First of all, the main reason which leads students to cheat on the tests is that they want to have good grades. Most of students are under pressure from their family, their friends and their teachers... They are afraid that, if they gets bad marks, their parents will complain them, their friends will look down on and laugh at them. They imagine a dark future, with no good jobs, no good life. On the other hand, if they see their classmates get high mark, they want that fame, too. So they cheat as well as they hope. As the result/ therefore these pressures unintentionally make students value their good marks much more than their own knowledge
Having no ability for doing the exams is the second reason that cause some students cheating. From one side, students don't have their own self-confidences, some cannot do the exams because they are too difficult for them, and some students believe that they are not smart enough to pass the exams. Instead of studying hard, paying attention to classes, reviewing lessons, and doing exercises, they try to cheat in exams. On the other side, many students don't have enough time for reviewing, perhaps they get ill, they must take care of their grandparents and several different reasons. That can be sympathize, but I think that students should dispose their time in a rational way.
The final reason why some students cheat on their exam is because they get lack of self-respect. Students with high self-respect will never cheat. They feel really embarrassed by