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Umm, because the rules said so…<br>
I would guess you think victims of assault are at fault for being in the wrong place.</p>
<p>This is not a question of being on a high horse. What this student did was considered wrong by the school, and the school suspended him. If the school has in fact removed the suspension from his record, due to a review of their policy or due process, then he was not officially suspended. Otherwise, it is not up to the GC to decide whether the suspension was deserved or not. That would be up to the school board or whatever other body they assign to review cases of suspension (again, due process). </p>
<p>There are other students who are suspended for a variety of reason that are not even related to academics - the student who sees a classmate on her bus suffering from a severe asthma attack, who allow this student to use her inhaler, and is now guilty of sharing medication, is likely to be suspended.</p>
<p>Rather than avoid the mention of the suspension, you answer the question truthfully, and provide an explanation. In this case, you explain that you believed it was acceptable to use copies of old tests as reference material when studying, because you knew of others that had done so in the past, and were not told otherwise. </p>
<p>As for the question of how this is different than buying SAT practice tests, there is a world of difference. In the case of official practice tests, they are released by the testing agency itself, and made available to the general public. It is understood that you are allowed to use them as study material because it is directly condoned by the College Board. </p>
<p>I do find this a bit of a grey area, which is why I suggest an explanation of the application. If the school or teacher does not wish previous tests to be used, then it needs to be stated clearly in either the school policy or the class policy. Once so stated it becomes a clear violation, and is no longer in a grey area. If they don’t want old copies of exams floating around to be used as reference, perhaps they need to collect all test copies and not return them to students (I am against a policy that does not allow a student access to their own work, but some schools do have such a policy). Again, if it an issue, tell the students up front they may not use old tests, and have them sign a statement that they understand this policy.</p>
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Maybe I missed it but I didn’t see the OP mention that it was specifically stated not to use old exams. In my years of high school, college and grad school, it was standard practice to use old exams to study. I never once heard a prof/teacher say not to use old exams. To reuse the same questions is laziness on their part and it is their responsibility to state specifically if they don’t want students to use old exams as a resource.
If the teacher did not mention that it was forbidden to use the old exams, it seems that the student might have a solid case to fight the suspension,especially when it might be considered standard practice to use them.</p>