Cheating in school is not a new phenomenon, but the methods kids are using have changed. In an age when cell phones and the Internet are readily available, children are discovering new and ingenious ways to cheat.

 

Maria Rojano, 15, a student from Hillwood High School, describes a few of the new techniques she’s observed kids at her school use.

“There are different things they’ll do. They will grab their cell phone, hide it on the side of their leg and text. If it’s a girl, she’ll put the phone in her purse, and then pretend she’s getting gum or something like that, look at the phone and then close the purse,” Rojano says. “Kids will put it between their legs, too, and they’ll raise their legs on their desks so teachers won’t see.”

That’s not to say the “old school” methods aren’t still in play. Kids still pass notes, hide answers in their shoes, write them in between their fingers and hide small slips of paper in their clothes. It’s just the high-tech ways of cheating are becoming more popular and widespread among teens.

According to a 2009 national poll commissioned by the non-profit organization Common Sense Media, more than one-third of teens (35 percent) with cell phones admit to cheating at least once by using them, and 65 percent of all teens admit to seeing or hearing others cheat with cell phones. More than 1,000 students nationwide between the ages of 13 and 18 (grades 7 - 12) were interviewed in May and June 2009 for the survey. The poll found that there was no significant difference between honor students and non-honor students or private versus public school.

“Kids just want to get the right answer, so they don’t look bad or get a bad grade,” Rojano says. “I think it’s because most of the kids don’t like to study, because some things are really hard for them to understand. Maybe they’re afraid to fail, so they cheat.”

Methods of Cheating

Methods of “cell phone cheating” include storing information on a cell to look at during a test or quiz, sending text messages with answers while taking a test, snapping pictures of test questions with a camera phone then sharing them with friends and searching the Internet on a cell phone during a quiz or test.

“It’s not that teachers don’t pay attention, it’s just that kids are very sneaky,” Rojano says. “Teachers do look, but it’s hard to catch them because there are so many kids.”

In Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS), students can have cell phones at school as long as they are turned off, not on vibrate or silent, and concealed. If students are caught using their phones, the phone is taken away and parents are called. Second offenses result in phone confiscation, possible suspension and a parental conference. The third offense can result in out-of-school suspension. Any child caught in “severe” actions, such as cheating, can warrant suspension up to 10 days.

“We have a district cell phone policy as well as school-level no cheating policies that are strictly enforced by all of our schools. We really have not seen a significant problem in regard to students using technology to cheat during classes,” says Noelle Mashburn, a spokesperson for MNPS.

The surrounding Middle Tennessee school counties have similar measures in place. Cell phones are allowed at school but must be turned off and stored away at all times. If a student is caught cheating, these cases are dealt with on an individual school level.

According to Common Sense Media, more than eight in 10 teens have cell phones, and 53 percent have had them since they were 12 years old or younger. On average, teens with cell phones send 440 text messages in a week, 110 of those taking place during class.

But cell phones are not the only method students employ to cheat. The survey found that 52 percent of teens admit to some form of cheating via the Internet. More than one-third say they’ve copied text from Web sites and turned it in as their own work.

The survey found that many students don’t consider these methods of cheating as serious offenses, and some don’t consider them cheating at all.

When it comes to testing, 41 percent of students acknowledge that storing notes on a cell phone to look at during a test is cheating and a serious offense, but 23 percent don’t consider this cheating at all. Interestingly, 20 percent argue that texting their friends the answers during tests isn’t cheating either.

 

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