• Welcome to Tux Reports: Where Penguins Fly. We hope you find the topics varied, interesting, and worthy of your time. Please become a member and join in the discussions.

High School Students Caught Cheating

LPH

Flight Director
Flight Instructor
Details are rather thin, with many publications repeating ideas, but apparently 10 Corona del Mar history students purchased a test bank from Amazon. Mr. Bryan, the school principal, stated having these questions were an unfair advantage for these students.

The students may retake the test or the score may be removed.

Now - the funniest part of the articles is this quote:

Some parents today suggested that the school conduct an all-grades assembly about cheating, and that a letter be sent to parents discussing this event.

Really? Is this how society handles people who steal? And cheat?
 

Robert Heiny

Research Scientist of Learning and Education
Flight Instructor
And, yes, advantages have and will continue to happen in schools, and not always held by educators. "That's life. It ain't fair, no place, no how." That's called competition. You learn how to use rules to your advantage. Sounds like the principal was outsmarted by these students.

And, so much for Honor Codes in schools. Do students and teachers follow the same honor code these days in public schools? Do teachers say to students, "Do not use our sources for tests," so that it is cheating to purchase this bank from a public source, because we are living off of it?

With criterion based learning, it seems to me that learners should have unfettered access to that bank. However, I do not know the facts of this episode. Yes?
 

LPH

Flight Director
Flight Instructor
How do you think this behavior will stop simply by the school sending a letter ?
 

Robert Heiny

Research Scientist of Learning and Education
Flight Instructor
I don't expect changes in behavior patterns of students or educators from an assembly or letter-to-home. I do want to see a clear definition of what behavior patterns constitute "cheating" and who has the authority to judge and declare cheating has happened. Apparently existing rules do not persuade all students that they are cheating when they do not honor them.

I wonder if such words and terms as cheating are relevant in general, given the ubiquity of advancing electronic communication devices (AECD).
 

LPH

Flight Director
Flight Instructor
I don't expect changes in behavior patterns of students or educators from an assembly or letter-to-home. I do want to see a clear definition of what behavior patterns constitute "cheating" and who has the authority to judge and declare cheating has happened. Apparently existing rules do not persuade all students that they are cheating when they do not honor them.

I wonder if such words and terms as cheating are relevant in general, given the ubiquity of advancing electronic communication devices (AECD).

I prefer AECT.

The only means to change behavior immediately is for the course syllabus to include a definition, include ideas about preparation texts and publisher texts, and include proper penalties (zero, retake, etc). The teacher sets the rules, follows up, and progresses through the district's rules of conduct. If a parent challenges a zero (which happens) then the principal and district admin follow through with the text in the syllabus.

There are loopholes in the above because there are many weak administrators and school boards are afraid of being sued - but - this would influence the students to change methods.
 

Robert Heiny

Research Scientist of Learning and Education
Flight Instructor
I agree with your description. Given that, the syllabus rules aceptable classroom behavior patterns for students and educators. Now, we need a thread that addresses "Cheating" in schools, and one that address whether sources students use are prescribed or open to complete the criterion-based course structure that today's state testing requires, such as this testing requires criterion based lesson content and instruction. Do those topics merit threads?
 

Robert Heiny

Research Scientist of Learning and Education
Flight Instructor
I also wonder it any interest exist for having threads for "honor codes." and ubiquitous use of advancing/accelerating electronic communication devices (AAECD) for learning in and out of schools. The later raises the question, for whom are schools relevant given these devices? Address in another thread?
 
Top