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Taking responsibility for integrity

Posted on March 6, 2008 by Staff

By Neil Pedersen 

“Cheat or repeat.”  That’s the response from one of my high school students when I, as an English teacher, was sharing my zero tolerance standard for cheating on the first day of school. For some reason, I still vividly remember this utterance 35 years later. Perhaps, it was because at my undergraduate school we operated under a strict honor code in which students were trusted. I never had a member of the faculty in the room when I was being tested during my four years there. I never cheated and never was aware of a classmate cheating.

While some might argue that the world is more complicated today and the lines more blurred, that is not the case in the recent cheating incident at Chapel Hill High School.  The lines crossed were quite clear.  Anyone should know that using a stolen master key to enter a school after hours is wrong.  Going into a teacher’s files and stealing or photographing tests or answer keys is clearly cheating. Photographing a test or answer key and distributing it electronically to students who have not yet taken the test is cheating.  In the recent event at CHHS, we have evidence at this time that two students possessed master keys to the school and that two students exchanged a photograph of a test via cell phone. Approximately eight other students were implicated, but evidence did not support further disciplinary action beyond re-testing. There should be an unmistakable message sent to these students and their classmates:  This is morally wrong and there must be punitive consequences.

What has been the school’s response?  The students who engaged in this behavior were appropriately disciplined by the administration.  Teachers discussed with their students what cheating is and why it is wrong.  All parents in the school were informed of the incident and asked to have discussions with their own children.  To restore the security of the facility, all outside doors will be re-keyed.

We are told that master keys have been floating around for as long as two years and that in the past tests have been compromised.  That may very well be true, but we don’t have evidence. It would be extremely time consuming to do an investigation into those years, and if we did find wrongdoing, what would we do about it at this point? If we did find wrongdoing, how would we discipline students who are no longer in our district?  The principal, rightly so, is focusing her attention on this incident and how we move forward to enhance security and instill academic integrity in our students.

Jackie Ellis, the new principal of CHHS, has received accolades from all stakeholders this year for her leadership, responsiveness, judgment, and commitment to doing what is in the best interest of her students. At a time like this, the public and the school community need to trust that she is continuing to exercise good judgment that is consistent with her, and the district’s, values.
The fact is that both national and local surveys indicate that cheating is pervasive in high schools today.  I don’t find this acceptable.  Fortunately, the CHHS School Improvement Team already identified integrity as an issue on which it wanted the school to focus as it writes its School Improvement Plan. This incident, undoubtedly, will result in even greater attention being given to this issue. The plan will be completed in May.  I believe that while the district should set a standard for integrity, strategies developed at the school level will more likely be embraced and supported by the faculty and students.

We all share some level of responsibility for instilling sound values in our young people.  Parents have a responsibility for how they raise their children and the values and characteristics in their children that they reinforce. Teachers and school officials are responsible for creating an environment in their schools that promotes and recognizes good character.  With regard to cheating, teachers also should be clear about the definition and should avoid conditions that might make it tempting for students to cheat.  Students at this age must accept responsibility for their decisions and to think carefully about what’s the right thing to do.  A former colleague of mine once shared the advice that he had given his son.  Before acting, think about if he would want his parents to read about his actions in the newspaper.  Not a bad measuring stick.

Neil Pedersen is superintendent of Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.

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