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Are Today's High School Students Less Ethical Than Previous Generations?

I'm not sure.

No.

Yes.

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Note: This poll is not scientific and reflects the opinions of only those Internet users who have chosen to participate. The results cannot be assumed to represent public opinion.

Poll Opened: November 30, 2008

Poll Closes: November 30, 2009

The Josephson Institute, a Los Angeles-based ethics institute, surveyed 29,760 students at 100 randomly selected high schools nationwide, both public and private. All students in the selected schools were given the survey in class; their anonymity was assured.

Here are some of the survey results:

In the past year, 30 percent of U.S. high school students have stolen from a store One-fifth said they stole something from a friend; 23 percent said they stole something from a parent or other relative.

--Cheating in school is rampant and getting worse. Sixty-four percent of students cheated on a test in the past year and 38 percent did so two or more times, up from 60 percent and 35 percent in a 2006 survey.

--Thirty-six percent said they used the Internet to plagiarize an assignment, up from 33 percent in 2004.

--Forty-two percent said they sometimes lie to save money - 49 percent of the boys and 36 percent of the girls.

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