Piper High School is in Piper, Kansas, a town located about 20 miles west of Kansas City, Missouri. Christine Pelton was a high school science teacher there. Ms. Pelton, age 26, had a degree in education from the University of Kansas and had been at Piper for two years. She was teaching a botany class for sophomores, a course that included an extensive project as part of the course requirements. The project, which included a lengthy paper and creative exhibits and illustrations, had been part of the curriculum and Piper High School tradition for 10 years. Students were required to collect 20 different leaves, write one or two paragraphs about the leaves, and then do an oral presentation on their projects.

When Ms. Pelton was describing the writing portion of the project and its requirements to her students, she warned them not to use papers posted on the Internet for their projects. She had her students sign contracts that indicated they would receive a " 0 " grade if they turned in others' work as their own. The paper counted for \(50 \%\) of their grade in the course. When the projects were turned in, Ms. Pelton noticed that some of the students' writing in portions of their papers was well above their usual quality and ability. Using an online service called Turn It In (http://www.turnitin.com), she found that 28 of her 118 students had taken substantial portions of their papers from the Internet. \({ }^{39}\) She gave the students a " 0 " grade on their term paper projects. The result was that many of the students would fail the semester in the course.

The students' parents protested, but both her principal, Michael Adams, and the school district superintendent, Michael Rooney, supported her decision. However, the parents appealed to the school board, and the board ordered Ms. Pelton to raise the grades. Mr. Rooney, acting at the board's direction, told Ms. Pelton that the decision of the board was that the leaf project's weight should be changed from \(50 \%\) to \(30 \%\) of the course's total semester grade, and that the 28 students should have only 600 points deducted from their grade rather than the full 1,800 points the project was originally worth.

Ms. Pelton said, "I was really shocked at what their decision was. They didn't even talk to me or ask my side." 40 The result was that 27 of the 28 students avoided receiving an " \(F\) " grade in the course, but the changed weight also meant that 20 of the students who had not plagiarized their papers got a lower grade as a result. She resigned in protest on the day following the board's decision. She received 24 job offers from around the country following her resignation. Mr. Adams, the principal, and one teacher resigned at the end of the year to protest the lack of support for Ms. Pelton. Mr. Adams cited personal reasons for his resignation, but he added, "You can read between the lines."41 At the time of Ms. Pelton's experience, \(50 \%\) of the teachers had indicated they would resign. The superintendent, Michael Rooney, remained and said he stood by the teacher but did not think that the school board was wrong: "I take orders as does everyone else, and the Board of Education is empowered with making the final decisions in the school district...............

Discussion Questions

1. Do you believe the students understood that what they did was wrong? Why is this information important in your analysis?

2. Was the penalty appropriate?

3. What do you think of the grading modifications the board required? Be sure to list those who were affected when you answer this question.
4. What did the parents miss in their decisions to intervene?

5. Evaluate the statement of the senior that cheating is no longer wrong

6. What were the consequences for Piper and the students?