Academic dishonestly should cause teachers concern—between 70% and 95% of college students have been involved in acts such as, deception, fabrication, plagiarism, cheating on tests, exchanging work with other students, or purchasing work. Research suggests that the percentage is even higher among younger students—this would mean that most, if not all, K-12 students engage in academic dishonesty at some point. 

There has been an increasing sentiment in the United States that STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields are the key to being serious competitors in the global world. In order for our nation to excel in these areas, we need to begin at the most basic level: getting students interested in and motivated to study STEM fields in the first place.