Survey of Top Students Reveals Many Cheat on Tests, Ignore Cigarette Ads

Whether black, white, Latino or Asian, the nation’s brightest students strongly agree: Madison Avenue holds little sway when it comes to picking a brand of cigarettes, cheating is rampant, and AIDS is not a top concern when it comes to engaging in risky sex.

Those are among the results of the 28th annual Who’s Who Among American High School Students poll of 3,200 high-achieving 16- to 18-year-olds--that is, students with A or B averages who plan to attend college after graduation.

Despite the worries of lawmakers and others that adolescents are too vulnerable to the suggestions of Joe Camel and other advertising icons, the top teenagers reported they are more likely to base their choice of tobacco and alcohol products on a friend’s recommendation. Only 6% said they heeded messages in magazine, broadcast and billboard ads. But a firm majority--almost 70%--said they have never smoked or drunk.

When it comes to cheating, though, that self-restraint is conspicuously absent. Sixty percent of the teenagers say they have cheated and that it didn’t seem like a big deal. Seventy-six percent admitted to having cheated on schoolwork, 65% to copying someone else’s homework and 38% to cheating on a test.

But the high achievers flunked on at least one score, according to the poll. Among the sexually active, only 50% said they use a condom regularly. They reported that their greatest fear from having unprotected sex is pregnancy. Only 17% said contracting AIDS or HIV was their chief worry.

Most parents--more than nine out of 10--told Who’s Who that they think their teenagers have never engaged in sex. According to the poll, one in five have.

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Cheat Sheet

Students who say cheating is common at their school:

All students: 88%

Public school students: 92%

Private school students: 72%*

Students who have cheated: 76%

Copied someone else’s homework: 65%

Cheated on a quiz or test: 38%

Used Cliff or Monarch Notes to avoid reading a book: 29%

Plagiarized part of an essay: 15%

None of the above: 24%

*

Students who name the following as their reasons for cheating:

Didn’t seem like a big deal: 60%

Competition for good grades: 39%

Didn’t think I’d be caught: 15%

To get into a good college: 10%