Why Students Cheat On Tests

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In today's education system, students are continually being challenged in their academic learning. The standard for the children and young adults in the United States in steadily increasing and there is a higher expectation to do exceptionally well in school, no matter what grade level the student is in. Along with the higher standards comes an increase in academic dishonesty. Even though there has unfortunately always been cheating in the education system, more and more students are cheating on tests and papers than ever before. Students will do anything to receive the highest grade possible, either honestly or dishonestly, no matter what the consequence. According to the theory of social interaction, there are many different factors that contribute to why students cheat on a test. The social interaction theory allows the researcher to view cheating in three major aspects: advancements in technology, pressure from parents or peers, and lack of morals of the student. So why do students cheat on tests? In a recent study with two hundred and thirty-one college students, 80 percent of the …show more content…

Because of the new technology, students have come up with more creative and cunning ways to cheat on a test, and since the technology is so accessible it is extremely tempting to commit cheating. Smart phones, tablets, and even smart watches have allowed students to easily look up answers on a test, or have pictures of notes that are easily accessible without a teacher noticing, if the teacher is not active in preventing this from happening (Hendricks, 2011). Also, now that online classes have become more common, there is a greater concern for academic cheating because there is no face-to-face interaction with the instructor. This allows the student to feel less connected emotionally to the instructor and therefore does not feel remorse if they choose to cheat on a test, or plagiarize something off the internet (Simpson,

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