Academic Fraud

June 28, 2022 – This site reports on sportsmanship issues. However, we take note that the incentive to cheat goes well beyond athletics, and can be found anywhere where you have a zero sum game or strong financial incentives to win. We usually report on academic fraud, but in this case we see large scale cheating at a major accounting firm. No, cheating is not limited to sports. See Ernst & Young To Pay $100 Million Fine After Auditors Cheated On Ethics Exam, reported by Matthew Goldstein, New York Times.
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July 3, 2019 - New Orleans, LA - The incentive to cheat goes beyond sports. See State Probe: Alleged Grade Fixing Just One Of Several Issues at Kennedy High, reported by Della Hasselle, Times-Picayune.
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January 31, 2019 - Columbia, MO - Mizzou Football Team Banned From Bowl this Season As Part Of Academic Fraud Penalties, reported by Blair Kerkhoff, Sam McDowell, and Alex Schiffer, Kansas City Star.
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July 1, 2017 - New York, NY - The factors that lead to cheating and poor sportsmanship in athletes also affect schools. New York is but the latest example. See This NYC High School Has a Big Grade Fixing Problem, reported by Susan Edelman, New York Post, July 1, 2017, and when New York City principals and teachers don't fix grades, the schools sometime rig the game by lowering the standards. See Regents Math Test Is Easier To Pass Thanks To Low Standards, reported by Susan Edelman, New York Post, June 25, 2017.
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April 5, 2017 - Pittsburg, KS - The same forces that lead to fraud in athletics also lifts its heads in academics. The usual forum is high-stakes test fraud. But, the journalists at Pittsburg High School in Kansas found a principal who committed resume fraud. See These High School Journalists Investigated a New Principal's Credentials. Days Later, She Resigned. Reported by Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post.
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February 1, 2017 - Vero Beach, FL - 2 Vero Beach High School Teachers Accused In Testing Scandal, reported by Alex Browning, WPBF TV 25. This incident is another reminder that once we put high stakes on testing, school personnel feel the pressure to win just like athletes do, and occasionally end up engaging in unethical acts so they can win just like athletes.
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November 28, 2016 - Oklahoma City, OK - Allegations of fraudulent test scores to land federal grants cause scandal at Oklahoma City Community College. See OCCC: Two Employees Resign Amid Academic Fraud Investigation, reported by Tim Willert, The Oklahoman.
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July 27, 2016 - NYC Grade School Principal Who Committed Suicide Had Forged Tests, Huffington Post. Jeanene Worrell-Breeden, the teacher in this matter, was a third-grade teacher. Academic fraud hits all levels. Ms. Worrell-Breeden ultimately jumped in front of a New York City subway train.
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April 27, 2016 - Why Would A Teacher Cheat? by Alia Wong, The Atlantic, April, 2016.
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April 27, 2016 - 5 Educators Arrested In EPISD Scheme by Aaron Martinez and Lindsey Anderson, The El Paso Times.
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April 26, 2016 - Seattle, WA - Bellevue Football Report: Coaches Violated Rules For Years, District Obstructed Investigation by Mike Baker, Seattle Times. Diploma mills and false addresses are just the beginning of a litany of charges against a national high school football power.
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March 31, 2016 – Detroit, MI : Feds: 12 Detroit Principals Stole $1M In Kickback Scheme by Tresa Baldas, Katrease Stafford, Kathleen Gray and Ann Zaniewski, Detroit Free Press, March 31, 2016.
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February 10, 2016 - New Orleans High School Landry-Walker's Sky-High Test Scores Plunged After Cheating Probe by Danielle Dreilinger, Times Picayune.
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July 4, 2014 - See When the State High School Athletic Association Spurns Academics, an excellent article by Missouri law professor Doug Abrams, regarding pending Massachusetts legislation that would bar the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) from scheduling games on mornings when the SAT is being administered.
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Seattle, WA - May 6, 2011 - The Seattle Times recently reported that Jim Valiere, the athletic director at Seattle's Garfield High School, was fired after he enrolled Tony Wroten, an elite basketball player, in a non-existent Spanish course in order to help Wroten gain credits required by the University of Washington. Valiere would undoubtedly say that he was just trying to help a kid have a better life - but of course, this type of assist isn't given to non-athletes, it promotes academic fraud, and it undermines academic values - not to mention general ethics. Valiere had to go, and if Wroten wasn't one of the top basketball players in the country he'd probably be denied admission to Washington on ethics grounds. See Team Tony Wroten's Misguided Hoop Dreams, Seattle Times Editorial, May 6, 2011. By the way, there are no kudos to the media here. Do you think The Times deserves some kudos for breaking a story that shows academic fraud in athletics? Think again. Some websites indicate that the story broke because of a Wroten tweet, joking about the cushy Spanish class set-up. In other words, Wroten was so arrogant that he bragged about something that a wise man would have covered up. If the tweeting reports are true, Wroten may need to learn two lessons. The first lesson is, of course, a lesson in ethics. The second lesson would be a lesson in discretion.
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Daphne, AL - January 7, 2011 - The US Sports Academy brought together an international panel to discuss youth sports issues. Syndicated sports columnist Evan Weiner, who won the Academy's Ronald Reagan Media Award, may have had the story of the conference. According to Weiner, “I had a 7-year-old kid who was sneezing, coughing, and had a 102 temperature, and his father wanted him to play. I said ‘Why do you want him playing?’ and he said, ‘I want him to get a college scholarship.’” Scary, isn't it? Parents, would you put your kid's life at risk to play in a youth league? Are you crazy enough to really think that one day of playing at the age of 7 will get you a college scholarship? To read about the Summit, see Sport Summit Brings Insight From Academy Honorees, USSA Press Release. Click here to view the Summit (caution, you have to go to the 11 minute mark of the video before the Summit begins).

Dallas, TX - December 18, 2010 - Dallas HS Football Coach Tries To "Help" Students Cheat On Standardized Test - Ends Up Hurting Them Instead, and Then Getting Caught. A Dallas football coach told his football players to leave their standardized test answer sheets blank so he could help them. Unfortunately, the coach was sloppy and he wasn't much of a scholar. The students were harmed; indeed, a National Honor Society student left his sheet blank and ended up with a zero. Note to coach: A National Honor Society student projects to do extremely well on standardized tests, and doesn't need help. To read about the rather dubious alleged exploits of Brandon High School Football Coach Braylon Linnear, see Pinkston Hig Mandarin Christian Athletic Program Hit By Hefty Fine From FHSAA h School Assistant Football Coach Accused of Helping Students Cheat by Matthew Haag, Dallas Morning News, December 18, 2010.

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