<p>Last night my son told me that there is widespread cheating going on in his private day school. Students are blatantly asking for students to tell them what questions were asked on English tests earlier in the day and then looking up the answers before taking the test themselves. My son does not participate in this behavior by asking for the questions, or giving them out, but he is upset that there are no consequences for those that do. There is also widespread copying of homework. </p>
<p>I plan on calling the school to discuss this but I am wondering if other parents have been faced with this same issue. I feel that there is a real issue with kids at this school pushing the boundaries on so many levels, but having no real consequences in regard to their (mis)behavior. </p>
<p>And, if you’ve dealt with something like this in the past, what has the administration done to correct it?</p>
<p>The problem is whether the cheaters have been caught. If its all hearsay, then the school cant effectively punish the offenders. If the school culture is of honesty etc, then the administration will be proactive in their conversation with you and will propose solutions for future incidents, such as having several versions of the test, checking the hw in a more thorough manner, etc. In my daughter’s school, several kids were doing hw together and the teacher deemed it as less of a study group and more of a copy group. They were all athletes and they got detention for the one day of the week when detention was given - a friday, also the day of a big game against an infamous rival. Those kids couldnt participate in the game, which hurt the team, but was an invaluable lesson all around.</p>
<p>Thank for your thoughtful response. I did speak with the administration and hopefully now that they are aware of the situation the tests will at least be different. I’ve just been surprised at how many kids are willing to push these boundaries and how the administration seems not to want to notice what’s going on unless it’s blatantly in view (we have had a lot of inappropriate language with racial overtones this year as well). I think appropriate consequences for breaking rules can be a good lesson for everyone - hard as that can be at the time. Sharing work or giving answers to tests just never helps anyone in the long run - though we didn’t bring up specific names of people involved because it seemed better to just raise awareness at this point.</p>
<p>@mtparent, I caution you to be wary: not all parents or school administrators care that kids are cheating, drinking, bullying, being disruptive. Unfortunately, as mhmm pointed out about the Spring Break problem, some of the adults are enablers of bad behavior.</p>
<p>At DS’s previous school, we fought (and lost) battles complaining about cheating (involving a parent) and bullying, and the only response we got from the school was a cover-up.</p>
<p>@GMTplus7 makes a good point. Years ago I had a friend who taught at a school in the midwest that made the national news for widespread plagiarism. The teacher failed the students (the rubric had warned them of the consequences of plagiarism months before). The school board reversed the decision and removed the failing grades. </p>
<p>The answer to cheating should always be “no” but with alum (or state) money riding on test outcomes and grades - there’s a lot of cheating that may extend beyond students. Remember all the public school teachers in the south caught changing their student’s test answers or giving answers during the test?</p>
<p>Sad. So sad. But glad you spoke up! Nothing will ever change if we don’t take a stand and become counted.</p>
<p>Thank your stars you go to a private school. In the local high school here, the uniionized teachers just recycle old tests and, over the years, the various cliques and moms have developed complete test banks that they share with the football players, lacrosse girls, etc. The administration knows this, has asked the teachers to change the tests, but the teachers just ignore the administration. The cheating is right out in the open, but as long as the teachers are indifferent, no one can do anything. The GPAs are horribly skewed.</p>
<p>@kellybkk,
The problems I described were not at a public school. Private schools have their own issues with trying to protect socially/economically prominent families to avoid scandal.</p>
<p>And, unfortunately, colleges know this, which is why they still have to rely on standardized tests for admissions. I believe that it is also the reason that our children who attend reputable prep schools have a big edge in college admissions.</p>
<p>I do think it’s important that the administration of a school sets the tone for what is acceptable in the classroom and on the field. I have been most bothered by the refrain that it’s only a few “good kids making bad choices” which I’ve been hearing all year about students who not only cheat, but make inappropriate/crude remarks on campus. There is so much sympathy for the kids making these poor choices but not a lot of concern about the atmosphere that behavior creates for the rest of the students who are trying to work with integrity. It doesn’t seem to help anyone to teach a student how to manipulate (game?) a system to their advantage early on - since that’s not something you can do for the rest of your life with any hope of success.</p>