Widespread cheating at McLean HS

[Anonymous]

To the teachers on here: over the course of the year, can you tell who the non-cheaters are? I’m kind of hoping that info gets conveyed in college rec letters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the teachers on here: over the course of the year, can you tell who the non-cheaters are? I’m kind of hoping that info gets conveyed in college rec letters.

Absolutely we know - and we talk to other teachers. So if I have a consistent problem with a specific kid cheating, I make sure other teachers know and keep an extra eye out. I also won't write rec letters for those kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the teachers on here: over the course of the year, can you tell who the non-cheaters are? I’m kind of hoping that info gets conveyed in college rec letters.

Sure, I catch cheaters and refuse to write their recommendation letters. But those are the blatant ones (who do as a PP mentioned and literally copy version B's answers onto their version A). Or I catch them with a phone or a copy of the study guide under their test. Or their answers are formatted in some bizarre way that chatgpt suggests, totally different than how we solved problems in class. "Oh no, my tutor does it this way!" "Explain it to me then." *crickets*

The reality is I cannot catch the ones who talk in the hallway to their friend after class and ask if xyz was on the test. I cannot catch the kids who copy their homework from their buddy. I cannot penalize the kids who are somehow *always* excused absent on test day, because it's "excused".

If they want to cheat, they'll find ways to. I have long conversations with the kids before the first test, and usually around the semester mark about how I still, to this day--30 years later--remember the one assignment I cheated on in my entire academic career and it gnaws at me. I don't remember the grade I got on a single legitimate test or paper or project though. I try to convey that strong morals and an ethical conscience are worth way more than a few GPA points, but I'm fighting a losing battle. The kids are glued to SIS to see their scores, that's the #1 priority for most.

[Anonymous]

This is so true and it is so very sad. Honor and integrity are just words on a spelling list for some of them. They have no idea what the words actually mean , and their parents appear not to care.

[Anonymous]

It’s just really disappointing to see how kids that don’t cheat are at such a disadvantage.

My son is in one AP class and the teacher doesn’t change the test throughout the day for the later class periods. He is in first period and the average test grades are substantially lower (he can see the grade distribution online for his class) than the last class of the day (a friend showed him grade distribution). Kids in first period are taking pictures of test or writing test questions on scratch paper then sharing test questions with friends in later classes or there is a rumor one kid selling them to a couple of students.

The teacher doesn’t realize or care of has just given up because of so much cheating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s just really disappointing to see how kids that don’t cheat are at such a disadvantage.

My son is in one AP class and the teacher doesn’t change the test throughout the day for the later class periods. He is in first period and the average test grades are substantially lower (he can see the grade distribution online for his class) than the last class of the day (a friend showed him grade distribution). Kids in first period are taking pictures of test or writing test questions on scratch paper then sharing test questions with friends in later classes or there is a rumor one kid selling them to a couple of students.

The teacher doesn’t realize or care of has just given up because of so much cheating.

Interestingly my last class of the day is always my lowest scoring. The focus just isn’t there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s at the colleges and universities, too.

yup I feel for the honest kids doing the right thing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s just really disappointing to see how kids that don’t cheat are at such a disadvantage.

My son is in one AP class and the teacher doesn’t change the test throughout the day for the later class periods. He is in first period and the average test grades are substantially lower (he can see the grade distribution online for his class) than the last class of the day (a friend showed him grade distribution). Kids in first period are taking pictures of test or writing test questions on scratch paper then sharing test questions with friends in later classes or there is a rumor one kid selling them to a couple of students.

The teacher doesn’t realize or care of has just given up because of so much cheating.

Why should the teacher care if the students have no morals or values?
That is not their job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just really disappointing to see how kids that don’t cheat are at such a disadvantage.

My son is in one AP class and the teacher doesn’t change the test throughout the day for the later class periods. He is in first period and the average test grades are substantially lower (he can see the grade distribution online for his class) than the last class of the day (a friend showed him grade distribution). Kids in first period are taking pictures of test or writing test questions on scratch paper then sharing test questions with friends in later classes or there is a rumor one kid selling them to a couple of students.

The teacher doesn’t realize or care of has just given up because of so much cheating.

Why should the teacher care if the students have no morals or values?
That is not their job.

What?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cell phones are supposed to be banned except for lunch. Granted, I know it's hard for a teacher to catch everything, but shouldn't they be able to catch a few?

I say this because in my child's math class, a student brought their phone out. The teacher saw, walked up and took the test right off the desk. Then the teacher said anyone else who was caught with a phone wouldn't just fail the test but the entire quarter.

Threats like that can minimize cheating, I would think.

Administration will not let teachers do this. Otherwise, it might work. Teachers get no top cover from administration to deal with cheating. And anyone who thinks this issue is localized to one HS is confused; this issue exists in every FCPS HS and innmany other HSs (public and private) nationwide.

In China, the cheating on key exams (Gao Kao) is so severe and so widespread, that they now give the exams at the exact same time/day nationwide. Similar issues with widespread cheating on key national exams in India also.

I forget which off top of head but I'm aware that some countries (mostly in Africa IIRC) actually turn off internet access across the entire country during the administration of national standardized exams. Not endorsing that idea at all, but just an example of how rampant the issue is and how challenging it is to solve for.

True. I’m an immigrant and in my country of origin, the internet is literally shut down whenever a national standardized test is given. People complain of course but it does help to reduce cheating. 🤷‍♀️

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just really disappointing to see how kids that don’t cheat are at such a disadvantage.

My son is in one AP class and the teacher doesn’t change the test throughout the day for the later class periods. He is in first period and the average test grades are substantially lower (he can see the grade distribution online for his class) than the last class of the day (a friend showed him grade distribution). Kids in first period are taking pictures of test or writing test questions on scratch paper then sharing test questions with friends in later classes or there is a rumor one kid selling them to a couple of students.

The teacher doesn’t realize or care of has just given up because of so much cheating.

Why should the teacher care if the students have no morals or values?
That is not their job.

What?

If you have raised your kid to have no issues with cheating by adolescence, then it is your failure as a parent. Your kid is not an honest human being. Not the teacher's fault.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cell phones are supposed to be banned except for lunch. Granted, I know it's hard for a teacher to catch everything, but shouldn't they be able to catch a few?

I say this because in my child's math class, a student brought their phone out. The teacher saw, walked up and took the test right off the desk. Then the teacher said anyone else who was caught with a phone wouldn't just fail the test but the entire quarter.

Threats like that can minimize cheating, I would think.

At my school, when you make threats or things like that students instantly go home and complain. Parents email one of thr principals. We get called for a conversation and are scolded about making threats. We would be told we can’t make threats that aren’t true and reminded that we need to follow school policy for cheating.

Then we would be told how we emotionally damaged the kids and how they are scared to come into our class or some BS and how we need to create a welcoming environment to foster learning.

The majority of cheating in my math class has not been from cells. It’s been from them sneaking in scrap paper with things written on it or hidden in their calculators. I’m constantly walking around the room looking for this now.

[Anonymous]

^ adding to above, these are more advanced classes and honors. They try to hide the paper between the pages of the test. I try to get around this by copying tests on colored paper now and not allowing calc covers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cell phones are supposed to be banned except for lunch. Granted, I know it's hard for a teacher to catch everything, but shouldn't they be able to catch a few?

I say this because in my child's math class, a student brought their phone out. The teacher saw, walked up and took the test right off the desk. Then the teacher said anyone else who was caught with a phone wouldn't just fail the test but the entire quarter.

Threats like that can minimize cheating, I would think.

That's interesting, because if I see a kid cheating I also take their test away and give them an F. But at my school at least we're no longer allowed to decide the consequences. For me it used to be a zero with no chance of retake. Now I have to give them a retake capped at 80% for a first offense, then less credit for repeated offenses. It's ridiculous, but our hands are tied.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

At my school, when you make threats or things like that students instantly go home and complain. Parents email one of thr principals. We get called for a conversation and are scolded about making threats. We would be told we can’t make threats that aren’t true and reminded that we need to follow school policy for cheating.

Then we would be told how we emotionally damaged the kids and how they are scared to come into our class or some BS and how we need to create a welcoming environment to foster learning.

Absolutely this. You don't even have to make threats--I never do. But scold a kid for bad behavior and they run to their counselor and mommy and whine that they "don't feel safe in our classroom." Then the counselor or mommy writes you that they don't feel safe in your classroom and this prevents them from learning and so it's your fault that their grades are terrible--nothing to do with the fact that they're disruptive, come in late, don't do work and are probably in the wrong class in the first place. Nope, it's the teacher's fault.