Survey: A Majority of Students Cheat

LOS ANGELES — A recent survey found that the majority of high school students questioned admitted to cheating on a test during the last year.

More than 60 percent of students who participated in a survey by the Josephson Institute, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit agency that monitors ethical practices, say they cheated on a test in the past year, and 38 percent admitted cheating on two or more occasions. In addition, more than 35 percent say they used the Internet to plagiarize an assignment.

The nationwide survey of 29,760 high school students reveals “entrenched habits of dishonesty in today’s young people — and that doesn’t bode well for the future when these youngsters become the next generation’s politicians and parents, cops and corporate executives, and journalists and generals,” according to a press release by the institute.

More than 30 percent of boys and 20 percent of girls surveyed say they stole from a store in the past year. Of those surveyed, 20 percent admitted to stealing from a parent or friend in the past year.

More than 40 percent say they sometimes lie to save money and more than 80 percent say they lied to a parent about something significant, the report states.

The survey also showed many students do not believe there is a problem with their behavior. More than 90 percent say they are satisfied with their personal ethics and character and more than 75 percent believe: “When it comes to doing what is right, I am better than most people I know.”