Middle School Academic Integrity Practices

An honest student:

The following section was prepared by 8th-grade students as advice for all students

Academic honesty is respecting your teachers, peers, and yourself by completing your work individually, when requested by your teacher. Complete your work truthfully, by avoiding asking/using any source for help when extra help is unauthorized. If you are struggling and considering cheating, it is better to:

• Try your best and set realistic goals
• Ask your teacher if you do not understand topic/assignment
• Keep your work to yourself; other students need to learn as well
• Work without using online tools unless teacher authorized (not all online tools are reliable)
• Manage your study time as well as manage your time during summative assessments
• Keep yourself away from distractions and methods of cheating. Understand the difference between authorized collaboration and help from outside sources.
• Show your steps/processes of your work and honestly report your own results. This helps you understand your weaknesses and helps the teacher evaluate your misunderstandings as well as your strengths.
• Remember to cite your sources properly so that you prevent plagiarism. It is simple, easy, and teachers can know where you got your information. Ask teachers for clarification on assignments.
• Be a thinker and use appropriate material.

Academic honesty definitions and possible infractions (to be reviewed explicitly in advisory or whenever appropriate)

• Cheating on classroom tasks: intentionally using or giving outside assistance before/during/after an assignment, exam, lab or other summative task without permission of teacher. This may include:
  • Copying another student's work on any assignment without consent of teacher and/or student
  • Giving/requesting information from another student on summative tasks or discussing exams
  • Turning in summative task that has been written or edited by a peer, parent, tutor, or others without consent of teacher
  • Copying a “cheat sheet” of another student
  • Google translate when not appropriate for assignment
  • Storing notes, formulas, or other information on a calculator or other PDA device
• Unauthorized Collaboration: discussing summative tasks when expressly forbidden by teacher. This may include:
  • Asking for help from peers, parents, or tutors on take-home summative tasks
  • Using unauthorized electronic collaboration
•  Fabrication: manipulation or falsifying data, information, or citations of any academic work. This may include:
  • Using another student’s lab data without permission
  • Fabricating/changing data on math and science tasks to fit assignment
  • Using shortcuts instead of doing the work
•  Plagiarism: taking work, pictures, or ideas as one’s own without proper citation. Failing to properly note paraphrased or quoted material.
  • Turning in papers without quoting sources.
  • Citing nonexistent sources
•  Ethical Use of Media: Using music, images, and video that is copyrighted and authorized for use by school members
• Forging a signature

Consequences to infractions

• No evidence on assignment (“0” achievement level) and redo another or a similar task
• Conversation with adult reporting the infraction with student, advisor, and parents
• Infraction report and In-school suspension