(l to r) Seniors, Nubia Allen-Ward, Josefine Charles-Harris and Indi Ericksen, talk about the hacking incident at Berkeley High School on Thursday April 19, 2012, in Berkley,Ca. Berkeley High School caught dozens of student hackers breaking into its attendance site. This is high stakes because attendance is now tied to grades. Some of the hackers have been suspended.
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Some of Berkeley High's best students are among nearly three dozen students suspended for hacking into the school's attendance system, an act that could lead to criminal prosecution, administrators said Thursday.
At least four students used an administrator's stolen password to clear tardies and unexcused absences from the permanent records of 50 students, offering the service or the password for a price, Principal Pasquale Scuderi said.
The scam allowed the students to circumvent the school's rigid attendance policy, which had been in effect until March and required teachers to dock student grades if they had three or more unexcused absences.
The hackers erased from the system hundreds of cut classes and tardies from October through December, and charged classmates $2 to $20 for the illicit assistance, Scuderi said.
It took the school district several weeks to investigate, identify and interview students involved.
At least two of the students who instigated the hacking scheme face expulsion.
"Our highest-achieving kids made bad decisions in this incident, and our most struggling kids made bad decisions," Scuderi said.
Some students participated more than others in the scam, which led to a range of punishments.
The 32 suspensions ranged from one to five days, with "honesty in the aftermath" encouraged and rewarded, he said.
Others among the 50 students involved could still face punishment, and the school is cooperating with law enforcement to determine whether legal action is warranted, Scuderi said.
Five students in Great Neck, N.Y., face felony charges for allegedly collecting up to $3,500 per test to take the SAT and other college entrance exams for dozens of other teens late last year. They were charged with felonies related to fraud and criminal impersonation.
In March, nine students in San Jose faced suspension or expulsion for using stolen test answers obtained by one of the teens, who broke into a classroom and logged on to a school computer.
But the list of cheaters could be a lot longer.
More than 35 percent of teens nationwide said they cheated with a cell phone, and half said they used the Internet to cheat in school, according to a 2009 poll by Common Sense Media of San Francisco.
Berkeley High's principal acknowledged the need to address what appeared to be widespread acceptance of cheating and to help students understand that the hacking, ultimately, was a criminal act.
"I would like to see our community, namely our families and staff, use this incident as a springboard for discussions on ethics, integrity and honesty," Scuderi said.
Senior Josefine Charles-Harris, who found out about the hacking this week, said it was wrong but that she understood why students might be tempted to do it. She said the school's strict and "unfair" attendance policy, which was linked to grades, likely led the students to participate in the scheme to alter their records.
Under the rules, five tardies equaled one unexcused absence; three unexcused absences meant a drop of a full letter grade in a class, the 17-year-old said.
Adherence to that policy depended on the teacher, so some racked up more unexcused absences than others, she said. Students had five days to remove those absences from their record by bringing in a signed note from a parent. But many students were frustrated by the long lines at the attendance office to do that, Charles-Harris said.
"A 'B,' compared to an 'A,' is a big difference," she said. "I think if more people had heard about (the hacking), more people would have done it. I'm just being honest."
Unexcused absences no longer result in lower grades, said district spokesman Mark Coplan.
Principal Scuderi, however, said efforts to boost attendance are working. Once the hacked data were removed from the system, officials found that 94 percent of students attended school each day this year, up from about 92 percent last year.
That translated to about 60 more kids in class each day.
"The word is beginning to get out that BHS is serious about attendance," Scuderi said.
At least four students used an administrator's stolen password to clear tardies and unexcused absences from the permanent records of 50 students, offering the service or the password for a price, Principal Pasquale Scuderi said.
The scam allowed the students to circumvent the school's rigid attendance policy, which had been in effect until March and required teachers to dock student grades if they had three or more unexcused absences.
The hackers erased from the system hundreds of cut classes and tardies from October through December, and charged classmates $2 to $20 for the illicit assistance, Scuderi said.
It took the school district several weeks to investigate, identify and interview students involved.
At least two of the students who instigated the hacking scheme face expulsion.
"Our highest-achieving kids made bad decisions in this incident, and our most struggling kids made bad decisions," Scuderi said.
Some students participated more than others in the scam, which led to a range of punishments.
The 32 suspensions ranged from one to five days, with "honesty in the aftermath" encouraged and rewarded, he said.
Others among the 50 students involved could still face punishment, and the school is cooperating with law enforcement to determine whether legal action is warranted, Scuderi said.
Cheating scandals
The incident is the latest cheating scandal to shake high schools across the country.Five students in Great Neck, N.Y., face felony charges for allegedly collecting up to $3,500 per test to take the SAT and other college entrance exams for dozens of other teens late last year. They were charged with felonies related to fraud and criminal impersonation.
In March, nine students in San Jose faced suspension or expulsion for using stolen test answers obtained by one of the teens, who broke into a classroom and logged on to a school computer.
But the list of cheaters could be a lot longer.
More than 35 percent of teens nationwide said they cheated with a cell phone, and half said they used the Internet to cheat in school, according to a 2009 poll by Common Sense Media of San Francisco.
Some say it's not cheating
Perhaps worse, the survey also found that nearly 1 in 4 teens didn't consider it cheating to store notes surreptitiously on a cell phone to use during a test.Berkeley High's principal acknowledged the need to address what appeared to be widespread acceptance of cheating and to help students understand that the hacking, ultimately, was a criminal act.
"I would like to see our community, namely our families and staff, use this incident as a springboard for discussions on ethics, integrity and honesty," Scuderi said.
Senior Josefine Charles-Harris, who found out about the hacking this week, said it was wrong but that she understood why students might be tempted to do it. She said the school's strict and "unfair" attendance policy, which was linked to grades, likely led the students to participate in the scheme to alter their records.
Under the rules, five tardies equaled one unexcused absence; three unexcused absences meant a drop of a full letter grade in a class, the 17-year-old said.
Adherence to that policy depended on the teacher, so some racked up more unexcused absences than others, she said. Students had five days to remove those absences from their record by bringing in a signed note from a parent. But many students were frustrated by the long lines at the attendance office to do that, Charles-Harris said.
"A 'B,' compared to an 'A,' is a big difference," she said. "I think if more people had heard about (the hacking), more people would have done it. I'm just being honest."
Making changes
The school board voted to overhaul the attendance policy in March because of the unequal enforcement by teachers and because of other efforts to combat truancy.Unexcused absences no longer result in lower grades, said district spokesman Mark Coplan.
Principal Scuderi, however, said efforts to boost attendance are working. Once the hacked data were removed from the system, officials found that 94 percent of students attended school each day this year, up from about 92 percent last year.
That translated to about 60 more kids in class each day.
"The word is beginning to get out that BHS is serious about attendance," Scuderi said.
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