Throughout high schools around the country, academic dishonesty has become increasingly prevalent. Since the 2020 pandemic, 29% of students have reported having an increase in their cheating behavior, according to a study done by Wiley, a global publishing company that features educational resources and scholarly writing.
With the advancement of the internet and technologies such as artificial intelligence, many students have found new and innovative ways to cheat. Some LASA teachers found that after the pandemic, the number of students caught cheating was extremely high, leading educators to implement measures to limit students’ access to technologies that are used to cheat. LASA Biology Teacher Emily Kossa explained the methods she uses in her classroom to combat this problem.
“Depending on the type of assignment, it can sometimes be difficult to effectively control how students engage with the assignment outside of the classroom,” Kossa said. “While I do occasionally use other tools as well, the one I use most commonly is screen monitors like GoGuardian for in-class assessments or assignments.”
LASA Algebra 2 Teacher Lane Cosper explained that cheating can have major consequences if caught, such as referrals, suspensions, and failing grades on the assignment. Even if the student is not caught, there are still repercussions. According to her, these consequences can greatly affect students in the long run.
“Cheating makes students intellectually weak,” Cosper said. “They don’t learn to solve problems; they learn to fake it … They avoid effort and end up believing they’re incapable without cheating. It guarantees failure later, especially in math … When the pressure, grades, college admissions, and parental expectations become intense enough, they make a calculated choice to cheat anyway, prioritizing immediate relief over future competence.”
When the opportunity presents itself to cheat, especially on assignments without teacher supervision, students are more likely to seize the opportunity, according to Wiley. Additionally, Kossa noticed that certain assignments or situations caused more cheating than others.
“I think certain types of assignments lend themselves to cheating more easily than others, especially with the whole AI situation,” Kossa said. “In general, though, I tend to see the most academic dishonesty on smaller assignments like homework and daily work assignments.”
High school environments can be very intense, and, as a result, many students may feel a strong need to do well in school and receive good grades. According to the National Institute of Health, college applications have become increasingly competitive, so many students may feel the need to engage in academic dishonesty to keep up. LASA freshman Lucinda Tedesco elaborated on why she thinks students feel the need to cheat for their grades.
“I see people cheating all the time, because it’s such a high-pressure environment,” Tedesco said. “People feel like if they get a bad grade, then it’ll determine their sense of worth. … I think a lot of it comes down to being really stressed and being scared to fail.”
In a world where students can google anything they need and AI can write essays, preventing cheating is a challenge. Cheating can have severe academic consequences, but Kossa believes it can also damage how a person views you.
“A person can’t just make themselves forget that you lied, cheated, or were dishonest in some way,” Kossa said. “It becomes part of who you are to them.”
