NEW YORK (AP) âÄî In the past year, 30 percent of U.S. high school students have stolen from a store and 64 percent have cheated on a test, according to a new, large-scale survey suggesting that Americans are too apathetic about ethical standards. Educators reacting to the findings questioned any suggestion that todayâÄôs young people are less honest than previous generations, but several agreed that intensified pressures are prompting many students to cut corners. âÄúThe competition is greater, the pressures on kids have increased dramatically,âÄù said Mel Riddle of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. âÄúThey have opportunities their predecessors didnâÄôt have [to cheat]. The temptation is greater.âÄù 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. Michael Josephson, the instituteâÄôs founder and president, said he was most dismayed by the findings about theft. The survey found that 35 percent of boys and 26 percent of girls âÄî 30 percent overall âÄî acknowledged stealing from a store within the past year. One-fifth said they stole something from a friend; 23 percent said they stole something from a parent or other relative. âÄúWhat is the social cost of that âÄî not to mention the implication for the next generation of mortgage brokers?âÄù Josephson remarked in an interview. âÄúIn a society drenched with cynicism, young people can look at it and say âÄòWhy shouldnâÄôt we? Everyone else does it.âÄô âÄù Other findings from the survey: u 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. u Thirty-six percent said they used the Internet to plagiarize an assignment, up from 33 percent in 2004. u Forty-two percent said they sometimes lie to save money âÄî 49 percent of the boys and 36 percent of the girls. Despite such responses, 93 percent of the students said they were satisfied with their personal ethics and character, and 77 percent affirmed that âÄúwhen it comes to doing what is right, I am better than most people I know.âÄù Nijmie Dzurinko, executive director of the Philadelphia Student Union, said the findings were not at all reflective of the inner-city students she works with as an advocate for better curriculum and school funding. âÄúA lot of people like to blame societyâÄôs problems on young people, without recognizing that young people arenâÄôt making the decisions about whatâÄôs happening in society,âÄù said Dzurinko, 32. âÄúTheyâÄôre very easy to scapegoat.âÄù Peter Anderson, principal of Andover High School in Andover, Mass., said he and his colleagues had detected very little cheating on tests or Internet-based plagiarism. He has, however, noticed an uptick in students sharing homework in unauthorized ways. âÄúThis generation is leading incredibly busy lives âÄî involved in athletics, clubs, so many with part-time jobs, and âÄî for seniors âÄî an incredibly demanding and anxiety-producing college search,âÄù he offered as an explanation. Riddle, who for four decades was a high school teacher and principal in northern Virginia, agreed that more pressure could lead to more cheating, yet spoke in defense of todayâÄôs students. âÄúI would take these students over other generations,âÄù he said. âÄúI found them to be more responsive, more rewarding to work with, more appreciative of support that adults give them. âÄúWe have to create situations where itâÄôs easy for kids to do the right things,âÄù he added. âÄúWe need to create classrooms where learning takes on more importance than having the right answer.âÄù