Naperville Central Administrators Investigating Student Cheating Scandal

After a pilot program allowing students to bring their own portable devices to class was put into place, Naperville Central High School administrators are facing an increased amount of cheating incidents, Naperville Sun reports.

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Principal Bill Wiesbrook addressed parents about the issue in an email sent out on Friday, stating the school's "Academic Integrity" had come into question after the "Bring Your Own Device" pilot program launched, Naperville Sun reports. 

This fall, Naperville School District 203 started the Bring Your Own Device program, which allows students to use electronic devices such as smartphones, iPads, laptops and tablets in the classroom, according to district 203's website.  

"The intent of “Bring your own device” is to allow students to engage in learning using these devices and to safely access District solutions and resources such as our Learning Management System, Student Information System, Naviance, email, calendaring, SharePoint, library systems, common productivity applications and many other web-based resources including internet access to enhance and, at times, transform their learning experience," Naperville School District 203 Chief Information Officer Roger J. Brunelle said in a letter on the district's website.

It is not known how many students were involved in the cheating incidents, Naperville Sun reports.

Nearly 500 students across the district have been participating in the program, which is scheduled to end this month, according to Brunelle's letter. 

"It is better to be honest and fall short of a goal than to take an unethical shortcut and reach a goal. The end is not more important than the path taken to reach the end," Wiesbrook said in a letter to parents, also posted on the Central Times website. "As a principal, I would rather have a student who earns a grade of “C” honestly than a student who receives a grade of “A” through dishonest behavior."

Weisbrook added that the recent cheating concerns were brought to the attention to school staff by other students at NCHS. 

Central Times reports that Weisbrook met with the student paper on Dec. 3 and told reporters punishment would be determined on a case-by-case basis.

To read more, visit Naperville Sun.