A room full of students sits quietly, palms sweating and hearts racing, all searching for the right answer to that question. One student, however, has prepared for the test. He confidently rises from his desk and quietly asks the teacher if he may go to the restroom. This isn’t your average test taker with a full bladder, though: this is the mastermind of a well-thought-out scheme. He is dismissed and heads straight for the men’s bathroom where he finds the notes he cleverly scrawled on paper towels earlier that morning. He returns to the classroom pompous and more proud than ever, every answer now inscribed in his memory. “Prepared” as he can be, he can’t help but do well.
     Eighty-five percent of Northwood students admitted to cheating in a recent survey by The Omniscient. It has become so popular that it is practically a daily activity for some. When asked about their cheating habits, many students quickly owned up.
     “I just cheated last period,” said one student.
     “I’m planning on cheating next period,” his friend chimed in.
     Statistics taken by the Educational Testing Service show that cheating has increased over the past 50 years.  In the 1940s 20 percent of college students admitted to cheating in high school, while today 75 to 98 percent cheat.
     “I think the incidents have gotten worse and I think the willingness to dismiss it as being no big deal has definitely gotten worse,” said English teacher Pat Thornhill.
     While the Student Handbook has a clear definition of cheating, students have a more wavering interpretation of the word.
     “It’s not cheating unless you get caught,” said Travis Webster.
     “I don’t think sharing homework answers is cheating,” said one student.
     “If the teacher does a poor job of teaching, then it’s okay to cheat,” said another student.
     So why do students cheat in the first place?
     Some students worry frantically over the consequences of a bad grade. Many are so focused on getting the grade, rather than the knowledge, that they resort to cheating to maintain their high grades.
     “It’s like having a competitive organization that has always won and they reach a point where winning is not the issue for them, losing is,” said principal Chris Blice.
     When Blice was band director at Northern Nash High School, he encountered such a student named Marcey. Marcey was a saxophone player, a “delightful young lady,” according to Blice, and number one in her class. About half way through her junior year Blice began to notice that Marcey was acting differently. He, along with Marcey’s other teachers, was curious as to what was wrong with Marcey and they began to investigate. They discovered she had been cheating in all of her classes.
     “It was tearing her apart because she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was wrong,” said Blice. “And she lived in fear every single day that she was going to be caught.
     “[The pressure] for her to be number one was so intense and so high that she felt like she had no other choice.”
     Other students cheat because they struggle in school and either don’t want to admit it or are afraid to ask for help. Then there are the people who cheat because of a lack of studying or lack of effort.
     “I think they’re just lazy—and stupid,” said Spanish teacher Henry Foust emphatically. “It’s just a stupid thing to do.”
     According to many teachers, students have become very resourceful with their cheating techniques. Students admitted to not only using cheat sheets, but meticulously placing them inside of water bottle wrappers. Then, when they needed to view the cheat sheet, they would pretend to drink from the water bottle to sneak a peak. One teacher recalled a student coiling a small sheet of paper around the clip of a pen like a flag, ready to be unrolled when answers were needed. Then there are those who scribble their notes on their hands and arms, but some have come up with a new technique.
     “I had a student who sat with one leg crossed resting on her other knee and the formulas were written on her leg,” said math teacher Seth Risinger.
     Along with the infamous notes scribbled on flesh and cheat sheets, the technological age has brought about a new set of issues. Students now use cell phones and the newly distributed laptops as a means of cheating. According to Common Sense Media, 35 percent of students cheat with their phones and 23 percent don’t consider storing answers in their phone cheating.
     “I put [answers] in a text message and save it in my drafts,” said one student.
     When taking tests online, it becomes very easy for students to use otherwise unavailable sources. It is also difficult for teachers to ensure that students aren’t cheating when there are a large number of them taking an online test.
     The consequences of cheating at Northwood are pretty simple and to the point: a zero on the assignment and a call home. On the second and third offense, in addition to the zero and a call home, ISS is given to the student.
     At some other schools, such as Raleigh Charter High School, cheaters may choose to face either the principal or their peers on what is called an honor council. An honor council is a student-run committee that acts as a court for students accused of cheating. When a student chooses to go before the honor council he/she is put before 10 of his/her peers and is allowed to explain the incident, then is judged and punished accordingly. A writing assignment and a service project are generally the punishments assigned. Several veteran teachers recall an honor council at Northwood, but said it was never fully fashioned. Nevertheless, many teachers believe an honor council would be an asset to Northwood.
     “It’s a great idea [to create an honor council],” said Blice. “It has been my experience—and I say this as a word of caution—it’s been my experience that oftentimes in grave situations like that, that students are harder on other students.”
     Cheating may get that “A” that everyone is looking for, but it doesn’t allow for one to ascertain the knowledge.
     “I think individuals who cheat are looking at a very very short-term benefit that in the end is going to turn into a long-range detriment,” said Blice.