Exam question Why do children cheat?

Areport earlier this month by Ofqual reveals that more children are cheating in exams. The number caught cheating last summer – mainly by taking phones into exams and/or plagiarising – is up 25per cent from 2016. Why?

According to the students themselves, it’s primarily a response to the increasing demands made upon them. Donald Mccabe at Rutgers University interviewed more than 2,200 high school students about why they cheat. Although they acknowledged that cheating was wrong, many said they saw no other way to get the grades their parents and teachers expect.

Many students believe cheating is justifiable because it’s widespread and often overlooked. A US News poll of 1,000 adults – including 200 college students – found that 90per cent believed cheaters almost never pay the price for cheating. Furthermore, a quarter of the adults said they believe it’s necessary “if you want to get ahead”.

Students also justify cheating because they see so many high-profile figures doing so – for example athletes who take performance-enhancing drugs. Even when condemned and/or punished, these individuals are also rewarded with international attention.

Technology has also made it easier to cheat. Jeffrey Roberts and David Wasieleski at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh assigned college students to one of four technology conditions and asked them to complete an assignment. They found the more online tools students were allowed, the more likely they were to copy others’ work.

Nor does it help that some parents and teachers appear to assist cheating. The US News poll found that a fifth of parents believe it acceptable to help with homework. Some even do it for them. Last summer, The

Daily Telegraph revealed that some teachers at leading public schools were assisting pupils in exams. In 2010, The New York Times reported that teachers in schools in Georgia had erased students’ answers and pencilled in the correct responses, particularly in tests that were used to rate teachers’ performance.

When so much emphasis is put on results rather than on effort, it appears that adults and children alike are susceptible to cheating. What needs to change?

Rewarding only exam results takes the joy out of learning for both pupils and teachers, and encourages them to resort to any means to obtain top results. Teachers and parents should feel free to focus on the process of learning instead. Students should also be taught to use the internet responsibly.

Finally, adults need to be good role models, and not draw attention to individuals who cheat.