Is Cheating Prevalent in the Classroom

Cheating is very prevalent in classrooms today, but there are steps that parents and teachers can take to make it much less likely that students will cheat, according to Eric Anderman, an expert on student cheating and professor of educational psychology at The Ohio State University. The issue has become more urgent with the advent of ChatGPT, which some students use to write papers for their classes and find answers for their homework. Students cheat when schools focus too much on grades and not enough on learning. Research by Anderman and others shows that students are less likely to cheat when teachers emphasize mastery of content and not just grades and test scores. While ChatGPT has increased opportunities to cheat, Anderman said it shouldn’t be seen only as something used for illicit purposes. It can help students learn if teachers and parents work together to develop policies on how chatbots can be used responsibly.