In the past year, 30% of US high school students have stolen from a shop and 64% have cheated on an exam, 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 today's young people are less honest than previous generations, but several agreed that intensified pressures are prompting many students to cut corners.

"The competition is greater, the pressures on kids have increased dramatically," said Mel Riddle of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. "They have opportunities their predecessors didn't have (to cheat). The temptation is greater."

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. Most US high school students are between the ages of 14 and 18.

Michael Josephson, the institute's founder and president, said he was most dismayed by the findings about theft. The survey found that 35% of boys and 26% of girls - 30% overall - acknowledged stealing from a shop within the past year.

One-fifth said they had stolen something from a friend; 23% said they had stolen something from a parent or other relative.

"What is the social cost of that - not to mention the implication for the next generation of mortgage brokers?" Mr Josephson remarked in an interview. "In a society drenched with cynicism, young people can look at it and say Why shouldn't we? Everyone else does it'."

Despite the results of the survey, 93% of the students said they were satisfied with their personal ethics and character.

Mr Riddle, who for 40 years was a high school teacher and principal in northern Virginia, agreed that more pressure could lead to more cheating, yet spoke in defence of today's students. He said: "We have to create situations where it's easy for kids to do the right things. We need to create classrooms where learning takes on more importance than having the right answer."