Imagine Edgenuity implementation guide to ensuring Academic Integrity

Clearly define Academic Integrity.

Studies indicate that student misunderstandings about academic integrity and the concept of plagiarism contribute to an increase in digital cheating (Ma, Lu, Turner, & Wan 2007). One of the best ways to make sure students are honestly completing their schoolwork is to articulate what is appropriate conduct and what constitutes cheating. If students understand how to complete their work without plagiarizing or cheating, many of them will make sure to avoid doing both.

As researchers McCabe & Trevino (1993) note, a school’s "ability to develop a shared understanding and acceptance of its academic integrity policies has a significant and substantive impact on student perceptions of their peers’ behavior. Thus, programs aimed at distributing, explaining, and gaining student and faculty acceptance of academic integrity policies may be particularly useful" (p. 533-534).

Bottom line: Schools should engage with teachers, parents, and students alike to reinforce how to set expectations. For example, do teachers explicitly explain that looking up answers during a test is cheating?

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Set expectations collaboratively with staff.

We would encourage all schools to engage their staff in a discussion of the kinds of expectations they have set with students about cheating behavior. Do teachers explicitly explain that looking up answers during a test is cheating? What are the consequences when students do it? Are those consequences made clear to parents/guardians and students from the start of the year?
We believe that the most effective way to prevent cheating is to manage the students instead of attempting to manage the technology. When we try to design tools to stop students from cheating, all we teach them is to look for other ways to cheat. Given the number of stories we hear every day about professionals who lie on their resumes, academics who falsify their data, and corporate leaders who make questionable financial choices, it's clear that we're not doing enough in the early years to help students understand and value integrity.

Bottom line: This is a perfect opportunity to help students understand what the school defines as cheating, and what the consequences will be should cheating occur in the classroom. 

Establish an honor code.

Research shows that students who attend schools with honor codes are less likely to cheat. However, to be most effective, the honor code must be well implemented and strongly embedded into student culture (McCabe & Trevino, 2002).

Customize an Honor Code into the course that students must agree to before progressing to a test or exam. Teachers can use this Sample Honor Code in their classrooms: 

Bottom line: The honor code should encourage the development of good character and outline specific deterrents to cheating (e.g., clear penalties that are meaningful to students).

Set consequences and hold students accountable.

When students perceive high levels of cheating by their peers and a lack of punishment for cheating, they are more likely to cheat themselves (McCabe, Trevino, & Butterfield, 2001). An honor code doesn’t mean anything if there aren’t any appropriate consequences for when students break it.

Schools must develop fair and consistent grading policies and procedures, remove opportunities to cheat (e.g., monitor tests, be sure there is ample space between test-takers), punish transgressions in a fair and timely manner.

Students need to understand what could happen should they choose not to adhere to the honor code. What are the consequences when students do it? Are those consequences made clear to parents/guardians and students from the start of the year?

Bottom line: Continually communicate classroom expectations, and hold students accountable to their own learning through clearly a clearly defined honor code.

Address peer culture.

Research shows that peer culture plays a large role in why students cheat.  Data indicate that when students perceive high levels of cheating by their peers, they are more likely to cheat themselves (McCabe, Trevino, & Butterfield, 2001).

Bottom line: Address any instances of cheating right away and apply the consequences set out by the classroom honor code and student contract.

Foster strong connections to students.

Research shows that students are more likely to cheat when they perceive their instructor to be less concerned about them and think they are physically farther away from the classroom (Stuber-McEwen, Winseley, & Hoggatt, 2009). To discourage cheating, experts recommend teachers develop a strong presence—either online or offline (Stuber-McEwen, Winseley, & Hoggatt, 2009).  When teachers get to know students personally it promotes student respect. When students respect their teacher they are less likely to cheat.

Bottom line: Continue to foster a positive, honest classroom with open dialog and mutual respect for one another.

Set up Imagine Edgenuity course options to maximize Academic Integrity.

Access Setting up course options to maximize Academic Integrity for a recommended configuration of course options and settings.

Use additional digital tools within the Imagine Edgenuity system.

Teachers:

Districts:

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Take action outside the Imagine Edgenuity system.

As a best practice, users should:

• Hide educator passwords where student cannot find them. Consider using a password manager application, which can securely store a large number of passwords.
• Don’t post assessments or answer keys on easily found and accessed websites. If you can find these documents with a simple web search, students can too.
• Block websites on your school network that are known to post answers to assessment questions. Edgenuity does regular web crawls to look for this, but if you come across any Edgenuity content on the Internet, please notify Customer Support. We will take the appropriate steps to address this issue.