses you can commit, an indication of a serious character flaw. They will often forgive a student who is caught drinking or smoking pot, but they will rarely overlook offenses involving cheating or violence.

Being caught will haunt you

In considering the risks of cheating, the first thing students need to realize is that being caught will haunt them as they apply to colleges. You must sign a statement on the Common Application that asks if you ever been found responsible for a disciplinary violation at any educational institution. Most high schools can and will take action regarding cheating-so you will be obligated to answer yes to that question if you are caught.

If you lie about a disciplinary violation and the college finds out, it is grounds for immediate dismissal. How would a college discover your infraction if you don't report it? First, your school guidance office is REQUIRED to disclose any disciplinary actions to your colleges when you submit your application, through the time when you graduate.

No reason for a college to accept a student who's cheated

Colleges have a lot of applicants to choose from these days, and quite honestly, there is no reason for them to accept someone who cheated when they have other qualified candidates who do not have black marks against them. They may also question how many of your grades are valid and were achieved without cheating. If you are caught cheating after getting into college, in senior year-every college acceptance is conditional on you maintaining the same grades and demonstrating good behavior. Disciplinary violations will often result in a college rescinding your acceptance.

If your high school doesn't tell them, a parent might

What is the other way colleges find out, even if your school fails to report it? Other parents and students inform them. A few years ago, a local private school neglected to notify a college about a marijuana incident with a student who had received an early decision acceptance. The parent of a classmate who had been deferred from that same college called admissions and reported it-with the hope that it would free up a spot for her child. It's not pretty, but it happens all the time.

Parents need to talk to their children about cheating, what it says about character, and the dire consequences. They also need to allow children to do their own work-because completing assignments for a student or writing essays for them can foster an environment in which the line on cheating becomes blurred for kids. Today, colleges and some high schools are beginning to use software like Turnitin to scan essays and catch plagiarism. So, the chances of being caught are higher than ever. The best defense against being labeled as a cheater is a clear understanding of what constitutes cheating and how to play by the rules.

Cristiana Quinn, M.Ed. is the founder of College Admission Advisors, LLC, a Providence-based educational consulting firm which provides strategic, individual counseling for college-bound students. www.collegeadvisorsonline.com

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GoLocalProv | Lifestyle | College Admissions: America's High School Cheating Epidemic

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The other day, a beautiful and bright high school senior sat in my office discouraged with school. Why? "Half of the kids are cheating" she told me. They pass around notebooks with exams, papers and other materials from past students.

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With technology becoming such a big part of everyone's lives, it makes cheating and plagiarism that much easier. The internet is full of websites selling thesis papers and projects. All teachers have to do is type in a sentence to Google and they can catch any student trying to cheat. As you have read, the punishments can be very big and effect a students chances of getting a job, or getting into a higher education.

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Although optimal use of technology to improve academic outcomes might be years in the future, in at least one way it is having an impact today. The proliferation of gadgets like smart phones, tablets and Internet information tools like Wikipedia makes cheating easier than ever for students. A recent Ohio University study found that nearly 85% of students admit to cheating at least once by the time they graduate high school, citing the ease of access to information as one motivating factor along with test pressure and increased parental expectation.

"By the time kids get to third grade, school is starting to get a little harder and more is required of them. At that time they may begin to understand what cheating is although they may not really understand the consequences associated with it," said psychotherapist Stephanie Owen of Aurora Healthcare of Fond du Lac.

As the stakes associated with good grades increase, kids tend to become more savvy at academic dishonesty with electronic devices, said Oakfield science teacher Will Manier.

More alarming, such easy access means that students can engage in behavior that meets the traditional definition of cheating while failing to recognize it as such. As an example, Manier sites catching students emailing pictures of filled-out assignments to each other without realizing that doing so meant engaging in academic misconduct.

"Cheating has mutated into something that students don't even associate with cheating. If caught, I've heard the following excuses: we were working together or just checking answers or it's due the next hour. It's gone on so long that students don't even recognize it as cheating or that cheating is wrong."

Still, teachers are not as helpless to catch and prevent cheating as students might think. According to Gretchen Feeney, who teaches high school French in a Waupun Area High School, kids' sense of security when using online homework helpers or even free Internet translation engines is mostly misplaced. She says that she has no problems recognizing when a student used one of those tools to complete their homework and will call out and penalize those who turn in such work. She says she also makes it a requirement that assignments must be handwritten, which makes students further disinclined to resort to technology for assistance.

"It creates less temptation to translate and use your own skills," Feeney said.

This sentiment is echoed by Loni Wendt, who teachers English in the same school. She says that being forced to handwrite reduced temptation for selective cutting and pasting. But to catch those who can't resist, Wendt utilizes their preferred cheating tool against them.

"When students submit essays, we always copy and paste sentences from their submission into an internet search engine and if we come up with sites that have the exact same wording or close to the same wording we will not accept it and the student has to do it over."

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Students Make Use of Technology to Cheat, Report Finds

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Although optimal use of technology to improve academic outcomes might be years in the future, in at least one way it is having an impact today. The proliferation of gadgets like smart phones, tablets and Internet information tools like Wikipedia makes cheating easier than ever for students.

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This website tells you exactly what is considered plagiarism. There are many different types of plagiarism and they all have consequences. It is as easy as buying a paper online to taking a few words form a source

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Kennesaw State University | Department of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity

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Department of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity

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This is yet another example of cheating, but in this case it stopped a group of kids form graduating:

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(CBS) - It was graduation night in for 392 Oak Lawn High School seniors, but dozens of seniors did not get their diplomas because of a community service scandal.

CBS 2's Mike Parker reports when one Oak Lawn H.S. student sold forged documents for up to 20 bucks apiece to guarantee they'd graduate, it sounded foolproof. It wasn't.

Almost 400 graduates and their proud parents arrived for commencement at St. Xavier University, but 48 members of the 2014 class had to stay away.

The students who were missing were wrapped up in a cheating scandal. Instead of completing 24 hours of community service required to graduate, they turned in documents stating they had completed the requirement by working at the Stony Creek golf course. The documents were forged and phony.

Yolanda Kuzer's twin sons graduated Wednesday night.

"I believe what they did was wrong, but it is hard on the families of course, not for them to be participating " said Kuzer.

"We had four years to do 24 service hours and frankly they were pretty easy," said graduate Sean Bunce.

In the end, the school principal said it was a matter of integrity.

"There's consequences behind all actions," said Mary Scott. "My daughter wasn't part of it, so that is good."

During the ceremony the school superintendent announced "every one of you graduates completed 24 hours of community service. He got a big cheer.

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Dozens Of Oak Lawn Students Miss Graduation After Cheating Scandal

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(CBS) - It was graduation night in for 392 Oak Lawn High School seniors, but dozens of seniors did not get their diplomas because of a community service scandal. CBS 2's Mike Parker reports when one Oak Lawn H.S. student sold forged documents for up to 20 bucks apiece to guarantee they'd graduate, it sounded foolproof.

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Yes! Most likely not immediately, but there is always a chance. Especially if it is someone who has gotten caught before. Here is an example of 11 kids who got expelled for cheating:

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NEWPORT BEACH (CBSLA.com) - A cheating scandal has led to the expulsion of 11 high school students in Orange County.

The disciplinary action came late Tuesday night at a closed-door Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Education meeting.

The unidentified students were accused in December of hacking into computers to change grades and access tests at Corona Del Mar High School in Newport Beach.

"The Board's action imposes discipline upon these students for the maximum allowed by the Education Code for what occurred at Corona del Mar High School," Board President Karen Yelsey said in a statement.

11 Students Expelled In Corona Del Mar HS Cheating Scandal

The school announced earlier this month that they had launched an audit of 750,000 grades to determine how many grades might have been changed.

"I don't feel like these children will learn or grow from their mistakes unless they're held accountable for that," parent Leslie Bibb said.

Parents of the expelled students say their children were "thrown to the wolves" and that the scandal actually involved more than 100 students. Private tutor Timothy Lai was also accused of helping the accused students hack into computers and manipulate grades.

"My understanding is that many of the students did not cheat, except they went to the tutor and they were aware of others cheating," parent Randy Zuckerman said.

Lai is wanted by police for questioning, but has been missing since detectives showed up at his Irvine home with a search warrant on Dec. 18.

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11 Students Expelled In Corona Del Mar HS Cheating Scandal

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NEWPORT BEACH (CBSLA.com) - A cheating scandal has led to the expulsion of 11 high school students in Orange County. The disciplinary action came late Tuesday night at a closed-door Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Education meeting.

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Cheating is defined as "to take a test or examination in a dishonest way." Cheating used to mean looking over someone's shoulder for an answer. In today's world, students can cheat in many different ways. MPR News sums up cheating best in their article and informational video:

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Looking over students Stephen J. Boitano/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Guests

David Callahan: Author of 'The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans Are Doing Wrong to Do Well.' Co-founder of Demos, a multi-issue national organization which combines research, policy development and advocacy

Don McCabe: Professor at Rutgers University Business School

Victor Dorff: Math teacher at Palisades Charter High School

Academic settings across the country have been hit with cheating scandals among students, even at schools where most students would've passed the tests on their own. But as educator Victor Dorff wrote in a recent op-ed for the L.A. Times, "compounding the problem is the fact that many students aren't fully aware of what constitutes cheating."

Dorff, a math teacher at Palisades Charter High School, joined The Daily Circuit Monday to talk about cheating in schools.

"I think everybody knows in my classes that if they are looking over at someone else's paper during an exam, that's cheating," he said. "To what extent they understand that copying someone else's homework or finding out what the questions are on a test before they take it, those are the things they seem a little fuzzy about."

The problem of understanding cheating often falls on the schools themselves, said David Callahan, author of "The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans Are Doing Wrong to Do Well."

"Schools don't do a very good job of explaining why cheating is wrong," he said on The Daily Circuit. "You'd think that would be a pretty obvious thing that educational institutions, both high school and colleges, would do, but they don't. If you look at the honor codes that schools have, they rarely actually make a moral case for why cheating is wrong."

Don McCabe, professor at Rutgers University Business School, also joined The Daily Circuit and said he most often sees cheating from students at the very top and very bottom of the class.

"Those in the middle are comfortable taking their B or that C, whatever it may be," he said. "Those at the top are looking for that rank, looking to get into the best colleges... And those at the bottom just want to get out."

For many of our callers and online commenters, cheating happens due to the pressure to do well.

"I would say cheating is extremely prevalent in terms of students sharing homework answers and using solution manuals to complete homework," wrote Mickey Rush on our blog. "Despite the fact that most of us just want to learn interesting things, grades are unfortunately the largest factor in determining our future opportunities."

Jenna, a University of Minnesota graduate, also commented on the blog and said she has cheated.

"Nothing major - writing a few notes somewhere to have during a test for example," she wrote. "And this was always after I had been studying and studying but just couldn't memorize everything that was required for the test. Generally the tests I liked were tests of understanding, not necessarily memorization. I think the 'memorize this and regurgitate it' type test not only encourages cheating but also is less likely to really teach students a subject."

Callahan said teachers can help prevent students' urge to cheat by creating courses that focus on mastery of subjects rather than on grades for exams. Those classes have lower levels of cheating, he said.

"How courses are structured and how teachers teach certainly can make a big difference, he said.
Did you ever cheat in school? Comment on the blog.
David Callahan: America's Cheating Epidemic from Commonwealth Club and Commonwealth Club on

Looking over students Stephen J. Boitano/ASSOCIATED PRESS

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* Associate Digital Producer, MPR News

Emily Kaiser was an associate digital producer for MPR News with Kerri Miller.

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Do students understand what constitutes cheating in school?

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David Callahan: Author of 'The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans Are Doing Wrong to Do Well.' Co-founder of Demos, a multi-issue national organization which combines research, policy development and advocacy Don McCabe: Professor at Rutgers University Business School Victor Dorff: Math teacher at Palisades Charter High School Academic settings across the country have been hit with cheating scandals among students, even at schools where most students would've passed the tests on their own.

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This is one school's cheating policy, but across the board the punishments mentioned in this page have appeared in multiple other schools cheating policies. Most high schools will give detentions as punishments for first time offenders, but if a student cheats multiple times, the punishment will become harsher.