Why do top students cheat more?

Who hasn’t peeked at their neighbor’s paper or even used a “carotte” (student code for a cheat sheet) during an exam? According to a study conducted by Pascal Guibert and Christophe Michaut, two sociologists from the Nantes Centre for Educational Research (CREN), not many people. Of the 1,815 students surveyed at a multidisciplinary French university, 70.5% admit to having cheated—more than two out of three French students, if this percentage is extrapolated nationally.

The survey, titled Factors in Exam Fraud, also highlights that students “cheat” the most in middle school (48.3%) and high school (35.6%). Lacking a flawless memory, fraudsters must show boundless imagination to cheat right under the noses of examiners. Pens, rulers, pencil cases, erasers, calculators, rolls of tape, phones, clothing lapels, invisible ink, shoe soles, and even the body (arms, ankles, even the stomach, etc.)—the “carotte” takes many forms. Grabbing a draft here, using unauthorized course handouts there, copying from a neighbor when possible, or discreetly asking for an answer are also relatively widespread practices in exam halls.

The CREN survey reveals a paradox: lower-achieving students, as well as girls in general, cheat less than others. One of the findings and virtues of this study is that it challenges a persistent prejudice that only students in difficulty resort to this practice, which is condemned by educational ethics. In university courses, it is actually the top-performing high school graduates who cheat the most.

Prejudice

A surprising finding… Unless these so-called gifted students are not first-time offenders. Christophe Michaut, a sociologist, offers other explanations: “Good students cheat because of the lack of supervision during their university studies and the resulting uncertainty about potential failure. And those who are certain of their success are not looking to just pass the exam, but to get a better grade. Conversely, students with low expectations of success cheat less because they expect to struggle whether they cheat or not.”

The prejudice that boys cheat more often than girls is, however, a reality: 35% of girls say they have never cheated during their university studies, compared to “only” 25% of boys. Mr. Michaut explains: “Not only do girls condemn cheating more, but they are more often enrolled in humanities courses (literature, languages, psychology) where the frequency of cheating is lower.” He adds: “Cheating on an essay is much more complex than getting a mathematical result from a neighbor’s paper.” Given the existing cheat sheets, caution is still advised!

Article written for the newspaper Le Monde,
published in the Education supplement