<p>ROFL what? Most schools dont have curves on regular tests, so generally its only on standardized tests (I.e. SATs, ACTS, APs, SATIIs, etc). It is nearly impossible for most people to get a test, answer key, or talk to enough people to form a full opinion and seriously benefit from the information they have gained in such a short amount of time. </p>
<p>The more this thread goes, the more people use more grandiose and ridiculous comparisons. from embezzlement to rape to murder to robbing the college board. Damn what next.</p>
<p>I am a Severna Park parent who knows many of the students involved in this incident (although, thankfully, my own child was not in this particular testing room). I'm writing to correct some false impressions that I see cropping up in various posts here, presumably because many writers seem to be basing their remarks on a couple of spurious newspaper reports. The reality is that Peter Thompson (who was not even in the room in which the cheating occurred) is not "the snitch"; he (and a group of other students) merely designed and distributed a survey to assess the perceptions of cheating in the school. The reality is that NUMEROUS students in the testing room witnessed the cheating on this particular AP test and took it upon themselves to report it to school authorities. This was a large group of "snitches" who felt that the activities in the room (such as loud talking and blatant text messaging) disrupted their ability to take the test. When they complained to the proctor about these disturbances DURING the test, they were ignored....However you view their decision to "turn in" their classmates (naive, noble, futile, or whatever), this GROUP of "snitches" are actually being held up as heroes by numerous students at Severna Park, many of whom are frustrated by 1) the poor proctoring and conditions of MANY tests, 2) the perceived pervasiveness of cheating and the apparent apathy toward it on the part of the administration, and 3) the educationally questionable push by the school system and community at large to get students to take as many AP courses and exams as possible. If students at Severna Park are furious at anyone, it most certainly is not Peter Thompson, who just happened to be interviewed by reporters because he designed the survey. They are furious at the alleged cheaters.</p>
<p>Glad to hear it Severna Park parent. Hope that the administration sits up and takes notice now that their reputation has been tarnished nationwide.</p>
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It is nearly impossible for most people to get a test, answer key, or talk to enough people to form a full opinion and seriously benefit from the information they have gained in such a short amount of time.
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<p>i guess it depends where you go. i never had a problem finding a copy of a test, or a key, or having someone copy down questions or remember what was on the test... $0.02</p>
<p>"ROFL what? Most schools dont have curves on regular tests, so generally its only on standardized tests (I.e. SATs, ACTS, APs, SATIIs, etc). It is nearly impossible for most people to get a test, answer key, or talk to enough people to form a full opinion and seriously benefit from the information they have gained in such a short amount of time.</p>
<p>The more this thread goes, the more people use more grandiose and ridiculous comparisons. from embezzlement to rape to murder to robbing the college board. Damn what next." --hyakku</p>
<p>Blatantly false. My class had a pop quiz in history...average score in my class-50, and the other class only 1 girl got below a 95/15 ...so yes, you can find out the whole quiz from talking to people.</p>
<p>I really don't think cheating is a big deal - this kid just wants some good press.</p>
<p>Kids who rat out their classmates like that...will probably go to gas stations and tell on them if they sell them cigarettes if they are under 18, or will tell the cops if someone at college gave them a beer and they aren't 21. </p>
<p>And who wants to be friends with someone like that?</p>
<p>Severna Park cheats at sports too. Last year their field hockey coach of 30+ years (I know because she was there when I attended SP in the 70's) convinced a novice ref that they were allowed to restart a game after an opponents goal, while the opponent was still celebrating the go ahead goal with 20 seconds left. Naturally SP scored against an undefended goal (except the goalie) to preserve their undefeated season. She simply made the rule up! (The actual rule is that play does not resume till all team members are back on their side of the field). There is no running clock or delay penalty, the clock stops on a goal. Nobody knows the rules better than sp's coach, so why did she obviously lie? SP went on to win their umpteenth state field hockey title, but there are some of us that remember.</p>
<p>Cheating is rampant at my d's high school and the cheaters have been rewarded with admission to the top ranked public schools in the state - Berkeley and UCLA - where the large class size and reliance on multiple choice tests will make it easy for them to carry on cheating their way to decent grades. All the kids know it's happening, and who's doing it, but there is a culture of not squealing. I teach my kids that you can only get so far by cheating but it's a tough lesson when they see the cheaters being rewarded and when the school turns a blind eye. My kids will attend small liberal arts schools - hopefully they can focus on teaching and learning rather than the A at any price that high school is all about.</p>
<p>I'm from the midwest. I know cheating goes on everywhere. However, at our HS there are kids kicked out of Ap testing, Sat testing and ACT testing every time a test is given. My friends son was kicked out because he did not put his pencil down at the right time. They are very serious here. I can say cheating is not taken lightly. I'm shocked at the comments here from our next generation. Cheating is just not OK.</p>
<p>Hey Jarn.. go grab an ice cold lemonade from the fridge and chill out. someone defending the fact that cheating happens because it does is not going to on a terrorist mission to kill people.. ur overreacting.</p>
<p>in the large part, cheating happens and you have to deal with it. go ahead and tell the teacher if u want, but then people will look down on you. the pressures of college, success etc are just motivators for us to be the best and not everyone can be as good as they want unless they cheat so they will cheat. The fact of knowing your answer is the same as someone elses helps and thats all people need, some confidence to know your right, to ultimately be what you want to be.</p>
<p>its a fact of life.. deal with it</p>
<p>my friend for example tries to cheat off me at times. i just sit there and ignore him when he taps on my foot or shoulder in the lecture hall. if he cheats, itll hurt later in life. ill admit i have cheated b4 (who hasn't), but in the long run it wont help, just that it helps in the short run (what people see). ive gotten over cheating and it makes me feel smarter.</p>
<p>If you think people didn't cheat in your generation, you're dead wrong. If there's an easier way to do things, a majority of people will end up doing it that way-whether that means cheating, or speeding, or downloading music-they'll do it.</p>
<p>"someone defending the fact that cheating happens because it does is not going to on a terrorist mission to kill people.. ur overreacting."</p>
<p>Excuse me? Did you even read what the other guy said? I was responding to HIS comment that telling on a cheater means the kid was going to be a terrorist. That's what he said. Why don't you actually read before you post? Both you and the person I was talking to have that problem.</p>
<p>"(who hasn't)"</p>
<p>Many, many people. It's good that you don't cheat anymore, though.</p>
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I don't even understand how these two students "know" the girls were cheating. They said they saw a bag that may have had the AP tests in them? What did you want the teacher to do, run over and search them and if they didnt have it, probably get sued by one of these ridiculous parents. Hell no I wouldn't have checked either.
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<p>I do blame the proctor. He shouldn't have let the girls touch the bag, much less take it out of the room - "All materials that you have placed under your seat must remain there until the test is completed".</p>
<p>Failing that, he should have noticed the missing test booklet & that one was open ahead of time.</p>
<p>Obviously the girls were in the wrong (who the hell tries to cheat on an AP test?!), but I honestly think the guy should be fired ASAP. What a moron.</p>
<p>I've heard of people glancing at other people's answer sheets and discussing questions (I'm guilty of the latter) but nothing as drastic as actually stealing a test booklet or sharing answers during breaks...</p>
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I do blame the proctor. He shouldn't have let the girls touch the bag, much less take it out of the room - "All materials that you have placed under your seat must remain there until the test is completed".</p>
<p>Failing that, he should have noticed the missing test booklet & that one was open ahead of time.</p>
<p>Obviously the girls were in the wrong (who the hell tries to cheat on an AP test?!), but I honestly think the guy should be fired ASAP. What a moron.
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<p>You are making all these snap judgments without knowing the full situation. He may not have even seen the girls leave, and if he did, how could he prove their test was in there. He probably didn't even think to check their desk. </p>
<p>You people want teachers to just be Gods but for what they get paid (they deserve a lot more) I wouldn't do half the **** they put up with. Some of you people need to work as these jobs before exclaiming how easy it is to keep an eye on 40+ kids scrambling around.</p>