From Amy

quote:

...Regardless, getting files that are provided by the professor are totally different than buying a test from a peer. Completely....

and
From howdy60137

quote:

...if money changed hands then that's it, in my book. for it to have truly not been cheating then the person with the test needed to distribute it to EVERYONE in the class....

Have to kind of disagree here. Assume Kid-A obtains an old test, either legally or illegally. What's the responsibility of Kid-B if...

1. He buys the test. Is it because money exchanged hands? How is this different than hiring a tutor to help you study for the Pre-Calc final?

2. He is given the test.

Lawyers out there, if you receive something that's stolen, what's your responsiblity to figure out that it was stolen? Would it be reasonable to assume Kid-B may have gotten the test from an older sibling?

As far as everyone getting a copy of the test, why do Kid-A or Kid-B have to share with everyone else. Would it then be illegal to get together with a small study group?

I'm trying to understand the actual grounds under which Kid-B should be suspended.

Again, if the calculator said, "the answer to #14 is B" then the kid was clearly cheating. If it had example problems, I don't think so.

My understanding that some of the kids did have the answers programmed into their calculators. Which suggests to me that at least some of the kids involved clearly knew they were doing something that was not entirely on the up-and-up.

I don't know exactly what the kids are or are not allowed to load onto their calculators for math tests - whether "study-guide hints" would be allowed. But I have heard no one dispute that the school found inappropriate info on at least some calculators.

And at least one other student, when offered the test, realized something was wrong enough to alert the authorities.

So we've got an atmosphere in which at least some knowing cheating was going on, and at least some kids were able to tell the difference between what was right and wrong. There were rumors concerning other classes as well, but as far as I know math was the only one where people got caught.

The kid in the paper claims he did not program answers into his calculator. So essentially, it comes down to judging his frame of mind based on all of the evidence, including his after-the-fact exculpatory statements. Essentially a credibility assessment.

Further, who gets to make that assessment. For my money, it sounds like a call for the school. It doesn't surprise me these days - certainly in this community - that a parent is eager to believe their kid blameless, and to excuse just about any behavior. But I think assessing and punishing academic dishonesty properly falls squarely within the discretion of the school authorities.

Speaking as a parent, I'd really worry if my honors student didn't think there was anything at all hinky about paying cash for an old test/study guide offered in a coffee shop. If I believed my kid was in fact that naive and gullible, I'd start shopping for a nice present for the Easter Bunny to leave him or her!