Teens follow their own moral compasses when it comes to deciding ethical issues.

Byline: KELLY LEE 20Below News Team / The Register-Guard

AMERICANS have created an elaborate tradition of minimizing effort in order to maximize success.

The shortest, smoothest road is the road of choice, the only road worth taking. Throughout the years, Americans have worked hard so as to take it easy, perfecting such labor-saving devices as the remote control, microwaveable dinners and the "clap-on, clap-off" system of lighting.

We have applied this desire - to squeeze the greatest possible output from the least amount of input - to many aspects of life, including education: When they are expected to learn class material, students - consumed with the quest for quick, simple success - often find cheating easier than studying.

Cheating is a complex, deep-rooted problem that cannot be attributed to a single cause. People cheat because cheating has become accepted; cheating is accepted because people no longer value learning; learning is devalued because people appraise material success over knowledge.

The increase in cheating in schools is the byproduct of the pursuit of easy success.

According to a recent study, almost 75 percent of students have admitted to cheating. Almost 75 percent of students share this philosophy: Never do for yourself what others can do for you.

The practice of cheating to simplify life or to avoid difficulty is embedded in society: People cheat on taxes, in sports, in games and on diets. They lie on resumes and to co-workers, friends and family.

While to many, honesty is just a seven-letter word, dishonesty, when used as an easy means to a tangible end, is money in the bank.

School officials also have caught the cheating bug. In 1999, five school administrators in Alabama were investigated for distributing exam answers to students to improve test scores.

Because cheating is rampant in our society, it has become accepted - even unintentionally encouraged. Dean Willis, a retired athlete, remarked that sports were "like war; you go out there and do whatever it takes to win. The stakes are high, so you bend the rules a little bit."

Willis' description illustrates a common practice in life. We bend the rules when we pad resumes and exaggerate insurance claims, among other things.

Where competition is concerned, we will do whatever it takes to win - even cheat. Because students are willing to bend the rules, it seems that effective cheating, not mental fitness, is the key to survival in schools.

Cheating is accepted as an effective means of survival. The decision to cheat is not seen as a decision to be immoral, but as a shortcut to the next essential level in the quest for future success.

Furthermore, the value assigned to learning has decreased, because the value put on grades as the measure of progress has increased.

Almost every university uses grade-point averages to judge admissions. Kids with better grades get into better schools and, in turn, go on to better jobs. Better jobs provide more money, which, according to popular belief, makes life easier.

Consequently, the need to make the grade, along with the desire for success, may justify cheating in the minds of many student.

Success is the driving force in the lives of most Americans. Success was once measured by personal happiness; it is now measured, almost exclusively, by material possessions.

In last year's annual edition of People magazine's most successful individuals, everyone was at least a multimillionaire. Few students have concrete plans for the future, but all students know that they want to be successful.

Cheating, though bred by society, is fostered in schools where students, as well as administrators, are willing to cheat to get ahead. Thus, the abolishment of cheating should begin with better education.

Children need to be discouraged from cheating through interactive teaching, which would monitor participation and encourage students to complete schoolwork themselves. While less emphasis should be placed on grades, which can be improved through cheating, more emphasis should be placed on assignments that give value to education by encouraging students to learn.

Teaching students to value skills gained - not just grades attained - will slowly remove the need to cheat by giving purpose and meaning to school.

The harmful aspect of cheating is not necessarily the ease with which students are able to cheat, but rather the ease with which they are able to disregard honesty for immediate, tangible results. If importance can be transferred from prompt material gain to genuine learning, cheating will be unnecessary.

Then, when given the choice between honesty and dishonesty, students will abandon the road of least resistance and choose the seven-letter word: honesty.

Kelly Lee is a junior at Springfield High. She can be reached by e-mail at 20Below@ guardnet.com.