Column One: Students

Although they feel little pressure to cheat, many of the nation's high-achieving students get their A's and B's by illicit means, an annual survey of high-achieving students concludes.

Conducted last spring by Who's Who Among American High School Students, the nationwide survey of almost 2,000 students listed by the publication reveals some disturbing statistics: 40 percent said they had cheated on a test or quiz; 25 percent had used Cliff Notes instead of reading an assigned book; and 14 percent had plagiarized.

Only 30 percent of the students said they felt "some'' or "a lot'' of pressure to cheat, but 80 percent acknowledged that cheating is...