Cheating in American high schools is widespread. A recent ABCNews poll of 12- to 17-year-olds provided these statistics:
70% of teens say at least some kids in their school cheat on tests.
60% have friends who have cheated.
30% say they themselves have cheated, rising to 43% of 16- and 17-year-olds.
More than 50% say cheaters don’t get caught.
In our previous blog, Cheating in School, we provided several facts, consequences, and prevention tips for adolescent cheating. In today’s blog, we wanted to offer parents some specific ideas for talking to your teen about cheating.
You can print out these ten reasons to give to your teen and use them as a way to open a discussion.
Top Ten List for Why Cheating is Wrong
Cheating is the same as lying and stealing. Each time you hand in schoolwork, you are basically telling the teacher that you completed that work on your own. That’s either true or, if you cheated on the work, it’s lying. Cheating is also stealing because you are taking someone else’s work and calling it your own.
