Artificial intelligence, notes hidden in shoes, answers left in calculators and the tried-and-true paper-peaking method are all ways that LHS students have conspired to cheat throughout the years. Being aware of this phenomenon begs the question: How bad really is the LHS cheating epidemic?
Regardless of grade, chances are that most students have encountered an opportunity to cheat or have cheated themselves. It is a natural desire to want to do better on a test or assignment even if it could be morally compromising. Whether it be that students simply did not study enough, or that the unit was taught poorly and now test time has arrived and pupils do not know any answers, cheating is a reality of the education system. But what percentage of the world cheats and how does that compare to LHS?
According to a poll recently conducted which was sent to LHS student’s e-mail inboxes, around 65% of LHS students’ have cheated on an assignment or test in some way. This is drastically lower than the national average according to the International Center for Academic Integrity, which claims that 95% of high school students have cheated in some capacity. On a surface level, this data makes it seem like LHS does not have that severe of a cheating epidemic; however, many LHS teachers beg to differ.
“The problem is it’s coming at us super-fast and from all the angles,” said LHS Principal Dr. Laura Raeder.
While some teachers feel that there is, in fact, a cheating issue on some level at LHS, the majority of students would argue the opposite. Around 73% of LHS students deny a cheating issue at LHS. However, it is still up for debate. Despite students denying the problem, the data suggests a present cheating problem. When asked how many times they had cheated in the past 30 days, the majority of LHS students said zero, a majority said zero; however, a staggering 21.7 percent claimed to have cheated seven or more times. This equates to an astronomical figure of roughly one quarter of LHS students engaging in some form of academic dishonesty.
According to the survey, roughly 22.6 percent use AI to cheat in some form. Whether it was to breeze through an assignment or get the answers for a test, AI is a prominent form of cheating in the classroom. Other students have claimed to use methods such as writing on their arms or legs, using their phones and even copying off their peers’ work.
As the school year goes on, cheating will likely only evolve as AI and other methods become more refined and prominent. The duty falls on administration, teachers and the students themselves to maintain academic integrity throughout LHS. LHS has a long reputation of academic success and honesty that should not be jeopardized. Recent data indicates a cheating epidemic infecting the younger generations at LHS, but if it can be squandered quickly, LHS can maintain its academic prowess and unity.
“I think we need to have more conversations, more about what plagiarism is,” said Dr. Raeder.
Matthew Hartmann • Dec 10, 2025 at 8:29 am
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