Our Centers for Ethics:

The Ethics of American Youth: 2002

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Josephson Institute Report Card

According to a national survey of high school students by Josephson Institute, cheating, stealing, and lying have continued their alarming, decade-long upward spiral.

The 2002 Report Card on the Ethics of American Youth, a biennial national survey conducted by Josephson Institute, revealed that students admitting they cheated on an exam at least once in the past year soared from 61 percent in 1992 to 74 percent in 2002, the number who stole something from a store within the past 12 months jumped from 31 percent to 38 percent, and the percentage who say they lied to their teachers and parents increased substantially.

Michael Josephson, founder and president of Josephson Institute, said of the report’s findings: “The evidence is that a willingness to cheat has become the norm and that parents, teachers, coaches, and even religious educators have not been able to stem the tide. The scary thing is that so many kids are entering the workforce to become corporate executives, politicians, airplane mechanics, and nuclear inspectors with the dispositions and skills of cheaters and thieves.”

The 2002 report, released as part of National CHARACTER COUNTS! Week, October 20-26, included new data this year: participation in varsity sports, student leadership, private religious school attendance, and religious beliefs.

Among the highlights:

• Jocks and religious students cheat more. Students participating in varsity sports are more likely to cheat than non-participants (78% vs. 73%) and students attending religious schools are more likely to cheat than students at other schools (78% vs. 72%).
  
• Boys steal more. Males are more likely to steal than females (41% vs. 35%).
• Leaders steal less. More than one-third of students in leadership positions stole from a store, but they stole at a substantially lower rate than non-leaders (34% vs. 39%). 
• Honor students steal the least. Thirty percent (the lowest percentage of any group) of the honor students say they stole compared to 40 percent of non-honor students.
• Lying to teachers is way up. The percentage who admit lying to teachers in the previous 12 months increased significantly from 1992 to 2002 (69% to 83%).
• Religious schools stress character more. About three-quarters (74%) of all the students say that school tries hard to help them develop good character. The percentage is significantly higher among students attending private religious schools (83%).

The report was based on written surveys administered by randomly selected high schools throughout the country in 2002. It includes responses from 12,474 high school students. The margin of error is +/- 3 percent.