The Costano School in East Palo Alto was awarded national recognition for achieving high scores on state exams in 2000—one of the relatively few high-poverty, high-minority schools to do so. Yet in 2002, after 11 former students admitted they had been helped by teachers on the tests to a reporter of the San Jose Mercury, further investigation yielded many erased marks on Costano School student tests. Though teachers took a role, they did not seem to be the originators of the scheme: a former Costano teacher also admitted to the interviewer that he had been encouraged to cheat by a school administrator.

One would expect that the leaders of the student body—and speakers at graduation—would be prime examples of model students. But YouTube revealed that Palo Alto High School’s (Paly) two-year student body president Mohammed Abid and Baccalaureate speaker Malini Veerappan plagiarized parts of their graduation speeches in June 2008. Parts of Abid’s speech was surprisingly similar to Mountain View High School’s Lance Jabr. Both Abid and Veerappan’s speeches were similar to online videos, according to Paly graduate Andre Keiser. Others parts of Abid’s speech were found on www.CollegeHumor.com.

Four students at Chapel Hill High School in North Carolina were suspended in March for academic dishonesty on a social studies mid-term. A stolen master key passed down from former graduates was the source of the cheating ring, which included a group of more than 20 students. Recently installed security cameras revealed the four students, though more students knew about the cheating and kept silent.

In 2004, two juniors at the academically-acclaimed Saratoga High School were suspended for stealing and accepting an Advanced Placement (AP) U.S. History test. One of the students was seen studying the test in the library. The other said he had stolen the test for his friend, who had lower grades. Though neither student expected to be caught, those who saw them in the library turned them in to a teacher, who then approached them. Both students confessed, and within 48 hours, school officials asked classmates to write anonymous notes about any other academic dishonesty they had seen go on.