Kids Open Up About Cheating in Nick News With Linda Ellerbee's Cheaters Never Win: True or False? Premiering March 7 on Nickelodeon

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Feb 22, 2010, 10:31 ET

NEW YORK, Feb. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Cheating in school is easier and more popular than ever. According to recent studies, 64 percent of high school students admit they cheated on a test within the last year. Nick News with Linda Ellerbee's Cheaters Never Win: True or False? premiering Sunday, March 7, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Nickelodeon, explores today's reality of kids and cheating.

"Who doesn't cheat?" says Andrea, 15: "We have politicians that have cheated, and look where they are today."

"If a kid hears that politicians cheat, corporate executives lie, athletes take illegal steroids (or parents cheat on their income taxes), and that these people often get away with it, why are we surprised at the message that kid is getting?" says Ellerbee. "And it's not just about bad influences. Why students cheat is a complex question. But I was stunned at how common cheating is today."

Begin with this: Advances in technology have made cheating easier. Matt, 12: "I see lots of kids hiding their cell phone under the table and texting each other the answers." Richard Muszalski, a teacher at Northeast Middle School, Creve Coeur, Mo.: "They are literally just copying stuff right off the Internet, and trying to pass it off as their own."

Many kids say they cheat because they feel pushed to succeed. Tara Rosipal, teacher at North Middle School, Great Falls, Mont.: "We have seventh and eighth graders who are worried about college and fear that if they don't have straight A's here, it's going to affect their ability to get into a college. Kids that I talk to and I say, 'Why did you cheat?' They say, 'Because I needed the A.'"

Christine, 13: "I can find myself in a lot of pressure because I do a lot of activities out of school," she says. "Last year, I was just so overwhelmed, and I caught myself cheating sometimes. You never wanna see a bad grade on your paper."

"I hate cheating," says Jackson, 15: "I go home with guilt piled onto me. I just feel like probably one of the worst kids ever, but I still wanna get good grades and I still wanna make my family happy and get into a good college someday."

What classifies as cheating may not always be so clear. Nick News asked kids across the country to weigh in on a series of potential "cheating situations." Randy Cohen, ethicist for The New York Times, addresses the issues surrounding what the right thing to do is in each scenario — and why.

While it has become increasingly difficult to detect cheating, schools are finding new ways to prevent it, including the use of plagiarism prevention websites. "I don't want to catch cheaters," says Susan Heckman, English teacher at Coronado High School in Las Vegas. "So why do I put the time and effort into it? It's for all the students out there who have the courage to put their very own work forward. So I feel like it's my job to protect the honest students."

Nick News, produced by Lucky Duck Productions, is now in its 19th year and is the longest-running kids' news show in television history. It has built its reputation on the respectful and direct way it speaks to kids about the important issues of the day. Nick News recently was honored with its first ever Edward R. Murrow Award for "Network News Documentary" for the documentary special, "Coming Home: When Parents Return from War," marking the first-ever kids television program to receive the prestigious award. Over the years, Nick News has received more than 20 Emmy nominations and recently won its seventh Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Children's Nonfiction Program for "Coming Home: When Parents Return from War." Additional Emmy wins for Outstanding Children's Programming include: "The Untouchable Kids of India" (2008); "Private Worlds: Kids and Autism" (2007); "From the Holocaust to the Sudan" (2005); "Faces of Hope: The Kids of Afghanistan" (2002); "What Are You Staring At?" (1998). In addition, in 1994, the entire series won the Emmy for Outstanding Children's Programming. Nick News has also received three Peabody Awards, including a personal award given to Ellerbee for her coverage for kids of the President Clinton investigation, as well as two Columbia duPont Awards and more than a dozen Parents' Choice Awards.

Nickelodeon, now in its 30th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in almost 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 15 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).

SOURCE Nickelodeon