Parents Clueless About Web-Enabled Student Cheating

A survey conducted by McAfee found that more than half of the 13- to 23-year-old respondents admitted to looking online for the answer to a test or assignment.

The study shows that teens are engaging in more high-tech activities to gain an unfair academic advantage. Despite the high number of admitted cheaters, the same survey revealed that only 17 percent of parents believe their child has cheated via the Web.

According to McAfee’s 2013 Digital Deception: Exploring the Online Disconnect Between Parents and Kids, advances in technology are creating more opportunities for kids to cheat on their schoolwork both in class and at home. The findings show that in an area that is so critical to children’s ability to succeed in the post-secondary world, there is an opportunity for educators to get more involved.

Some of the study’s key findings include:

• It’s a bigger problem than you think.  More than half of all surveyed 13- to 23-year-olds admitted to looking online for the answer to a test or assignment; only 17 percent of parents believe their child has done so.
• Smartphones are the tool of choice.  While only 10 percent of 10- to 12-year-olds said they had cheated on a test using a cell phone, this percentage doubles when looking at the 18- to 23-year-old demographic.
• The Internet is teaching kids how to cheat.  Only 2 percent of parents believe their child has ever cheated on a test using a technique he or she found online. In reality, more than one in every 10 youth surveyed admitted to doing this.
• The older students are, the more likely is it they’re cheating.  More than a quarter of young adults ages 18-23 cheated with help from technology, as opposed to 14 percent of 10- to 12-year-olds. 
   

Article by Jason Tomaszewski, EducationWorld Associate Editor
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