Cheating among students is not a new issue nor is it uncommon. According to several surveys, many youngsters have cheated at least once or twice in school. For example, Drs. Ali Mattu and Courtney Weiner co-authored a New York University Child Study publication titled “Cheating in School: Why It Happens and How to Prevent It.” They cite the findings of a 2010 study from the Josephson Institute of Ethics that revealed, “Among current high school students, 75 percent admit to cheating on tests, homework, and other assignments. Fifty percent have cheated on exams during the past year, and 34 percent have cheated on more than one test. Research indicates similar trends among college students and even graduate students.” Teachers attending my workshops have shared with me examples of cheating prior to the high school years, including among elementary school students. These transgressions cover a wide spectrum of behaviors. Most likely, some would be judged more egregious than others. For some students cheating involves glancing at a classmate’s test paper to copy an answer. For others it may involve turning in a term paper that another student had written several years earlier for a similar course with a different teacher or…
