Academic Dishonesty in my school

[Penguinluvr]

Hey there!

I just wanted some advice and tips on what to do if I found someone cheating in my class on their homework in quizzes. It's hard for me to tell my teachers about this because my teachers really like this student and find no fault in this student.

[inriya]

If you want to report someone cheating, find 2-3 people who have witnissed the cheating and report it to the teacher. I am sure it will be more convincing to them.

[Merril889]

This is a hard thing to do because I experienced it first hand under the same circumstance. You need to be able to have other witnesses that are willing to go through the steps with you on reporting the student and make sure you are specific on the stuff they did. By that I mean you need to be able to give specific quizzes the student cheated on and also state what they did to cheat. 

Make sure you tell the teacher of the class and also the IB coordinator of your school so the student can go through your specific school academic dishonesty policy as well as the IB dishonesty policy. I hope it goes well for you!

 

[IB`NOT`ez]

Honestly if its just stuff like quizzes/homework/topical tests and not the big fry like mocks/IAs, I wouldn't give it too much of a thought. In the end if they don't shape up, they're going to bomb their exams anyways and I'd rather not be the one that intentionally caused them to lose the IB diploma as its so much more impactful towards their lives than acing random class assignments; the latter with which the IB doesn't even care about. 

Edited July 11, 2016 by IB`ez

[kw0573]

The root of the problem seem that the student wants to preserve an image of how good they are at school. Agree with @Merril889, keep your claims based on what you see "on x day, I saw xyz did this" rather than claims of "x is a cheater, s/he only got these marks because of cheating".

It's a frustrating time to see others cheat, and thank you for trying to protect the integrity of the academic setting. 

[Merril889]

And also if things do not go away you are going to have to be realistic with the possible negative of doing this. Teachers may no longer trust you and your IB group may try ice you out. If that student is loved by teachers it may be possible the student is loved by students. So make sure you are willing to see both possibilities and then make a choice from that. I am not trying to scare you into not doing it but when I talked to a teacher on cheating and it did not go how I wanted it to, most of my IB group secluded me and they were actually quite mean to me although I was correct about everything. They tried to mess with me mentally but I know  that they are doing it to be mean and they do not want me to succeed. They will receive karma for their actions. Example: I made a 19/20 on a mock IB lab and two of the cheaters did it together and got different grades. One got a 16/20 and the other a 14. The one with a 14 complained to the teacher and the teacher lowered the person with a 16 to equal the other person. So to say the least I was quite happy because they got what they deserved. 

All in all just understand that it may not go your way and to be prepared for a bad outcome but hope for a good one. Have a nice day

[maturk]

I don't see any reason for you to go snitching. Even though it is immoral, you shouldn't worry about what other people are doing. If it bothers you that they are getting good averages and exam results, just remember that they probably won't be able to cheat in the real finals. Just **** it and don't worry about it. Remember, snitches end up in ditches. Lmao jk

[kw0573]

@IB`ez @maturk What the cheater thinks, and what I think will likely happen, is that s/he is just delaying the study process, and looks to ace the exams without cheating. This temporary time-buying is unfair to those who abide by the rules. 

[IB`NOT`ez]

2 minutes ago, kw0573 said:

@IB`ez @maturk What the cheater thinks, and what I think will likely happen, is that s/he is just delaying the study process, and looks to ace the exams without cheating. This temporary time-buying is unfair to those who abide by the rules. 

I don't disagree because that's true. 

But I do believe there are still some cases where it gets more complex. For example, I have a friend who's a native <> and has a lot of trouble with English. Still, he has dreams of studying engineering at Ivy League. Yet even so, he struggles with all of his classes except <> Lang Lit and is barely passing his DP requirements. I would visit his house several times before our mock exams to help with his Chemistry, and he claims to study over 3 hours each day. Looking at the massive piles of papers and notebooks on his desk, I don't have good reason to believe otherwise. That said, a lot of my friends who share the same classes as he does (I only share Chemistry with him) claims to have spotted him cheating by building a giant wall around his own desk with bags and books to cover up his testing irregularities, or subtly looking at his phone in an attempt to appeal to non-approved methods on result maximization. Apparently he was caught once by his Maths HL teacher, who then gave him a caterwaul, but otherwise let him off lightly and from what I've heard, other teachers turn a relatively blind eye to what he does as well. He puts in s lot of effort, but is still forced to (as he may most likely perceive it) tread a less than honourable path. At the end of our mocks, he claimed to have received results much less than what he had hoped to attain throughout his entire preparation process. That's all. 

Personally I too, turn a blind eye. I'd be delighted to hear your opinion on a case like this.

 

[kw0573]

@IB`ez One is top of class and is probably cheating because of laziness, while the other tries so hard but don't get the results, and has essentially no choice but to cheat. If others help the latter enough than he would likely cease the behavior. It is your and your teachers' decision to not call out cheating. If others feel frustrated by cheating by choice in a completely different scenario, then they have the choice to report it. 

[maturk]

6 hours ago, kw0573 said:

@IB`ez @maturk What the cheater thinks, and what I think will likely happen, is that s/he is just delaying the study process, and looks to ace the exams without cheating. This temporary time-buying is unfair to those who abide by the rules. 

Cheating might me immoral but it's not against the law. A lot of people who hold high status in our society got there because of some kind of cheating and although you might think its "unfair,"  it's just the way life is. Let those who cheat do their thing and just keep doing the right thing yourself. Perhaps one day you yourself will have to brake some rules to succeed or to get something you really want, you never know. It's stupid to stress about other people's actions, try be a little more stoic about the entire situation. 

[kw0573]

1 hour ago, maturk said:

Cheating might me immoral but it's not against the law. A lot of people who hold high status in our society got there because of some kind of cheating and although you might think its "unfair,"  it's just the way life is. Let those who cheat do their thing and just keep doing the right thing yourself. Perhaps one day you yourself will have to brake some rules to succeed or to get something you really want, you never know. It's stupid to stress about other people's actions, try be a little more stoic about the entire situation. 

I didn't feel that there is a need to overgeneralize this to any rule-breaking. Going back to just cheating in school, we have all given our opinions, and I gave mine knowing that the person in question can perform well without cheating. Also having in mind that it's not IB assessment so no risk of losing diploma, I recommended to state the facts to teacher (privately).

Also, please don't call others' ideas stupid.

[rakshak]

On 11 July 2016 at 7:23 AM, Penguinluvr said:

Hey there!

I just wanted some advice and tips on what to do if I found someone cheating in my class on their homework in quizzes. It's hard for me to tell my teachers about this because my teachers really like this student and find no fault in this student.

 

[Merril889]

On 7/11/2016 at 4:00 PM, kw0573 said:

I didn't feel that there is a need to overgeneralize this to any rule-breaking. Going back to just cheating in school, we have all given our opinions, and I gave mine knowing that the person in question can perform well without cheating. Also having in mind that it's not IB assessment so no risk of losing diploma, I recommended to state the facts to teacher (privately).

Also, please don't call others' ideas stupid.

This is my opinion on this discussion from what I have read. Firstly in the IB we have a very strict policy on cheating and basically forbids it. One time this girl in my class was taking a practice quiz on her phone before a test and the teacher looked at it and thought that she was cheating somehow and took her phone. It just so happened that question was a question on our test and so that student was immediately sent to our coordinator and they almost kicked her out of the IB program because of it. Luckily after going through the quiz no other questions were the same and she was still allowed to remain in the IB and take that test. 

With the statement about the kid who studies really hard but does not do well. It is a sad thing to have to say but if he/she cannot preform up to the standard necessary and has to go to the extent of cheating to make a minimal grade, then that student should not be in the IB program. Not every single student is meant to be in this program. We had a student in my group just like that and so after doing all we could to help her out. We made the assessment that she just needs to go the AP or honors route because she just is not meant for this program. It was sad for us because she brought so much joy to our day. 

To the pr*** talking about us just keeping our mouth shut blah blah blah. I have a feeling you are one of the people who do this and do not understand why it is an outrage. This is what you do not seem to get. People who cheat even if they perform well are cheating and it is wrong. If they cheat for a grade they don't deserve they are getting a higher class rank and a higher GPA they do not deserve to have. They are getting accepted into a college that they have no business being at. They are possibly getting scholarships that they should never have the honor of having. Say they want to be a doctor. They are getting into Med school off their bad merit and then they are getting a job they should never get. What if they cheated their way through medical school and they treat a patient and something goes wrong? What then.

Now look at it this way. They are lower someone deserving of their class rank. They are taking away a college opportunity for someone who should get in. They are taking away hard earned money from someone who needs it to even get a college education. They are being rewarded for their misdeed and a person is being punished for trying their best. So I say to you @maturk . Never allow someone to take away an opportunity from anyone for anyone or anything. The world is unfair but their is no reason not to resist and reduce the problems instead of joining in on them.  

[Penguinluvr]

Very well said!! @Merril889 I agree with you! This has happened to me this past year as there were classmates who would always cheat to get the grade they want because they were afraid of failing, getting a lower class rank/GPA. This was a problem for me because all my hard work just went to someone else because they cheated and basically took away my hard earned class rank and GPA. It is hard to tell the teachers because of how much they like this student. It's also a problem because the students know about this, but they don't want to snitch because of how much they like this student. I just feel as if all my hard work that I've had is just gone because of these cheaters that try to get what they want without putting the effort in. 

Edited July 13, 2016 by Penguinluvr

[IB`NOT`ez]

1 hour ago, Merril889 said:

This is my opinion on this discussion from what I have read. Firstly in the IB we have a very strict policy on cheating and basically forbids it. One time this girl in my class was taking a practice quiz on her phone before a test and the teacher looked at it and thought that she was cheating somehow and took her phone. It just so happened that question was a question on our test and so that student was immediately sent to our coordinator and they almost kicked her out of the IB program because of it. Luckily after going through the quiz no other questions were the same and she was still allowed to remain in the IB and take that test. 

With the statement about the kid who studies really hard but does not do well. It is a sad thing to have to say but if he/she cannot preform up to the standard necessary and has to go to the extent of cheating to make a minimal grade, then that student should not be in the IB program. Not every single student is meant to be in this program. We had a student in my group just like that and so after doing all we could to help her out. We made the assessment that she just needs to go the AP or honors route because she just is not meant for this program. It was sad for us because she brought so much joy to our day. 

To the pr*** talking about us just keeping our mouth shut blah blah blah. I have a feeling you are one of the people who do this and do not understand why it is an outrage. This is what you do not seem to get. People who cheat even if they perform well are cheating and it is wrong. If they cheat for a grade they don't deserve they are getting a higher class rank and a higher GPA they do not deserve to have. They are getting accepted into a college that they have no business being at. They are possibly getting scholarships that they should never have the honor of having. Say they want to be a doctor. They are getting into Med school off their bad merit and then they are getting a job they should never get. What if they cheated their way through medical school and they treat a patient and something goes wrong? What then.

Now look at it this way. They are lower someone deserving of their class rank. They are taking away a college opportunity for someone who should get in. They are taking away hard earned money from someone who needs it to even get a college education. They are being rewarded for their misdeed and a person is being punished for trying their best. So I say to you @maturk . Never allow someone to take away an opportunity from anyone for anyone or anything. The world is unfair but their is no reason not to resist and reduce the problems instead of joining in on them.  

With regards to the statement you made about my friend -- it is indeed sad. He's not failing the IB Diploma just yet though and as kw0573 suggested, I hope that with the right amount of help, he can still succeed. 

Reading all what you've just said though made me think twice about my lack of care to those who cheat. It is unfortunate that looking at the bigger picture, what may seem like harmless cheating just to pad one's grades can negatively impact the future of others more deserving. 

[Merril889]

On 7/12/2016 at 8:56 PM, IB`ez said:

With regards to the statement you made about my friend -- it is indeed sad. He's not failing the IB Diploma just yet though and as kw0573 suggested, I hope that with the right amount of help, he can still succeed. 

Reading all what you've just said though made me think twice about my lack of care to those who cheat. It is unfortunate that looking at the bigger picture, what may seem like harmless cheating just to pad one's grades can negatively impact the future of others more deserving. 

I am happy that the student has not gotten to that point yet to be failing the Diploma. His best option is to look at different forms of studying. If he is just reading content over and over and over and it is not working, than he needs to explore other options. Like maybe he needs to watch videos about it or write up his own notes that make sense to him. Not copy from what someone says because he may not get it. Maybe he needs to make a game or something out of!