<p>Well, the test where the OP’s son was absent and took it as a makeup is consistent with the cheating hypothesis, because it shows that the two students did not have consistent results when they didn’t take the test simultaneously. And if there are other inconsistent tests, that doesn’t detract much, because they simply may not have cheated on those tests, especially if those tests preceded the ones that looked like there was cheating.</p>
<p>One really important question I have – and it seems answerable given the number of students taking the class – is how many other students in the class got the same answers (or the same minus one answers) wrong on each test. How common was that error pattern? If it was pretty common, then that is strongly exonerating. If not, the opposite. The professor should have given this information. And if he doesn’t have it, he should withdraw the charge or suspend the deadline until he does.</p>
<p>Also, the OP hasn’t told us whether there is any actual connection between her kid and the other student accused. Friendship? Do they study together (cuts both ways)? Do they generally sit near each other for tests?</p>
<p>When in college, I studied for a Spanish proficiency test with my boyfriend. We made a list of prepositional phrases to study. Turns out that a few of the many phrases we studied were wrong. But boy did we study them. We each ended up with the same score: 3 wrong and they were the same 3 prepositional phrases.</p>
<p>Say student number 2 was cheating off your OP’s son. Is her son culpable if he is unaware of that fact?</p>
<p>The scariest part is this happens apparently often. He stated, “As we have done in similar cases with students at other schools, we are providing your son and the other student involved in this case with the opportunity to withdraw from the course.”</p>
<p>My child never knew the other child before this semester and they’ve never done anything socially or even have the same friends. He says they study the same notes, explaining the similar answers. There is only one other student in the class that takes the psychology course. he professor stated on the nervous system test, the 23/30, “they gave the exact same answers to every single question, including the same 7 questions that they got wrong, and including some answer that were seleced by very few students.” Of course, there’s only one other student in there that takes the class, so I’m assuming he means her? He gave no other comparisons to any other students, other than that one incident.</p>
<p>smom123: Please find out about the procedures and policies for handling academic dishonesty cases at this university. (If the prof has made any procedural errors, this could help your son) The office of the dean of students at the univeristy is the best place to start getting information and help.</p>
<p>Also, make sure you understand what the real consequences are of a “conviction”–which may not be as bad as you think. I’ve taught at universities where a first offense doesn’t necessarily appear on the transcript, and there are lots of legal protections of student’s records. Unless your son attends that same university after high school, its hard to see how this would follow very far. Based on what you have said, what goes on the high school record sounds like it is at the discretion of the principal, and you can handle that with him.</p>
<p>Can you find the section in his class notes that relate to the wrong answers? If you can show that he was studying from incorrect information, it would then lead to the obvious outcome of the test questions being answered incorrectly.</p>
<p>I really feel for the OP. I think a meeting for both parents and child with the dean is in order, if for no other reason than to support the child. Hopefully the dean will attempt to sort things out and at least get to know the child some. </p>
<p>There are times in life when one must take the path of least resistance and other times when the only choice is to go down fighting. For my family, with full conviction that our child had done no wrong, this would be a instance where we’d have to go down fighting. I’d rather my child have to defend failing a class to protect his honor, knowing his family believes in him (or her), than have to live with the implication that he cheated.</p>
<p>If two 30 problem multiple choice tests are exactly the same, including the wrong answers, then that makes for a pretty strong case that one student copied from the other.</p>
<p>If your son is oblivious (as I was in high school and college), it’s possible that somebody copied his answers without his knowledge. You S shouldn’t be punished for being focused on his exams.</p>
<p>One thought here–I didn’t read all of the posts…</p>
<p>IF the two students studied together and are friends–it is possible to get the same stuff right and wrong.
A friend and I took an exam for something–
we were the only 2 teens there–the rest of the group were adults…We were with many other individuals in the room–all spread out around tables…We both passed and we both got the same questions wrong.</p>
<p>We were at different tables and facing different ways–and never cheated.</p>
<p>However–we got the same ones wrong–and were accussed of copying–and had to retake the exam–
Again–across the room and with a witness now present…(like all of the other adults in the room wouldn’t have seenus doing something wrong the first time?)
We knew we didn’t cheat and we were like–ok-so this is a pain and lets do it again…
We both passed again…</p>
<p>We hadn’t cheated ever–we just had studied together and we were two friends who had gotten the same stuff wrong…</p>
<p>If these kids know eachother irl and do stuff together and study together–it’s possible to have very similar test results without cheating.</p>
<p>If the notes are flawed–or the questions are worded in a weird way–its possible lots of kids got those wrong. This accusation just seems inconsistent.</p>
<p>Personally, if it were my son, I would have him withdraw from the class. The risk to his future is too great if it were to go on his records. By doing this the most you/he have lost is one semester of studies in one class, but by not doing so you could lose so much more. Sure, I understand the “noble” thing to do is fight for your son’s honor but sometimes it’s best to cut your losses and move on.</p>
<p>In graduate school I was aware of several instances of cheating. I say instances rather than alleged instances because it was obvious to me that the cheating had occurred.</p>
<p>That said, no matter what the evidence, the accused always has a right to defend themselves, so guilt was never just pronounced. All of the cases were resolved with makeup tests. If the accused could score close to what they did on the original test then the original grade stood. If they bombed then it was assumed the cheating had taken place and the professor moved forward with the consequences.</p>
<p>I completely agree. That is the reason for the proctor. My son has a weighted GPA of 4.6838 and unweighted 3.9191. He’s in the National Honor Society among other organizations and just came home with papers yesterday to be a junior marshall. I just think the professor should have contacted the principal or the proctor if he believed something was suspcious, instead of basically bullying them into withdrawing from the class. There’s no other way to describe it other than that. He sends an e-mail saying I believe you cheated in my class, take a WF and drop my class or I will file academic charges against you. I know people will disagree with me, but we are more than likely going to take the WF and just try to get the principal to take it off the transcript. At this point, even the guidance counselor is advising us to do that only because of the way it has been handled so far. It seems it has already been decided that they cheated, and this man is not backing down. Maybe if my child were a sophomore or freshman, I might think differently, but with him being a senior in just a few weeks, I just don’t feel we can take the chance. The school has been very supportive and are even saying they are going to try to put both students in another class so they can get a credit, since they have done so much work. As long as I can get the principal to take it off his transcript, the only record will be at the university, and my son is not planning on applying there anyway. I feel defeated, but just imagine if we do fight it and get to the end and he is found guilty anyway. Of course, we could file appeals and try whatever, but bottom line it would be on his record. So basically, you have 2 children convicted of cheating based solely on statistics, which he even admitted. The proctor has already said they didn’t cheat, the principal has tried to get him to drop it, and we have tried to communicate with the dean, but no response yet. We feel pretty hopeless. Everyone just needs to know that this sort of thing goes on.</p>
<p>It’s not bullying. It’s giving the student to quietly withdraw from the class instead of having facing academic charges. It’s giving him an out. </p>
<p>He could have just referred the situation to the Dean of Students without giving the opportunity to drop the class.</p>
<p>Hard as it is, if you can walk away without serious damage to the transcript, then he should walk away. Either he was involved in cheating or he wasn’t (only he really knows) but in a sense it really doesn’t matter (except, perhaps, as a life lesson). The important thing at this point is to minimize the damage, not to stand on principle.</p>
<p>It’s pretty disappointing that a professor would push this so far, even in the face of eyewitness testimony. It’s also surprising that the professor didn’t just offer them the chance to retake the exam.</p>
<p>I understand that you have to do what you have to do but it sets this guy up to do it again. If he has tenure, then there really isn’t much that the school can do.</p>
<p>There was a case discussed here a while ago about a cheating case at a university where the professor received two similar papers. One student was ruled guilty by the professor. That student was thrown out of the school while the other graduated and moved onto her career. The family sued and won.</p>
<p>Even assuming that the high school will remove the grade from the transcript, are you sure that the grade would not have to be revealed in response to those probing questions that go to disciplinary history on college applications? Assuming the high school is completely supportive and a lawyer with knowledge of secondary school and college issues agrees, maybe one option would be to withdraw with the WF that the hs will remove from the transcript and then fight the whole thing through the college.</p>
<p>Under FERPA, colleges cannot release that grade without the students permission. The student can also place a confidentiality hold to prevent the school even revealing that he went to school there. And even if the grade gets revealed eventually, nobody has to disclose the reason why the WF is on the transcript.</p>
<p>The larger point is that he would be taking a WF as opposed to suffering the consequences of academic dishonesty. Since there is no recorded reason for a WF, it’s generally a better option.</p>
<p>The issue I was getting at is not whether the college can reveal that the OP’s S took the class, but whether there is a question on college applications that would require him either to reveal the class and the WS or (if he didn’t reveal) turn in a dishonest application that could, theoretically, be grounds for dismissal from the college.</p>
<p>If he take a WF, and the Dean of Students has no record of the reason for taking a WF, he can accurately say that he was not disciplined for academic dishonesty.</p>
<p>Isn’t this kid a senior? Does he already have a college acceptance in hand? If so, his only obligation at this point is to provide a final transcript from his high school, which it appears will not include this WF.</p>
<p>I think it might be worth it to push for a W rather than a WF–perhaps the principal could call the dean of the college and make it clear that if there isn’t cooperation, no more students from this high school will be taking online classes from that college.</p>