Is cheating no more common in Bernards schools than in other school districts?

FORENSICS KIDS CHEAT SOOO MUCH

In my opinion, it's one thing to take in carefully hidden notes into your exam to consult and therefore cheat, and another to read previous tests prior to the exam and learn from others' successful answers or mistakes. Surely the teachers do that anyway when the majority of them hand out test review sheets that basically are comprised of everything and anything they will get in their test anyway? In summary, I have never heard any one of my kids mentioning cheating in their grades so I guess I'm not the best one to comment!

I have heard about the huge amount of cheating at the high school, particularly with the Forensics kids, but all of the cheaters become tomorrow's corrupt leaders. We should be teaching honor and integrity in our four pillars of character education. If it's not being taught at home, it has to be taught at school, right?

That being said, shame on Mr. Howlett's definition of cheating. When an Honors Bio class realized the teacher wasn't actually reading the homework that was handed in, the kids started handing in the same hw over-and-over. These kids were later thrown out of the Honor Society. Were they cheating? Mr. Howlett says so. What about the lame teacher? So what is cheating? The school has it's own definition....

Cheating and tutoring do not help the school or the teacher know how well they are doing. Cheaters warp the curves, making classes look easier and better taught than they actually are. This is another effect of cheating that is often overlooked.

Lastly, using the same tests over-and-over again is lazy teaching. According to the administrators, the teachers don't have the time to make different tests for each class, every year. What do our curriculum supervisors do anyway? There must be a way to facilitate test-making for our teachers and require them to use it. Cheating is a rampant problem that lots of towns are dealing with.

BR Mom -- the definition of cheating does sometimes seem to be fuzzy in our schools. Maybe that's something to address.
That being said, I haven't heard too much from the local h.s. students talking about cheating, be they high achievers or just average students. Is it because they don't care? Or are the majority just doing their work, and not cheating? But yes, cheating definitely does raise the curve for classroom performance. Plus, the cheaters may not have really learned the material, which could mask the need for further review.

@BR Mom I think you forget about the constant workload the teachers have and the amount of time that it takes to write a test. The teachers that I am familiar with are totally swamped with work - specifically now when they are working with the students to prepare them for midterms, finish up Marking Period work and catching up students who have been absent (like mine who missed 2 days last week!)

With that being said, I do think cheating at the High School is rampant. I think it is a direct result of the stress they are under and the coursework they are selecting.

Hi Goridge,

I have three teachers in my family, so I do know and appreciate all they do. However, asking that they write new tests for the students is not asking too much. They use the previous years' exams and change them to be unique for the current year. Surely it is easier to give an old test, but it is a disservice to the kids.

I think it may be easier in the middle and elementary schools - but in the high school (where they have to construct tests to mimic AP tests) it take a long time.

I felt like the previous comments were a bit negative towards our teachers and we someimes forget the work they do. Perhaps the use of the curriculum supervisors would be a good way to assist the staff to create new AP style questions and higher level essay questions. I have heard that kids have all tests scanned into online websites and they do share these materials with each other.

IF some of the "Forensics" kids are cheating, and I question whether the generalized reference is actually to the "smart kids" versus actual team members, it's because they are (albeit wrongly) gaming the system rather than waste time doing rote homework the teacher doesn't even look at or taking tests the teachers can't be bothered revising year after year. Most of them are smart enough to learn the material on their own- the teachers do very little for them, and with few exceptions don't inspire our brightest students. While no cheating should be excused, it's not surprising that students who are national level competitors in debate, or as athletes, performers, or researchers, etc., would be tempted to cut corners on busy work to have time for higher level pursuit of a passion they are truly excited about.
I'm tired of people making excuses for teachers. Everyone works hard, but teachers complain constantly. Most of the AP teachers are senior teachers making top salary- and a teacher who consistently failed to read material that was turned in by students should have been fired. Why didn't that happen?
When the "role model" clearly isn't interested in what the kids are doing, or whether they are actually learning anything, why would the students strive to perform for that teacher?
Those "forensics kids" are an incredibly motivated, bright and hard working group- if they are cutting corners on academics it's because the school has failed to engage them properly.

It is offensive to name any groups as far as cheating goes, because the cheating is prevalent across the board. It is like saying the H***** team smokes pot or the F******* team drinks vodka !!!!!

And as far as teachers' workload, are you kidding me? It's a job. I don't hear whining from any other group, whether they work week-ends, late nights, or bring work home.

A classic example of a recent test at RHS where 20 problems were on the test, all had to be completed, and the teacher announced that he/she would grade any 10 random problems on each student's test. Not the same 10 either. What would you call that!!!! Response from the teacher "too bad".

From what I have heard, from very credible sources, cheating in RHS is very common.

Between classes, many students share what was on the test with their friends, and their friends will do the same in other situations to pay back. There are also incidents where one teacher will sell answer to others. On some level, I think cheating is tolerated because incidents of cheating will not be reported outside the school, so there is no fear that the future will be ruined.

Who is at fault? parents and the school. Parents still to step up and know what their kids are like in this area. They need to talk to their kids.

School simply allow this behavior to blossom by not changing the orders of the questions between classes. Why change and do extra work when nobody dies?

This is why this society is losing credibility, integrity and sense of responsibility and honor fast!