Statistics show that 73% of students cheat at some point in their lives. Cheating and plagiarism have risen in the last 50 years, and it is becoming more and more common among all students. At The Columbus School, the extent of the problem is difficult to determine, but like all schools, cheating does exist.

In the previous years, cheating was associated with students that were struggling, but it is currently a problem with overachievers as well. While there are many reasons, cheating and plagiarism have increased mainly because it has become easier and students have become more competitive.

“I consider myself a pretty good student. I have a high GPA and I take part of AP courses, with these advanced courses the workload is more extensive so cheating becomes a resource to be able to accomplish all of the work and be successful in these classes,” according to one TCS 11th grade student.

Why are students cheating?

Over the years the homework load has become more extensive, and students around the globe struggle to maintain a healthy sleep and living schedule. Students who feel agitated with the amount of work often resort to cheating.

“Usually I cheat when I have two or more exams on a day or they are really difficult. Another reason is that the content of the exam is really extensive or the teachers have not taught the topic very well,” one 9th grader stated.

An emphasis on grades rather than the learning process has also affected students. Some cheat because the goal is to have good grades rather than actually learning. Cheating has become a means for students to achieve a beneficial end.

“The pressure has become higher because your grades determine what university you go to and that determines your future. Universities just care about the grades not how you got them,” a TCS 1oth grade said.

Ethics and morality regarding cheating and plagiarism have evolved over the years. Many students believe that it’s fine to cheat because everyone else does it whereas grades have become more important than the actual learning process.

“Students that cheat get higher scores than those that don’t, so why wouldn’t I cheat if I want to succeed,” a TCS 9th grader said. 

How are students cheating?

But cheating in exams is not the only way that students help their grade. By copying homework from other students and plagiarizing from online resources students have an advantage in all of their classes. Teachers acknowledge this problem and they believe that not enough is being done to combat this problem.

“I think cheating is quite prevalent, and I think people don’t take plagiarism seriously enough. People are too worried about grades and not worried about understanding, which is one of the biggest detriments to cheating, so you don’t actually understand the material even if you get the grade,” Bill Beauchamp, 11th chemistry teacher, said.

Cheating has evolved with the help of technology, computers, and cellphones. Plagiarism has become easier with the help of the internet and cell phones provide an easy way to take pictures of work to copy later. But many students argue that cheating has not increased over the years, it has just modernized.

“I do not think that cheating has incremented over the years, it’s just different with technology. Instead of copying worksheets we copy and paste work online. It’s the same thing but faster,” a 10th-grade student said.

At the same time that students have evolved with the help of technology, online tools have developed to fight against plagiarism. Apps like Turnitin are very popular to check if students actually do their work or they just copy it from the internet or even an other student.

“It evolved but there’s always being cheating going on even before computers. It may make it easier for electronic documents and things like,” Beauchamp said.

What are schools doing?

Many people believe that cheating has incremented because schools are not doing enough to combat this problem. So what are teachers and the school doing to prevent cheating and other unethical behaviors and how are students sanctioned when they do cheat?

“Resources like Turnitin make it easier for us to find plagiarism,” Beauchamp said.  

But although the school spends money and time installing and providing these tools for reducing the amount of plagiarism, but many teachers do not use them. Students are left to wonder if teachers that do not care if they do copy others work.

“Some teachers are very strict and have no tolerance towards plagiarism, while other could not care less. I have friends that have gotten in trouble with plagiarism but most of the time we get away with it,” a 12th grader said. 

TCS has very strict rules towards plagiarism and in most cases when students get caught, it is considered a serious offense in the school manual. Sanctions vary depending on each case and teacher. Regardless of the rules, students continue cheating because they consider it one of the ways to achieve the only goal of the system, getting high grades.

“I believe that students will continue cheating until parents and teachers start realizing that the most important thing is the learning process, not the grades,” a TCS 9th grader said.