As we are all aware, a variety of factors--including academic pressure and laziness--motivate some students to cheat. This article in The Oregonian notes that new technology brings even more ways for students to break the rules. The Internet can be used to download plagiarized research papers, cell phones can take pictures of exam questions, and graphing calculators can store information to be called up during a test, the article says.
However, the number of cheaters remains steady--and staggeringly high. “Two-thirds of high school students admit to cheating at some point during their academic careers,” says the article. That’s an overwhelmingly large number, although I have no trouble believing it. I’m pretty sure that many of my high school peers cheated on something, whether it was as small as a homework assignment or as major as a final exam.
On a related note, I read a prediction on the Engaging Learners blog yesterday that said by the year 2020, cheating will become obsolete and replaced by collaboration, in accordance with new work ethics that will emerge from 21st century developments. It’s hard to put stock in predictions like those, but it’s definitely food for thought.