The Impact of High School Cheating - Tenney School (2024)

Cheating is an ever-present struggle in high schools all across America. Even though it is easier to detect with digital learning and artificial intelligence, it is more common than you may realize. Cheating on a test may not seem like much, but the truth is that it rarely stops there. Once a student finds him or herself on the slippery slope, it becomes easier and easier to continue to do so.

So, what is the impact on our students? Here is what we are finding out.

Punishments for Cheating

On the surface, students who are caught cheating are going to have to deal with their punishments.Most schools have zero-tolerance policies for those who are caught. They may receive a failing grade on the assignment or even the entire class. They may have to repeat the class over the summer or even the following year. Some may lose their privileges to play sports or spend time doing other after-school activities. They may be suspended from class, which can really affect their grades.

This may affect their ability to get into the college of their choice.Some students can’t get their grades back up, once they receive a failing grade, no matter how hard they work. Colleges may look the other way if they see that a student has a grade that is not acceptable to them.

Most high schools will also put any cheating allegations on a student’s record. Colleges will be able to see this and may not want to take a chance on a student that was caught cheating in high school. They may think that they will just continue to cheat their way through college.

The students who are cheating aren’t learning and are quickly falling behind in their studies.Since most academics build on what was learned prior, students who cheat are just hurting themselves. They aren’t fully learning and understanding the material, which makes it harder and harder to continue to build on that knowledge. They are just going to keep falling behind in school.

Cheating Effects on a School

In the long run, cheating has a significant “hollowing” effect on schools. The students who seem to be doing well academically may not be doing as well as their grades suggest. Instead of getting the help that they need, teachers often won’t reach out to them because it appears like they are doing just fine in school. This is only going to continue to hurt students.

Though cheating on a paper or test doesn’t seem like much, the truth is that there are plenty of consequences. If caught, students may receive a failing grade or the entire class. Their grades may never recover, which may hurt their chance to get into a good college. These allegations will also go on their school record, which gets passed along to colleges, which may make it even harder to get into the college of their choice.

However, it goes beyond that. Our students aren’t learning as much as they deserve. They can’t continue to build on what they learn and school will just continue to get harder for them. What is even worse is that teachers won’t even know because these students will appear to be getting good enough grades. They won’t get the help that they need because they seem to be doing just fine in school.

Conclusion

If you want more for your children, don’t hesitate tocontact us today. We are proud to help students of all types get the education that they deserve. Indeed, we offer classes for gifted and talented students, as well as those that struggle with learning. We also offer individualized classes for international students.