Cheating

Question: Are middle school and high school students informed about what constitutes cheating in school?

Answer/Quote: “Ellis Evans and Delores Craig surveyed 358 middle school and 1,405 high school students to determine their knowledge about different types of cheating. There were no statistically significant differences between middle school and high school students in their knowledge of academic ethical issues. In other words, students’ knowledge of what constitutes cheating is probably formed by middle school age. Students at both levels exhibited confusion about academic misconduct. They appeared to be most uninformed about passive forms of cheating (e.g., permitting another student to copy from your work) and plagiarism.”

Quote: “The researchers recommended direct instruction in what constitutes cheating, with the cautionary note that teachers clarify their own misconception first. The researchers also surveyed 107 secondary teachers to investigate their knowledge about cheating. While the teachers were generally more informed than students, between 20% and 25% of the teachers exhibited confusion about some aspects of cheating (most notably plagiarism).” Evans, E.D., &

Title: Craig, D. (1990), Teacher and Student Perceptions of Academic Cheating in Middle and Senior High Schools. The Journal of Educational Research, 84, 44-45. Summarized in “Beyond JR: Research from Elsewhere: Cheating: What do Teachers and Students Know?” Jeanne Shay Schumm. Journal of Reading (September 1991), 43.

Comment: At this point, I’m not so sure what constitutes plagiarism myself. RayS.