Cheating in school is like cheating on a video game. All you're really doing is cheating yourself out of a challenge. That said, I've been known to cheat occasionally if the goal is to skip an annoying part of the game or a boring (but required) part of a school subject.

I've been out of school for years now and I don't think cheating on tests in school compares to anything in the "real" world. That is to say, I would never cheat employers or plagiarize code or documentation.

I guess I view school as something you do for yourself and if you really want to cheat yourself out of an education then who cares (especially since you're paying for school in the first place). I never put much stock into degrees and so I'm sure that colors my world view. I can understand that if you do think that degrees and grades actually mean anything then you might feel like cheating in school is unethical. Cheating others is a whole different story and it's a line I really don't like to cross.