Cheating Tests District Again

The Brea Olinda Unified School district has been sifting through yet another cheating scandal. Beyond taking disciplinary action where warranted, a fresh round of problems suggests a need for systemic correctives.

Several years ago, an outside auditor found that some former counselors had engaged in altering grades and in changing the titles of courses, which enabled some students to get double credit. Now the administration has been disciplining some students caught recently in two separate cases of cheating.

In one, a valedictorian was found to have altered his English grade by entering a teacher’s computer files and adding points to his overall grade. In another case, a dozen juniors, some of them student government leaders, allegedly shared a stolen copy of an honors physics test. In the former case, the school removed the valedictorian title and barred the student from attending graduation. Disciplinary action was taken against the juniors, now incoming seniors.

What is especially disturbing about these cases is that they involve those who arguably are among the school district’s best and brightest. And if the student leaders are not setting an example, who will?

Presumably, the district itself will. Clearly, this is a school system known for its excellence. It is also one where pressures to maintain that excellence are being felt by many. It has begun with an affirmation of its concern with basic ethics. It must make clear that its standards exist for all who work and study within the system.

In 1994, the high school principal who failed to tell the board that counselors had changed student grades was reassigned. The board in that instance quickly brought in outside investigators. The district appeared at that time to send a message then that it would not tolerate such abuses. The latest ethics eruption indicates that the problem is persistent and runs deep. Nor is this district alone in feeling pressure.

Indeed, concern has been mounting in recent years about cheating by high school students, who are in a competitive environment to achieve. Recent national surveys have turned up an increasing amount of cheating in high schools.

While there are a number of honor codes at various area high schools, those with recurring problems need to take extra measures. Brea rightly has been looking into bolstering ethics education. Others who do not have such programs might do the same.

Academic integrity is a foundation for an adult society based on trust and honesty. The earlier this awareness is nurtured, the better.