Exam Stress: Cheating on Exams - Part 1

The school year is coming to a close and for high school students that means exams. The inevitable fact of exams causes some strange behavior in students: they stress out. They freak out. They stay up all night cramming. They lose sleep.

Sometimes they even cheat.

Scenario: It’s 45 minutes into a biology exam and Jimmy blanks on the role of mitochondria. If he misses this question he’ll lose 5 marks, so he sneaks a peek at his neighbors’ sheet.

Students are constantly reminded how important good grades are, so it’s no wonder that they can occasionally give into the urge cheating. They know that every grade counts, every homework, assignment, test, project and pop quiz goes towards the final grade—which in turn reflects whether or not they will be accepted to university—and even which university they will be accepted to.

It’s a lot of pressure for the average teen.

According to Today’s Parent Magazine, studies in the US report that between 62 and 70 per cent of students admit to cheating on tests.

The pressure to succeed is one reason that kids sometime cheat.

For more reasons that kids cheat, stay tuned for part two of our look at cheating.

From Today’s Parent magazine. Read the full article here: Why kids cheat and how to prevent it

Email this Article | Print this Article