Student Cheating Prevalent, Poll Finds

The Associated Press
AP Online
04-29-2004
Dateline: WASHINGTON
More than seven in 10 teenagers say students in their school cheat on tests, and almost as many say cheating on homework is widespread, too, a national poll finds.

Almost a third of students admit to cheating, according to the ABC News Primetime poll of kids age 12 to 17.

The vast majority of students said they know cheaters lose out in the long run, and that their parents would rather have them do their best work _ regardless of grades _ than cheat.

Yet just a third of students said they've had a serious talk with their parents about cheating. And most of those polled said cheaters in their school don't get caught.

Older teens were most likely to be involved in cheating.

More than two in 10 students age 12 to 14 say they've cheated; that number rose to more than 4 in 10 among students age 16 and 17.

Two in three students said at least some students at their school have handed in homework or papers not their own, such as work copied from another student or downloaded from the Internet.

Among those who admitted cheating, most said they've done it rarely. Less than a third said they cheat occasionally, and just a few said they've cheated very often.

Peer influence is a factor, the poll found. Those with friends who have cheated are more tempted and more likely to cheat themselves.

A third of students said they are more likely to cheat if they know they'd never get caught, and almost as many said cheating would be more tempting if they had a teacher who didn't seem to care about them or their work.

The telephone poll of a random sample of 504 students was conducted Feb. 4 to 8. The poll had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

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