It’s finally come- that big algebra test that everyone is dreading. Students scramble around outside the classroom, trying to cram every last bit of information into their brains. Finally the doors open and the previous class comes streaming out.

“What did you get for number 14?”

“Ugh, I just know I failed that one on the first page!”

The students waiting to take the test know that they should block their ears, but they don’t. Instead, they ask questions, hoping to find out as much as possible.

This is a common scene at the high school, yet most students are not aware that what they are doing is a violation of their academic integrity. Because there are so many misconceptions about cheating, teachers are implementing class discussions to address cheating and make sure that their expectations are clear.

In the math department, teachers watched a Ted Talk by Dan Ariely, Professor of Psychology, that was centered around students’ motives for cheating.

Math teacher Julie Padgett, who showed the Ted Talk to her classes, said that the video revealed that if given the opportunity, most students will just cheat a little bit. This little bit of cheating was referred to by Ariely as a “personal fudge factor.”

“It’s sort of this personal level of how much a person can cheat but still feel good about themselves,” Padgett said.

According to Padgett, some common types of “fudge factor” cheating are copying homework, having parents call you in sick to delay a test or talking to a student from an earlier class to find out what’s on the test.

The video showed that the idea of cost-benefit analysis, weighing the risks versus possible benefits, doesn’t actually apply for cheating. Even when Ariely changed the situation by increasing the stakes, most people continued to cheat just a little.

According to Padgett, this “fudge factor” cheating is a lot more common than the types we usually hear about.

“Of course there are the more substantial forms of cheating; note sheets, copying of tests, taking a picture of the tests, but I think this “fudge factor” cheating is more prevalent,” Padgett said. “So I showed [the Ted Talk] in class, and I think that really resonated here.”

Math teacher Mark Veader’s class discussed what counts as cheating in his classes, focusing specifically on the idea of students talking about tests before everyone has taken them.

“I think the main thing is the sharing of information,” Veader said. “I think sometimes students don’t even recognize it as cheating, so that’s where my main efforts have been this year.”

Veader said that his goal during the discussion was to make sure that students are absolutely clear on his expectations so that they could make their own conscious moral decisions.

“Ultimately they have to decide what to do, but I just wanted them to confront themselves on whether they think what they are doing is honest,” Veader said.

Sophomore Alexa Lane said she is glad her math teacher, Debbie Winkler, was up front about what she considers cheating.

“She just said it outright instead of us being unsure,” Lane said. “Now I’m positive that everyone in the class understands what’s happening.”

According to Lane, there are a lot of students who are confused about the guidelines for what is cheating and what isn’t.

“I know people who have been kind of confused if they’re doing something wrong; they’re trying not to cheat but they’re worried that they are, and they don’t want to ask someone because they don’t want to get in trouble,” said Lane. “I think it’s good for teachers to just outright say, ‘this is what I consider cheating and this is what’s going to happen if I find out you’re doing it,’ so people can ask a question before it happens.”

Padgett said that she would like to see a change in the way the high school community views cheating.

“I’d love to see a culture shift in the “fudge-factor” of cheating: that it’s not okay to copy someone’s homework, that it’s not okay to call out sick and skip a test or talk to someone from an earlier class,” said Padgett.

According to Veader, the best thing a teacher can do to promote academic integrity is to talk about the class expectations and make sure that students are conscious of their decisions.

“I think the biggest thing we can do is to talk about it a lot and get students to put it in the front of their minds,” Veader said, “Because ultimately it’s pretty tough to try to prevent people from cheating.”