Teachers have given multiple lessons on the appropriate use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and constant reminders of the consequences of academic dishonesty. However, students continue to cheat on assignments, projects, and tests. Every year for finals, teachers implement new methods to try and prevent the issue from rising.

For several years, academic dishonesty has been a recurring and prominent issue at Metea. Social studies teacher Maryanne Zears emphasizes how severe a concern it is at Metea.

“I would say it’s probably a 10 out of 10,” Zears said. “We are very concerned about that on a pretty consistent basis, mostly with assessments.”

Teachers mainly noticed a rise in cheating when assignments and tests started shifting from paper to Chromebooks. Students have tried using Google, AI, and their phones during tests and assignments to copy down answers, and it is either a result of laziness or pressure. Zears explains the motivation behind cheating, talking about the two reasons for cheating: trying to get tasks done quickly and the pressure from parents and peers to be successful in school.

“I don’t think the desire to cheat is because kids want to do something wrong,” Zears said. “They just want to get it done and get the best grade possible so that they can maintain an A average.”

Implementing the new program, Securly, in Chromebooks has been a way of trying to prevent cheating. Some teachers do not use it as much, whereas others take advantage of its screen monitoring and site-blocking features to put an end to academic dishonesty. Zears talks about how much teachers actually use Securly.

“We’re rolling it out in stages, and we’re still trying to figure out a lot of how it works,” Zears said. “[There are] a lot of options that we don’t have access to yet that are coming from the district, and we’re testing that out.”

While cheating occurs in most classes and many different subjects, each teacher handles the situation differently. Some try to implement Securly, while others change seating arrangements during tests or shift most of their assignments to paper. English teacher Lynnea Befus talks about the trends she has seen and what she does to tackle them, explaining how English classes are normally skill-based and can be demonstrated on paper.

“[Writing on paper often has] fewer distractions and fewer temptations,” Befus said. “But also, having students write a lot on paper gives me an opportunity to learn kids’ writing voices.”

With finals approaching, teachers are structuring their assessments to make sure students do not find a way to cheat. However, Zears believes that there has not been as much cheating on finals compared to previous years, ever since they reduced the number of questions and the length of the exam or project.

Along with this, teachers face challenges in having to grade multiple versions of the same assignment, which helps reduce the likelihood of students cheating. Zears talks about the load of grading work from a teacher’s perspective.

“I think if you talk to a lot of teachers, the frustrating part is that we have to do double to triple the work to circumvent what shouldn’t be happening in the first place,” Zears said.

Students may feel tempted to cheat in order to accomplish tasks or keep their grades up, but in reality, the consequences of academic dishonesty are not minor, and teachers emphasize the fact that it is important to keep work original and ask for help if it is needed. Befus highlights the student perspective, stating that she understands the other side of cheating.

“I understand that there’s an issue going on that doesn’t have to do with me,” Befus said. “And I think that sometimes students are really scared to ask for additional help, additional time, or additional resources.”

As students prepare for finals, teachers encourage them to think about the benefits of working hard rather than choosing to take a shortcut by cheating. Befus emphasizes the fact that students need to work hard and reach out for help to succeed. 

“I still think it’s worth the risk of asking for extra support before [students are] put in a position where they feel like they have to cheat to succeed,” Befus said. “And I just encourage them to be open to self-advocating before they get put in that position.”