Cheating is not a new phenomenon. Even before the invention of the iPhone and Chat GPT, older generations found ways to cheat by writing answers under their shoes, peeking over at a neighbor, or sneaking in a textbook. Nowadays, though, teachers have to worry about more than just cheating on a test. Homework, essays, and even lab reports can be forged with access to different Internet resources. A poll conducted in November 2015 found that about 70.75% of Highland Park students said they cheated on at least one test, and a vast 91.51% claimed that they had copied somebody else’s homework. The chances are that these statistics are extremely similar in 2023, if not higher.
Teachers have found it extremely difficult to deal with the issue over the last few years, especially since it is an offense that is very hard to prove. However, if you think you got away with cheating, your teacher likely knows about it. Teachers still have an idea of who is fudging their work and who tried to get it done. “The student that’s always copying and looking at other people’s responses just doesn’t get it,” Mrs. Stephen provided. It bothers many teachers that students turn to the Internet for help instead of their educators when they are struggling.
Sometimes cheating goes beyond just copying off somebody’s answers. Excluding the sources of your information and therefore passing off that knowledge as your own is also a form of academic dishonesty. Mrs. Stephen commented, “If students are finding answers online to questions…at least cite your source.” Teachers are aware that students may not know every single answer on the homework assignment, but they expect them to write a link or citation of where the information came from. The simplicity of writing out a source makes a difference not only for building trust with your teacher, but also for avoiding zeros or points off for plagiarism.
It is important to understand why cheating is prominent in Highland Park High School. For one, it is an epidemic that is present in the majority of schools in America. With easy access to the Internet through our Chromebooks and at-home devices, solutions to your homework can be accessed through the click of a button. The temptation of convenience serves as reasoning for students to look up answers to get the perfect grade. If the answers are available, it might just be easier to copy them down and maximize your grade.
Additionally, universities are becoming increasingly competitive. It feels as if every applicant to Harvard and Princeton found a cure for cancer or created a start-up tech company. The least that students can do is strive for a perfect GPA to improve their chances. Karoline DiStefano, a junior, commented on the stress this amounts to when trying to be the perfect student. “I think there is an increase in competition when getting into college…It feels like the significance of school has shifted from learning to getting into a specific college.” This pressure is commonly felt throughout the student body. The workload and the stress continue to pile up, and the easiest way to get rid of some of it is by duplicating responses.
Students are motivated by fear of failure. Some students like Karoline think that the school is not built to support those that have gotten low grades; “I believe that the fact that there’s so much pressure to be accepted to a good college plays into the GPA aspect.” Students are not prepared to get a bad grade, even if a bad grade might help them learn more and recognize what they need to work on in the long term. Students are rewarded for achieving highly at all costs, even if it means your report card doesn’t accurately reflect your work ethic. However, failing is necessary at times. A grade is just a grade, but what you take away from struggles can be carried on to further years, whether you go to college, the military, or the workforce after high school. According to Mrs. Stephen, “Cheaters never prosper.”