DS accused of plagiarizing test

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. Private school? Do you think the teacher had it in for him? I'm really sorry, OP....

Must be private. MCPS County final exams aren't retakeable apart from retaking the entire course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The teacher gave the class essay topics to work on for almost two weeks.
DS worked very hard writing and rewriting and editing until he was content with the final draft. The teacher chose one out of many for the final exam.
DS wrote it during the final test hoping for an A.
Instead he got a zero. The teacher is claiming he plagiarized but is not giving any specifications even though I asked for it various times. Without saying anything concrete, the school wants him to take the test again even though he'll be going out of town and out of the country for the summer.
Aren't they supposed to disclose the details of this supposed "crime" as the assistant principal very eloquently put it?

Take the essay and run it through TURNITIN, if it's negative, then you have grounds for argueing.

Oh, and every paper, whether it's English, History, Religion, etc, DD HS would run them through....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
You are entitled to a copy of his test and you must demand proof from the school that he did indeed plagiarize. You can also officially complain to the Head at the way the teacher handled it, accusing the student without providing immediate proof.

My 9 year old found it hard at the beginning of the year to read a source and then not spit it back out word for word - he has an excellent word memory. However for his last essays he managed to paraphrase adequately. His style does vary a lot because it's inspired by whatever he's reading at the moment, which can be a red flag for teachers. Thank goodness they know him well enough by now!

Good luck.

Not in MCPS if it is a county made assessment. Those are secure documents.The parent can make an appt to look at it, but may not photocopy, photograph, or otherwise reproduce it. Even the Testing Coordinator and principal aren't supposed to make a copy to record cheating without explicit permission from Central Office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How old is your son? This is a great time to teach him to stand up for himself. I am surprised that so many parents would do this for their kid.

This is akin to legal trouble in a way. And we as adults don't go that alone. It's serious enough I don't think a parent should step aside.

[Anonymous]

IF your DS retook the test and scored as well, would things be expunged? Could that be a deal you make?

[Anonymous]

Is the issue that he plagiarized himself? If you cite yourself, you have to source yourself.

Was he expected to create new material for the exam and he regurgitated a previous essay?

[Anonymous]

I was thinking that if the school thinks he plagiarized, they must think it was a mistake. Otherwise they would not allow a retest.

[Anonymous]

You need to go over there and keep your temper and straighten this out. So sorry, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was thinking that if the school thinks he plagiarized, they must think it was a mistake. Otherwise they would not allow a retest.

Exactly. Plagiarism is usually grounds for a zero on the assignment and an F in the class, especially for highschool+. If they're allowing a retest, they're trying to help him correct a mistake.

Where is OP? Any answers to all the questions listed above, so we can give better advice?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The teacher gave the class essay topics to work on for almost two weeks.
DS worked very hard writing and rewriting and editing until he was content with the final draft. The teacher chose one out of many for the final exam.
DS wrote it during the final test hoping for an A.

I don't understand. If you son worked on an essay for two weeks, what was chosen for the final exam? The essay the kids were working on?

How did he write the essay during the final test? Was it the same one he'd been working on for 2 weeks?

I'm confused.

Sounds like this is likely a high school class -- I would guess AP or IB-- run in a style similar to a college course.

In many college courses, the professor gives several essay topics that are thematic and broadly cover the material of the course, and informs students that their final exam topic will be selected from among these.

Using their course texts, class notes, and outside sources as applicable/appropriate, students are expected to prepare answers for all topics by the time of the exam. When they sit for the exam, one essay topic will be given, and students are expected to demonstrate their knowledge of course material by completing the essay topic during the exam time using whatever they remember of their preparation.

Depending on how good a student's memory is and the quality of their revision for the exam, it's entirely possible that a well-prepared student could reproduce under exam conditions an essay extremely similar to the essay they wrote in advance when revising that topic.

That sounds like what probably happened in this instance, based on the way OP's post was written.

+1. I think this might be what happened too. DS thoroughly prepared, closely replicated his prep answer on the exam, and may have failed to cite sources during the exam portion because he couldn't remember them or didn't think it was necessary on an exam vs. a term paper. It could very well have been one of those common situations where it was technically plagiarism (uncited source) but accidental and without an intent to cheat or steal intellectual property. Happens to top historians, too.

Of course, it's also possible DS got his answers from a website and got busted. That's why the school needs to offer a little more information. Intentional cheating vs accidental failure to cite may both qualify as plagiarism in the technical sense, but they are very different circumstances. I'm leaning toward the latter since they're letting him retake the test.

[Anonymous]

OP, you dont say that you've actually talked to your son and gotten his honest answer as to whether he did the deed. that's step one.

also, how does one plagiarize while writing an essay in class? you wouldnt have access to outside materials to copy from.

[Anonymous]

The teacher would normally be fairly sure of plagiarism to accuse a student of it. There are many ways-running the essay through 'Turnitin' is standard these days-but I always knew just from the essay. It would have a lot of different styles in it and a teacher knows how a kid writes-they don't suddenly write in a different style or using full academic terms if they didn't before. (My experience is grad level though)

[Anonymous]

There are 4 types of plagiarism.

-Stealing
-Misquoting
-Insufficient Paraphrasing
-Duplicating publication

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The teacher would normally be fairly sure of plagiarism to accuse a student of it. There are many ways-running the essay through 'Turnitin' is standard these days-but I always knew just from the essay. It would have a lot of different styles in it and a teacher knows how a kid writes-they don't suddenly write in a different style or using full academic terms if they didn't before. (My experience is grad level though)

Same experience here teaching hs.

[Anonymous]

OP here.
Thank you for all your suggestions.
DS is a 9th grader in a highly regarded charter which boasts accelerated education. The teacher did not ask students to cite quotations. There were no guidelines. He has short term photographic memory. English is not his first language. His grades are usually good because he gets extensive tutoring. He took the exam on Monday June 9. The teacher and admin waited until Friday afternoon, as he was exiting the building, to drop this bomb on him. They did not even email me until I wrote to them.
His final draft was assessed by a tutor (college junior in communication) and a retired college professor.
I did ask him to write the essay again and ran it through Turnitin. There are ideas and some phrases taken from study guides. He has not yet learned how to use citation or bibliography. The school also knew very well he would be leaving town/country for the summer.