Cheating uncovered; accountability discovered
By: Joshua Yan and Anna Yue Nov. 13, 2024
Last year, the school found itself amidst severe violations of academic integrity involving massive distributions of test materials. This was initially brought to administrators’ attention by a whistleblower, leading to an extensive period of investigation that unveiled a network of hundreds of students involved in the spread and use of confidential materials, spanning back several years in multiple subjects and classrooms.
Students proven to be distributing materials were held to a conversation with Principal Harveen Bal, and assigned respective consequences based on the severity of their actions. Additional counseling services were provided for every student confronted, as the conviction process was bound to be traumatic. Many students who came forward and admitted to cheating received lighter punishments.
“The cheating was abundantly widespread, and we are aware that many cheaters were never confronted. We decided to only go after those who distributed answers, rather than those who used them because we understand that students confided in cheating because they were facing extreme pressure and stress,” Bal said.
According to the University at Buffalo, academic dishonesty typically is caused by poor time management, stress from too many assignments, high expectations and the desire to aid peers. Additionally, students with higher grades are more likely to cheat, rather than those with lower grades. In these cases, students do not cheat because they are struggling, but rather because they wish to remain perfect and are anxious to keep a high academic status.
“Students tend to seek shortcuts on tedious work, and although reasons for cheating like parental expectations and social pressure may be understandable, the action itself is never justified. If a teacher has given adequate resources and teachings, the fault is entirely on the student,” Sophomore Elise Nguyen said.
The line between whether an action is considered cheating or not is a point of contention. On some non-assessment assignments, students found it unclear whether or not they were allowed to collaborate with their peers. For assessments, many students used online resources like Quizlet that contained the same questions as some tests. Many teachers also reused tests from previous years, which students were able to find online or from old students.
Last year’s incident also impacted student-teacher relationships—for numerous teachers, it was hurtful to discover that several trusted students obtained their academic achievements unethically. The school reserves the right to notify colleges, and teachers have the ability to rescind any letter of recommendation they submitted, especially since many letters were written based on these fraudulent academic achievements.
After rounds of discussion with the board and consulting a behavior specialist, Bal decided to direct the school towards policies built upon clarity and communication, with emphasis on support and cheating prevention. For example, starting this year in January, the school’s academic integrity policy directly taken from the district-issued Parent/Student Handbook is mandated to be seen in every teacher’s syllabus. It explicitly states that if a student conducts academic dishonesty, consequences are left to the teacher’s discretion; provided evidence of cheating can result in punishments such as detention, suspension, expulsion, reports to colleges and removal from extracurricular activities. This amendment holds the teachers responsible for clearly communicating their policies.
The newly mandated Academic Integrity Referral Form fosters an outlet for communication between teachers, students, parents and administrators after a committed cheating. The form enforces a series of steps including a teacher-student meeting, direct contact from teacher to parents and a meeting conference between the parties to decide the consequence. While students must be held accountable, the form still aims to offer a place and platform for both the student and the teacher to communicate their feelings and hurt.
“The new policy seems pretty fair. Having a discussion between the teacher and student is very valuable, since it gives students a chance to defend themselves in cases where it is unclear whether or not they have cheated,” Senior Chihiro Shitomi said.
Additionally, to aid students within the classroom, department leaders have conducted subject-specific actions.
“Along with rewriting our tests and creating a larger question bank, we are incorporating more in-class paper assignments and assessments and more free response questions on exams,” Suzanne Paulazzo, Social Studies Department, said.
Similarly, AP Language and Composition classes have taken a new approach toward assessments to decrease incentives for cheating.
“Essay assessments are no longer graded based on the essay itself: they are assigned to be written independently at home, but grades are awarded for revisions and reflections. Having student grades weighted heavily on the revising and improving process rather than the timed writing itself can better foster a growth mindset,” Jennifer Touchton, English Department, said.
The school’s administration team has also introduced new schoolwide measures to prevent similar incidents from occurring. The CHARGE matrix was reconstructed and added to the letter of recommendation form so that letters may now reflect character in combination with academic performance. To once again emphasize the importance of communication and student perspectives, the school administration plans on having a student council of around 70 students to review the matrix and make suggestions to improve it for next semester.
Last year’s incident highlighted a lapse in trust and the need for better communication. Though still in their infancy, the new policies are a step towards repairing broken relationships between students and their teachers. Cheating will never disappear entirely, but the newfound policies and optimism fostered by the administration are an opportunity to start anew and improve in light of the past grievances.
About the Contributors
Joshua Yan is a Senior at Leland High School. This is his second year as a staff writer for the school newspaper. He likes playing piano, playing games with friends, and pen spinning.
Anna Yue, page editor for the Entertainment and Lifestyle, is a second-year Journalism student who has greatly enjoyed the class's collaborative process. She enjoys all sorts of food and loves cute fluffy animals. She loves sleeping and hanging out with friends.
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