Stuyvesant High School caught in cheating scandal on Regents exams - Page 2

Hunt · 06-26-2012, 09:50 AM

No, the NY Post's reporting was worse because it said there was a 50-student cheating ring--something that doesn't seem to be supported by the information that is available so far. I read a number of articles, and they all (to me) show lazy reporting. Not one, for example, indicates whether the Regents exams are all given at the same time, a key fact in understanding whether they really could be a cheating ring.

Other states, including Maryland, have statewide tests. I can't imagine smart kids cheating on the Maryland ones. It would be unnecessary added work.

vlines · 06-26-2012, 09:53 AM

Quote:

vlines, only NYS still has Regents Exams.

The other states have very similar types of exams though. In MD, it is MSA, in VA it is SOL's, can't remember the name of the DC exams...But students must pass them to graduate. So they may not be called Regents, but they are basically the same thing. And yes, lots of cheating problems.

4thfloor · 06-26-2012, 09:59 AM

It is not news to local readers that the Regents are given at the same time.

And yes, all the news sources are struggling with limited information. I believe I read somewhere else -- maybe the petition page -- that the "cheating ring" is huge, so the Post's reporting is not far off target.

This is not a discussion about the Post anyway. If you want to dump on the Post, start another thread. Let's discuss cheating, either at Stuyvesant, or in general.

Hunt · 06-26-2012, 10:04 AM

Sorry, but I reserve the preprogative to dump on a sorry rag like the Post whenever it comes up in conversation. If the Post's feelings are hurt by my mean statements, it can respond by becoming a real newspaper. I think it's ironic that the Post can't even tell the story straight when it's reporting on cheating.

The Daily News is something of a rag, too, but it's a slighly less sorry rag.

4thfloor · 06-26-2012, 10:09 AM

Back to the topic, here is the New York State Regents exam schedule:

June 2012 : High School : Examination Schedules:APDA:P-12:NYSED

So yeah, it is not clear exactly how the cheating has taken place.

Hunt · 06-26-2012, 10:13 AM

So this guy took the test, and then sent HIS answers to other people who were taking the test at the same time?

4thfloor · 06-26-2012, 10:23 AM

Weird, isn't it?

As I said, he is apparently a photographer in extracurriculars ...

mathmom · 06-26-2012, 10:27 AM

In our high school Regent's exams counted as a fifth marking period so if you aced them it could conceivably improve a class room grade quite a bit. It could make the difference between being val or sal or not easily.

I assume this guy must think he's acing the exam and others who are less confident were accepting his answers as gospel.

I have no problem at all with cheaters getting severely punished. The fact that others haven't gotten caught is irrelevant.

jrpar · 06-26-2012, 10:34 AM

My first reaction was why anyone from Stuyvesant would even feel the need to cheat on a Regents exam - these tests wouldn't be difficult for Stuyvesant kids. Obviously this doesn't excuse the cheating.

Hunt · 06-26-2012, 10:37 AM

Quote:

In our high school Regent's exams counted as a fifth marking period so if you aced them it could conceivably improve a class room grade quite a bit. It could make the difference between being val or sal or not easily.

I'd be surprised if this is the case at Stuyvesant, but who knows?

vlines · 06-26-2012, 10:41 AM

The articles all say that he was caught with his phone out and pictures of the tests with answers were found on the phone. What it does not specify is when the pics were taken. There is possibility that he gained access to the tests prior to test day, and distributed the tests with the answers before the tests started. I have no idea if this is true, but one more thing to consider. Until we have more details.

cobrat · 06-26-2012, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Stuy cheat shock: 50 in 'cell ring' - NYPOST.com

Nayeem Ahsan -- apparently, a photographer? Maybe he just couldn't help himself.

Here is the Human Rights petition to get him reinstated:

https://www.change.org/petitions/att...-at-stuyvesant

Cheating or committing a criminal type act are some of the few grounds where Stuy or the other specialized high schools could expel someone. What he did was extremely serious and he should be punished accordingly along with anyone else who was found to be willing participants.

As an alum, I have no sympathy for him and unless the rules have been greatly relaxed since my time there, his expulsion will be permanent. You don't cheat this brazenly, get caught by the principal himself, anger the Education bigwigs, and expect a second chance.

Quote:

In our high school Regent's exams counted as a fifth marking period so if you aced them it could conceivably improve a class room grade quite a bit. It could make the difference between being val or sal or not easily.
I'd be surprised if this is the case at Stuyvesant, but who knows?

Unless things have changed since I attended, Regents results didn't matter beyond a possible chance at a Regents Scholarship that even then....was an effective dead letter considering it ran out of funds so often that some older classmates on that scholarship would actually receive checks for $0.00......

In short, they were treated somewhere between a tediously chore to be endured and a joke....especially by anyone in the top 70% or so of the class.

Regents results didn't affect GPAs and thus, chances of being Val/Sal.

sybbie719 · 06-26-2012, 11:45 AM

Quote:

The articles all say that he was caught with his phone out and pictures of the tests with answers were found on the phone. What it does not specify is when the pics were taken. There is possibility that he gained access to the tests prior to test day, and distributed the tests with the answers before the tests started. I have no idea if this is true, but one more thing to consider. Until we have more details.

Part of the problem is that the Chancellor's Regs specifically states:

Quote:

Cell phones, ipods, beepers and other communication devices are
prohibited on school property. However, a principal may grant permission
for a student to bring a cell phone into a school building for medical reasons.

http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/...rsion11806.pdf

The rule is not enforced because many administrators feel that as long as they don't see it, they will not take it. Using cell phones for cheating has been going on for as long as students have had cell phones. The protocol is that the cheating must be reported to the state, there is no grade on the exam, and disciplinary action is taken on the student. Cobrat is correct in the fact that Stuyvesant does not have to keep the student. While yes, he does have a right to an education in NYC day high school, it does not have to be at stuyvesant. The worse case scenario, he will go to his local school. It could be worse, under the current discipline code the student could get a one year suspension.

ucbalumnus · 06-26-2012, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4thfloor

I should add that people at Stuyvesant I know consider the Regents just a little harder than a class quiz.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DowneasterDad

I'm not sure wether you're trying to downplay or defend the offense but just because an individual is brilliant doesn't mean that they don't benefit from cheating.

The previous poster's comment may not be about downplaying or defending the cheating, but more along the lines of, "why would someone at that school think that they needed to cheat on this particular test that students there consider very easy?"

cobrat · 06-26-2012, 12:08 PM

Quote:

The rule is not enforced because many administrators feel that as long as they don't see it, they will not take it. Using cell phones for cheating has been going on for as long as students have had cell phones.

Wonder how much of that was the result of parental backlash against Mayor Bloomberg's attempt to completely ban cell phones for students some years back to prevent disruptions like this from happening in the first place.

Boggles my mind how parents of current K-12 kids don't seem to get how being in touch 24/7 is not only not always necessary, but quite disruptive...especially among the elementary/middle school set.

Heck, if even undergrads/their parents don't seem to realize that it isn't a good idea to call/answer cell phone calls/text in lecture/classes as TA friends at various respectable/elite universities experienced.....how do they expect K-12 kids to behave themselves in this regard. I've also wondered why it seems so hard for so many undergrads/students to simply turn their cell phones off for the duration of lecture and turn them on again when it's time to leave.

Quote:

Cobrat is correct in the fact that Stuyvesant does not have to keep the student. While yes, he does have a right to an education in NYC day high school, it does not have to be at stuyvesant. The worse case scenario, he will go to his local school. It could be worse, under the current discipline code the student could get a one year suspension.

The last is still more generous than what some colleges...especially ones with honor codes like my LAC can do. Though it is rare....the bylaws of my LAC when I attended do allow for permanent expulsion of cheaters on the first offense if the nature of the cheating was judged egregious enough by the J-board.