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Post by sader1970 on Dec 22, 2020 5:44:30 GMT -5
West Point accuses more than 70 cadets of cheating in worst academic scandal in nearly 45 years
In USA Today.:
WASHINGTON – More than 70 cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point were accused of cheating on a math exam, the worst academic scandal since the 1970s at the Army's premier training ground for officers. Fifty-eight cadets admitted cheating on the exam, which was administered remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of them have been enrolled in a rehabilitation program and will be on probation for the remainder of their time at the academy. Others resigned, and some face hearings that could result in their expulsion.
The scandal strikes at the heart of the academy's reputation for rectitude, espoused by its own moral code, which is literally etched in stone: “A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.” Tim Bakken, a law professor at West Point, called the scandal a national security issue. West Point cadets become senior leaders the nation depends on. "There’s no excuse for cheating when the fundamental code for cadets is that they should not lie, cheat or steal," Bakken said. "Therefore when the military tries to downplay effects of cheating at the academy, we're really downplaying the effects on the military as a whole. We rely on the military to tell us honestly when we should fight wars, and when we can win them." Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said West Point's disciplinary system is effective. “The Honor process is working as expected and cadets will be held accountable for breaking the code," McCarthy said in a statement.
“The honor system at West Point is strong and working as designed," Lt. Gen. Darryl Williams, the academy's superintendent, said in a statement. "We made a deliberate decision to uphold our academic standards during the pandemic. We are holding cadets to those standards.” Army Col. Mark Weathers, West Point's chief of staff, said in an interview Monday that he was "disappointed" in the cadets for cheating, but he did not consider the incident a serious breach of the code. It would not have occurred if the cadets had taken the exam on campus, he said. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., who leads the personnel panel of the House Armed Services Committee, said she found the scandal deeply troubling and West Point must provide more transparency to determine the scope of cheating. "Our West Point cadets are the cream of the crop and are expected to demonstrate unimpeachable character and integrity," Speier said. "They must be held to the same high standard during remote learning as in-person."
Instructors initially determined that 72 plebes, or first-year cadets, and one yearling, or second-year cadet, had cheated on a calculus final exam in May. Those cadets all made the same error on a portion of the exam. Recently concluded investigations and preliminary hearings for the cadets resulted in two cases being dismissed for lack of evidence and four dropped because the cadets resigned. Of the remaining 67 cases, 55 cadets were found in violation of the honor code and enrolled in a program for rehabilitation Dec. 9. Three more cadets admitted cheating but were not eligible to enroll in what is called the Willful Admission Program. Cadets in the program are matched with a mentor and write journals and essays on their experience. The process can take up to six months. Cadets in the program are essentially on academic probation. The remaining cadets accused of cheating face administrative hearings in which a board of cadets will hear the case and decide whether a violation of the code occurred. Another board will recommend penalties, which could include expulsion. West Point's superintendent has the final say on punishment.
How it's different from the 1976 scandal One of the biggest cheating scandals among the nation's taxpayer-funded military colleges occurred in 1976 when 153 cadets at West Point resigned or were expelled for cheating on an electrical engineering exam. The current cheating incident is considerably less serious, said Jeffery Peterson, senior advisor, Character Integration Advisory Group which reports to the superintendent and a retired colonel. "They're early in their developmental process," Peterson said. "And so on occasion, these incidents happen, but we have a system in place to deal with them when they do." Less than half as many cadets were involved in the current cheating case, and all but one was a first-year student, Peterson said. The first-year students are relatively new to the expectations and programs designed to develop ethics and leadership at the academy. In 1976, the scandal involved third-year cadets. Of those caught cheating, 98 returned to West Point and graduated with the class of 1978, Peterson said. Other military academies have been tainted by academic scandals: In 1992, 125 midshipmen at the Naval Academy were caught in a cheating scandal, and 19 cadets at the Air Force Academy were suspended for cheating on a test. In 2020, the pandemic has overturned college life as distance learning and exams supplanted in-person learning. West Point isn't alone in discovering misconduct among students. The University of Missouri caught 150 students cheating in the spring and fall semesters, the Kansas City Star reported. West Point switched to remote learning after spring break last year as the pandemic spread. The honor code remains strong at West Point despite the pandemic, Weathers said. "Cadets are being held accountable for breaking the code," he said. "While disappointing, the Honor System is working, and these 67 remaining cases will be held accountable for their actions."
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Post by hchoops on Dec 22, 2020 9:40:04 GMT -5
Very troubling
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Post by rgs318 on Dec 22, 2020 9:43:59 GMT -5
The emphasis on the honor code "working" Makes me think that it may have been cadets who reported it. I wonder how many of those in trouble are there because they knew about it but said nothing.
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Post by hcpride on Dec 22, 2020 10:01:18 GMT -5
Fifty-eight cadets admitted cheating on the exam, which was administered remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (My emphasis.)
My teacher colleagues and I generally assume kids will cheat on remotely administered exams. (Not saying they do and not saying they don't just saying we make the assumption so we do our best to avoid the situation.) Rumor has it an enormous amount of high school kids were able to 'gain unauthorized assistance' during the COVID-19 Pandemic remotely administered AP Exams. Taken in their own homes - within an arm's length of textbooks and cell phones. Just a rumor, of course.
Army Col. Mark Weathers, West Point's chief of staff, said in an interview Monday that he was "disappointed" in the cadets for cheating, but he did not consider the incident a serious breach of the code. It would not have occurred if the cadets had taken the exam on campus, he said.
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Post by hchoops on Dec 22, 2020 10:04:52 GMT -5
But is there an honor code at your high school ?
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Dec 22, 2020 19:02:14 GMT -5
Fifty-eight cadets admitted cheating on the exam, which was administered remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (My emphasis.) My teacher colleagues and I generally assume kids will cheat on remotely administered exams. (Not saying they do and not saying they don't just saying we make the assumption so we do our best to avoid the situation.) Rumor has it an enormous amount of high school kids were able to 'gain unauthorized assistance' during the COVID-19 Pandemic remotely administered AP Exams. Taken in their own homes - within an arm's length of textbooks and cell phones. Just a rumor, of course. Army Col. Mark Weathers, West Point's chief of staff, said in an interview Monday that he was "disappointed" in the cadets for cheating, but he did not consider the incident a serious breach of the code. It would not have occurred if the cadets had taken the exam on campus, he said. I'm not an educator. But if I was, I likely would have made every possible exam this year "open book" to level the playing field.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Dec 22, 2020 19:03:53 GMT -5
The emphasis on the honor code "working" Makes me think that it may have been cadets who reported it. I wonder how many of those in trouble are there because they knew about it but said nothing. My guess is none. Because knowledge is pretty hard to prove.
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Post by longsuffering on Dec 23, 2020 1:29:44 GMT -5
The 72 Cadets all got the same wrong answer. The wrong answer may have been illogical or improbable enough so that it was presumed unlikely a Cadet would get that answer on his/her own.
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Post by alum on Dec 23, 2020 8:33:00 GMT -5
Fifty-eight cadets admitted cheating on the exam, which was administered remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (My emphasis.) My teacher colleagues and I generally assume kids will cheat on remotely administered exams. (Not saying they do and not saying they don't just saying we make the assumption so we do our best to avoid the situation.) Rumor has it an enormous amount of high school kids were able to 'gain unauthorized assistance' during the COVID-19 Pandemic remotely administered AP Exams. Taken in their own homes - within an arm's length of textbooks and cell phones. Just a rumor, of course. Army Col. Mark Weathers, West Point's chief of staff, said in an interview Monday that he was "disappointed" in the cadets for cheating, but he did not consider the incident a serious breach of the code. It would not have occurred if the cadets had taken the exam on campus, he said. I'm not an educator. But if I was, I likely would have made every possible exam this year "open book" to level the playing field.Isn't that the easiest thing to do? I realize that in math classes, traditional exams might be more common, but it seems to me from what I have seen with my kids (who admittedly took mostly social science and humanities classes) that they had very few timed exams and almost none that were not open book.
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Post by sader1970 on Dec 23, 2020 8:49:09 GMT -5
Wouldn't an even easier way to level the playing field be to just give everyone an "A?" Or, maybe not even give any exams at all? Or, as we did in 1970, give the students an option to take courses "Pass/Fail?"
Probably just me but "in my day" (think Seth Meyers' skit of old man in a Mr. Rogers-type sweater puffing a pipe), a West Pointer was a man (no women yet) of integrity who could be counted on to live the Honor Code and "Duty, Honor, Country" and wouldn't cheat on an exam and for the few violators, was shown the door. And many didn't need to be caught and would self-report a violation.
I may have had my head in the sand but I honestly don't recall seeing or hearing anyone cheating on an exam in my days at Holy Cross. Tough to grasp that people accept cheating on an exam as "normal" or inevitable.
Edit: Not saying or meaning to imply anyone here on Crossports sees exam cheating as "normal" or "acceptable." Referencing this in the original story:
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Post by Tom on Dec 23, 2020 8:49:48 GMT -5
I'm not an educator. But if I was, I likely would have made every possible exam this year "open book" to level the playing field.Isn't that the easiest thing to do? I realize that in math classes, traditional exams might be more common, but it seems to me from what I have seen with my kids (who admittedly took mostly social science and humanities classes) that they had very few timed exams and almost none that were not open book. In the olden days at WPI, almost every test was open book. In the real world if you don't remember a formula or something, you're allowed to look it up. On the other hand, everything was timed. From a practical standpoint, if you really didn't know the material, you would waste so much time looking stuff up, that you couldn't finish ---------------- Towards the honor code If I'm in class, I might see someone using a cheat sheet. I know that person cheated. If we're remote, how do you "know" someone else sheeted. Short of being invited into the cheating group and declining, it could be difficult to have sufficient absolute knowledge to report someone else to an honor court
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Post by hcbball on Dec 23, 2020 9:48:17 GMT -5
The vast majority of my kids exams were open book and timed. Grades have spiked, so it really makes you question the value of some of the higher academic schools, but that’s a different conversation
For the very few that were not, cameras had to be on so they could be monitored
At first I assumed the Cadets had some cheat sheets. But if 72 all got the same answer wrong, feels like they may have setup a zoom call and collaborated during the exam. Not as benign as I first assumed.
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Post by hcpride on Dec 23, 2020 10:07:46 GMT -5
The vast majority of my kids exams were open book and timed. Grades have spiked, so it really makes you question the value of some of the higher academic schools, but that’s a different conversation For the very few that were not, cameras had to be on so they could be monitored At first I assumed the Cadets had some cheat sheets. But if 72 all got the same answer wrong, feels like they may have setup a zoom call and collaborated during the exam. Not as benign as I first assumed. Ditto for my daughters' college finals last week. But....I can think of a hundred ways kids could have cheated on a remote Math exam back in May. Apparently the kids all had the same math problems to solve. Could have been as simple as snapping a picture (or screen shot) of a solution and sending it via group text. About 5 seconds at most. Word is the kids nowadays are pretty handy with the computer/cell. Who'd administer a test like that in 2020? Honor code or not.
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Post by longsuffering on Dec 24, 2020 0:57:22 GMT -5
Wouldn't an even easier way to level the playing field be to just give everyone an "A?" Or, maybe not even give any exams at all? Or, as we did in 1970, give the students an option to take courses "Pass/Fail?" Probably just me but "in my day" (think Seth Meyers' skit of old man in a Mr. Rogers-type sweater puffing a pipe), a West Pointer was a man (no women yet) of integrity who could be counted on to live the Honor Code and "Duty, Honor, Country" and wouldn't cheat on an exam and for the few violators, was shown the door. And many didn't need to be caught and would self-report a violation. I may have had my head in the sand but I honestly don't recall seeing or hearing anyone cheating on an exam in my days at Holy Cross. Tough to grasp that people accept cheating on an exam as "normal" or inevitable. Edit: Not saying or meaning to imply anyone here on Crossports sees exam cheating as "normal" or "acceptable." Referencing this in the original story: That system is a twenty mile hike with a forty pound pack before breakfast.
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Post by HC92 on Dec 24, 2020 16:44:17 GMT -5
Fifty-eight cadets admitted cheating on the exam, which was administered remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (My emphasis.) My teacher colleagues and I generally assume kids will cheat on remotely administered exams. (Not saying they do and not saying they don't just saying we make the assumption so we do our best to avoid the situation.) Rumor has it an enormous amount of high school kids were able to 'gain unauthorized assistance' during the COVID-19 Pandemic remotely administered AP Exams. Taken in their own homes - within an arm's length of textbooks and cell phones. Just a rumor, of course. Army Col. Mark Weathers, West Point's chief of staff, said in an interview Monday that he was "disappointed" in the cadets for cheating, but he did not consider the incident a serious breach of the code. It would not have occurred if the cadets had taken the exam on campus, he said. I'm not an educator. But if I was, I likely would have made every possible exam this year "open book" to level the playing field. My son at the local Catholic high school says we’re putting him at a distinct disadvantage by making him go to school every day because everybody else is taking tests from home and availing themselves of the available resources there. I tell him we’re saving him from temptation. And he’s probably going to HC regardless. It does seem like making all tests open book would solve the problem.
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Post by rgs318 on Dec 24, 2020 16:52:00 GMT -5
That was one solution for our distance learning/online classes at Mercy College. The other option was to set a day and time for students to report to campus to take the test in person. That sort of defeated much of the reason for students talking courses on line. Clearly that second option is no longer available in the age of Covid.
I allowed students to use any resources they wished...except for other students in the same course. I also changed the questions every semester.
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Post by sader1970 on Dec 24, 2020 17:15:07 GMT -5
Of course I have a story!
Franciscan high school on Long Island circa 1964. History teacher from St. Francis College - yes, a friar - is at our high school allegedly as a rest after a nervous breakdown.
So, here we are taking an exam - mid-term or finals I don’t recall but think the latter.
An “over-populated” class so desks are about 18”-24” apart. Back of the room, Brother so & so catches classmate with his text open and feverishly flipping pages to find the answers.
Brother: “Son!!! What are you doing?!!!” Classmate: “It’s OK, brother, I was out sick yesterday.” Brother: “Well, OK son, just don’t pass the information around.”
He taught 3 classes of the same course, like 1st, 2nd and 6th period. First couple of classes would grab extra copies of the exams and give them to the 6th period class. (Remember mimeographs?)
As he’s passing out the exams in the 6th period, some of the guys had already completed the tests and were passing the complete tests as he was still passing out the blank tests. He never said anything thing until one time he ran out of tests and said “I’m sorry people, I seemed to have run out of exams.” Response: “No problem, brother, we have plenty.”
So, he has the last laugh on some of the cheaters.
He passes back an exam and a few guys who cheated and had exactly the same answers get two different grades. So cheater says “brother I have a different grade than student A and we have the same answers. Brother: “ he’s smarter student than you are.”
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Post by rgs318 on Dec 24, 2020 17:26:46 GMT -5
I sometimes (rarely) used mulyiple choice quizzes that appeared similar, but the letters for test A got you an "F" on test B (and vice-versa). I was initiated to how easy it was to cheat at Bergen Catholic. I have many stories of students I caught cheating. I even found students with legit averaged of over 95% (we gave numeric grades) cheating to do better.
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Post by CHC8485 on Dec 24, 2020 20:23:23 GMT -5
When taking organic chemistry with Dr. Paul McMaster, I remember him talking to the class about cheaters as a caution to those of us taking his class ...
You know, it's easy to catch you when you're cheating ... you're not smart enough to copy from someone who knows the right answers!
And he usually made the exam difficult enough that almost no one ever scored 100%. And we knew that because he always gave the grade range, class average and median for every exam.
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Post by hcpride on Dec 25, 2020 9:04:42 GMT -5
Last year when my high school went full-remote (we're back to full in-person now) one of my colleagues thought he had the perfect solution to giving traditionally constructed (M-C, T-F, Short Essay) remote tests. Once all 27 kids were on Google Meet (think Zoom) he released the test to all of them and they had to complete and hit "turn in" (Google Classroom) within 40 minutes.
He was proud to report he stared at all 27 of their tiny images simultaneously and each one of the angels was looking down towards his/her laptop and appeared to be typing away busily from his/her living room/bed room the entire time. And, of course, each one hit 'turn in' on time and he was further proud to report the exams looked quite good based on an early eyeballing.
We still laugh about his crestfallen face when I carefully explained to him during a zoom department meeting that the kids are quite adept at text messaging from their keyboards. And were probably sharing screen shots of their answers while smirking and commenting about the old fossil who didn't know that. (Fun fact: Many of the strong academic kids in HS and College routinely share ideas in virtual study groups (group texts) while reading online material or prepping for an exam via this precise method.)
As I wrote before, my experienced high school colleagues and I assume the kids can communicate during a remote exam (even when the Zoom camera is on and their little faces can be seen...even when Canvas is the platform). Via many differed methods beyond iMessage. The kids are quite adept with the cell/laptop and are several steps ahead.
The ideas for remote exams others have presented regarding open e-book/e-notes or open-web, etc. are ways to address this. (Including mitigating the benefit/advantage/effect of unpreventable student-to-student communication during the remote exam.)
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Post by hchoops on Dec 25, 2020 13:32:16 GMT -5
As. a lkng time high school, recent Community College history teacher, I have given up on secret question tests. I offer a study guide with 10 definitions, 10 identifications, and the general topics of 3 essays. I did this for in person, then remote class. When the time came to start their remote test, they were given 5 of the definitions, 5 identifications and the 3 more specific essay questions. They had 40 minutes to complete the test. The students are encouraged to prepare. Surely many just copied the shorter first two parts, but the results were almost identical as when they took the test in person earlier in the semester. The essay results .were also very similar.
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Post by bison137 on Dec 30, 2020 21:08:29 GMT -5
Funny that Army and Navy had to get an exemption from the PL to play sports in August, September, October, November, and December because it was a critical part of their mission. But integrity and honor apparently have ceased to be part of the mission.
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Post by hchoops on Dec 30, 2020 21:11:43 GMT -5
Funny that Army and Navy had to get an exemption from the PL to play sports in August, September, October, November, and December because it was a critical part of their mission. But integrity and honor apparently have ceased to be part of the mission. 1- you should not have grouped Navy in this. They were not involved. 2- The guilty Cadets should be blamed. Not so the entire Academy.
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Post by longsuffering on Dec 30, 2020 21:41:31 GMT -5
Funny that Army and Navy had to get an exemption from the PL to play sports in August, September, October, November, and December because it was a critical part of their mission. But integrity and honor apparently have ceased to be part of the mission. Things started to slip when the seniors were ordered back to campus to sit together for graduation instead of the safer planned virtual graduation.
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