Every school has a policy concerning cheating and academic integrity. In most schools cheating is taken very seriously, with the consequences ranging from a failure on the exam/homework/paper to expulsion. You might want to find out what your school’s policy is and even to understand the reasons why it was put in place.

One of those reasons is that schools need to be able to assess how well they are teaching. That is actually one of the reasons state tests are given: how well is your school serving you? If you cheat, you are not giving the school real feedback on the teaching standards. If you cheat, your school is tricked into thinking they are doing a good job when they are not.

A wise person one said, “Treat the world as you wish it to be.” If you don’t want the world to be a place where cheating is the norm, than don’t cheat because cheating in school is often a precursor for cheating in life. Cheating behavior and its mindset doesn’t stop with tests. It doesn’t stop once a person graduates from school. It just changes forms. Cheat (and get away with it) in school and you are much more likely to cheat on your resume to get a job and then much more likely to cheat in your job… and then much more likely to cheat other people when it suits you. You become one of those people that has allowed cheating to be part of the culture because you are creating that culture.

The integrity of tomorrow’s world starts today with you and your generation. Will you live in a world where cheating is standard behavior? If so, what does that world look like to you? How easy is it for you to get along in the world? Or will you live in a world where truth and honesty are the standards? What does that world look like? Will you help create it?