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A Conversation with…

Eric Anderman

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This page includes occasional conversations with colleagues about pertinent issues or exemplary programs in their school district.

Epidemic of Student Cheating Can Be Cured with Changes in Classroom Goals

“We know when kids cheat, why kids cheat and how kids cheat,” said Eric Anderman, a recognized expert on student cheating and professor of educational policy and leadership at the Ohio State University. “We know how to motivate kids so that they are much less likely to cheat. The only problem is that what we know about reducing cheating often isn’t put into practice in schools.”

Eric AndermanEric Anderman

There’s no doubt that cheating among students is widespread and has been growing. In some studies, up to 80% of high-achieving high school students and 75% of college students admit to cheating, a percentage that has been rising in the past 50 years.

In one study, Anderman and his colleagues found that 21% of students who say that cheating is “unacceptable” still engage in cheating behaviors.

“What we know for sure is that students cheat a lot,” Anderman said. “Parents don’t think their kids will do it, but many do. I’ve seen that in my research, and also in the time I spent as a teacher.”

Studies have shown that boys cheat more than girls. Students with high-driving “Type-A” personalities are more likely to cheat. And there is little relationship between cheating and moral development, research shows.

New research by Anderman and his colleagues finds that students with impulsive tendencies are more likely to cheat. In two studies from 2004, Anderman and his colleague found that cheating also tends to increase when students make the transition from elementary school to middle school, and then again from middle school to high school. That’s not surprising, he said.

How teachers present the goals of learning in class is the key to reducing cheating.

“During those transitions, teachers start changing how they talk to students. Earlier in school, teachers emphasize how learning is fun; as students get older teachers begin saying things like ‘Now it’s serious. Your grades matter.’ That’s directly related to cheating,” Anderman said.

How teachers present the goals of learning in class is the key to reducing cheating. To discourage cheating, teachers and principals should consider the following:

  • Research has consistently shown that cheating is more likely to occur in classrooms that focus on performance—getting the best possible grades, doing the best on tests.
  • Cheating is less likely to occur when the goal for students is “personal mastery” of the material—in other words, learning and understanding what is being taught. Federal mandates under No Child Left Behind, with its emphasis on test scores, send the wrong message to students and teachers and actually encourage cheating, Anderman said. “These standardized tests aren’t going to go away, but we don’t have to talk about them in the classroom as the ultimate outcome and goal,” he said. “This produces anxiety and stress in both teachers and students, and that’s what leads to cheating.”
  • Students may actually do better if the focus in classrooms was on personal mastery and not on the tests. Students will learn better, remember the material longer, cheat less, and still do just as well, if not better, when they do standardized testing, according to Anderman.

“Schools should work to help teachers change the goals in classrooms from test taking to mastering the materials, and help them communicate effectively to their students. The goal should be learning, and not test taking,” Anderman said. “You can change the goal structure in classrooms. If you change that, you will likely reduce cheating.”

Anderman discussed the latest research on cheating in schools and how to eliminate it during his presidential address August 8, 2009 at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in Toronto.

Eric Anderman is professor and interim director of the School of Educational Policy and Leadership, college of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University. He recently completed as term as president of APA’s Division of Educational Psychology.

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