Academic honesty, according to the International Baccalaureate Programme, is a set of values and skills that promote personal integrity and good practice in teaching, learning, and assessment. At Murchison Middle School, honesty, integrity, and a respect for individual achievement are expected of all students. We strive to develop learners that are knowledgeable, inquirers, thinkers, communicators, and principled. All Murchison Middle School students must uphold the standards of academic conduct outlined in the Honor Code on every assignment.
MYP: From Principles into Practice 2014, Page 76
The academically principled student DOES the following:
- completes their own work
- uses technology when appropriate and with approval
- acknowledges help when received
- appropriately cites sources when used
- follows the rules when taking an assessment
- shares information with staff when they have knowledge of an Honor Code violation
- actively participates in group work and does their fair share of the work
The academically principled student does not:
- turn in work that is not his/her their own
- give or receive unapproved help on an assignment
- give or receive unapproved help during an assessment (this includes asking other students, “What’s on the test?”)
- make up or change data
- copy or paraphrase potions of another’s work without proper citation
- forge, alter, or misuse any school document relating to their academic status
1st offense:
The student will have an individual conference with their teacher. A teacher or administrator will call and report the infraction to the parents/guardians. The student is expected to redo the assignment with their own work, and complete a reflection on their actions in order to receive full credit. The student may be subject to other disciplinary action.
Following offenses:
A teacher or administrator will call and report the infraction to parents/guardians. The student will have a conference with the teacher, parents, and administrator. The student is expected to redo the assignment with their own work and complete a reflection on their actions in order to receive a grade no higher than a 70 for the assignment. The student will (may?) be subject to other disciplinary action.
Forms and definitions of Academic Dishonesty
Cheating is defined as using unauthorized answers of sources to receive credit for schoolwork. Some examples are looking at someone else’s paper, copying from your notebook when you are supposed to use only your memory (e.g., on quizzes and tests), or copying someone else’s homework because you did not complete yours. Other forms involve communicating with another student during an exam or assessment, bringing unauthorized materials into a testing environment, consulting or utilizing unauthorized materials during a test that may give one an unfair advantage, or copying another student’s work.
Plagiarism is defined as a form of cheating when you present another person’s words or ideas as your own without giving the originator credit for the information. Some common examples of plagiarism are copying information from a book without using quotation marks and without including a bibliography at the end of assignment listing the sources used. All information in academic assignments that is not common knowledge must be cited and documented.
Collusion is defined as supporting malpractice by another candidate, as in allowing one’s work to be copied or submitted for assessment by another. An example of this is sharing a picture of your work to be submitted electronically by another student.
Paraphrasing is defined as using an author’s ideas by rewording or rearranging the author’s original words. Paraphrased materials still require the student to acknowledge the source.