Admit it, everyone has cheated, or thought about cheating, on a test or quiz once or twice before. For some, it has become an instinct; A student may be falling behind and time is running out to figure out that last answer. Some peek at the tests around them and think nothing of it because it is just one answer, who can that harm? Meanwhile, some students cringe at the dishonest idea.

The ongoing questions remain, what are the teachers doing to stop cheating and what compels students to cheat in the first place? Many teachers watch students and walk around during tests to ensure that no one has a wandering eye. If a student does get caught, however, there is usually a consequence, as well as possible punishment for the student who was cheated off of. Consequences and punishments pose another question, why do students take the risk to cheat if they know they could get in trouble?

Every school has an understood set of rules to follow, however, they often forget that cheating falls into that category.

Not only do the rules impact a student’s education, but their parents have a huge effect on their school and social life. If a parent neglects their child’s educational needs, or does not follow up in their schoolwork, the child may start to lose care as well.

Meanwhile, many believe that the teachers should be doing their part too, but there does come a point where the decision to do the right thing falls solely upon the student. If a teacher is not walking around the classroom and checking the students, it is not their fault if the students still decide to cheat.

It seems students these days are finding more and more ways to cheat. Students are using their phones, writing on their hands, talking to other students during tests, hiding study guides and worksheets under their desks, and even stealing copies of the test to get a head start on the answers. Unless something is done to fix this cheating epidemic, students will continue to find new and creative ways to break the rules.

“As a result of a cheating debacle i had a few years back, I took this years class and the ones before to the library to take the summer reading test so no one could cheat online,” stated Mrs. White, honors English 10 and creative writing teacher. “Students do not ever have to cheat. In the case of writing, I believe students want to eliminate the chances of sounding unintelligent and being made fun of. They are lacking confidence in their skills. There is never a good time or way to cheat. People use technology nowadays to cheat and there is absolutely no point in doing it,” White added.

Cheating seems to be getting worse by the year, and students are only growing more creative in doing so. Schools and teachers are trying their best to put an end to the cheating epidemic, but students have to play their part as well.