ARE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HARD-WIRED TO CHEAT?
The plan seemed foolproof, as plans usually do when you’re 17. Several students would stand guard while others used stolen keys to break into the filing cabinets of teachers for algebra, calculus, chemistry, and advanced math honors classes. They would steal copies of exams and distribute them to dozens of students, and all of them would be able to ace the high-stress tests that would help determine where they’d end up in college. In all, school authorities at Hanover High School, in the prestigious New Hampshire town that is home to Dartmouth, determined that 50 students were involved in planning the 2007 break-in or using stolen answers. And nine of the students—the “Notorious Nine,” as they came to be known—faced criminal charges. The case of the Notorious Nine has become perhaps the most infamous case of student cheating in the last two decades. But while it may be extreme, it isn’t unusual; in fact, cheating on homework and exams has become so common that many students don’t even
