Youth / OPINION : ‘There’s a Lot of Pressure to Get Good Grades’

Cheating is on the rise in the nation’s high schools, according to a survey by Who’s Who in America. We asked Southern California students enrolled in honors courses how widespread the problem is here.

EMIGDIO CERVANTES

Senior, 17, Santa Ana High School, Santa Ana

I don’t know of anybody in the honors program who cheats. I know that cheating is pretty widespread in the non-honors classes. I know it’s pretty easy. But for myself, and I think for those who are taking honors classes, it’s a matter of pride. I want to get a good grade based on what I know. I don’t want to get it by cheating.

JONATHAN BIALON

Senior, 17, Rosemead High School, Rosemead

I would have to say at least 80% to 90% of the students cheat. It ranges from cheating on tests to copying homework. But I think most of the cheating is confined to the lower-division classes. That’s not to say there isn’t cheating going on in honors classes. But I don’t see it. Besides, I think most of the kids who are in honors classes realize that if they do cheat, it will come back to them when they go to college. To me, it just isn’t worth it.

KELLY MATZEN

Senior, 17, Rosemead High

There’s a lot of cheating going on in school. It’s widespread and it’s not just in lower-division classes. I know some kids have a lot of pressure from home, so they are driven to get that good grade no matter what. As a freshman, you can really feel the pressure and sometimes cheating is the only option, especially if you want to get into a good college. Kids put a lot of pressure on themselves. But I’d have to say that a lot of that pressure comes from the home.

DEBORA HOEHNE

Senior, 17, Polytechnic High School, Long Beach

I’d have to say that cheating is widespread, but only in those classes where teachers let it happen. In the honors classes, it’s also there. Some students are not willing to take chances and rely on their study habits. There’s a lot of pressure to get good grades so you can get into a good school. I do not cheat. I work hard and study hard. Sometimes I don’t do as well as I’d like. But I don’t beat myself up when I don’t do well on a test. I tell myself it’s OK. But for some, getting a good grade, no matter how you get it, is the most important thing in the world.

JOEL JOHNSON

Senior, 18, Estancia High School, Costa Mesa

Cheating happens at all levels. The degree of cheating, though, is worse in the non-honors classes. I never had to cheat; I’m too stubborn to let it happen. But those who do cheat, and I’m talking about the honor students, they cheat because of the pressure that parents put on them. Sometimes the material is too hard. And if some students fail, their world comes crashing down on top of them. I was taught that cheating was wrong. But I was also taught that failure is not the worstthing that can happen to you.

KAREN HELMUTH

Senior, 17, Estancia High

I have friends who cheat. And I have to say that I’ve cheated. In my freshman year, I put all this pressure on myself. I had to do well. I think I’ve matured though. And I understand that hard work and study are usually the answer. Now, when one of my friends cheat, I hate it. I think to myself, ‘Hear I studied hard and this person didn’t and he got a good grade.’ But I can understand why they cheat. But I also have to say that sometimes teachers make it easy for kids to cheat. The temptation is there, so kids cheat.