Homework, Assessment & Integrity

A.       Homework is an integral part of the MJBHA experience, and benefits the student in three areas. First, homework reinforces the lessons learned in class, and helps the student to integrate these lessons. Second, homework gives the student an opportunity to apply lessons learned to new areas, thus expanding his or her frame of knowledge. Third, homework may be beneficial in helping the student to prepare for an upcoming lesson, by asking the student to amass the foundation upon which the future lesson is to be built. Upper School homework assignments will fall into these categories; no work just for the sake of work alone will be assigned.

At the same time, in recognition of the intense and lengthy academic program and the students’ full schedule, along with our commitment to develop healthy, balanced students, the faculty will assign homework of reasonable length. Moreover, while homework may be assigned over a weekend, limited homework, almost always comprised of reading, may be assigned over יום טוב, and no major written assignment (e.g., a term paper) will be due in the first three school days after a יום טוב, so that the students may enjoy the מועד.

B.       Homework and other assignments are expected to be submitted by their due date. An assignment handed in late without a valid excuse accepted by the teacher is subject to a reduction in grade at the teacher’s discretion. Repeated offenses of this nature may necessitate a meeting with the student, parent(s), and instructor.

C.       Dishonesty in presenting one’s work, גניבת דעת, is a violation of בין אדם למקום as well as בין אדם לחברו. Students are therefore expected to submit their own work. Plagiarism is a serious violation of integrity. It consists of the representation of the words or ideas of other’s as one’s own. Assignments prepared by others or copied from someone else will be given a grade of ‘zero’. A record of the dishonesty will become part of the student’s permanent record, and the student may be subject to other disciplinary procedures. Repeated violations may result in a failing grade for the course or in the dismissal of the student from the Upper School. Students who ‘give’ are equally as culpable as those students who ‘receive’.

D.       Exams and assessments like them have at least four main objectives. First, exams afford the opportunity for the students to review and integrate the material learned in class. Second, exams enable the teacher to gauge areas of strength and areas that are in need of improvement; this is as much a measure of the clarity of instruction as it is of the student’s achievement. Third, exams, like homework, ask students to apply lessons learned to new areas, thus expanding and developing the student’s thinking skills. Fourth, exams provide the school with an objective set of criteria for providing assessment in the form of a student transcript.

E.       Recognizing the significant course load that students have, the Upper School will adhere to an exam schedule in which students will have no more than two tests per day. Teachers will announce exams at least one full week in advance and will ensure that the selected day is available by staking a claim to the day on the test board in the Upper School office. Other assignments may be due on such days, and quizzes on limited amounts of material may be assigned to such days as well without the use of the test board. In all instances of conflict, students are expected to advocate for themselves by speaking to the instructors, with department chairs, with student officials, and only then with the administration if redress has been not achieved. All such conversations should take place when the conflicting assessment are assigned, and not on the day when these assessments are all to be implemented. Note that the end of the marking periods tend to include a week or weeks when the workload may be heavier than others, and students are expected to manage their time wisely to be able to handle these periods of more numerous academic demands.

F.        Honesty is of paramount importance. Of much greater and more lasting importance than a grade achieved on any test is the development of one’s personal integrity and level of יראת שמים. The real ‘tests’ in life measure this sense of integrity. The MJBHA Upper School takes pride in students who master these tests, perhaps more so, than the pride we derive from those students who excel on the pen and paper variety. When taking an exam or quiz, a student must behave in a manner which places him or her above suspicion. Therefore, any activity which may cause the instructor to question the student’s integrity, even if the student is, in fact, not dishonest, is inappropriate. Further, any activity which may infringe upon the teacher’s ability to supervise the classroom with proper testing conditions (e.g., silence, cooperation, etc.) is absolutely inappropriate.

The consequences of any kind of cheating or inappropriate behavior during exams or other assessments are: An initial offense will result in a grade of zero for that exam, which will be averaged into the quarter’s report card grade. A second offense will result in a failing grade for the semester in the course (even if the subject area of the second offense is different from that of the first). A third offense will result in dismissal from the Upper School. Cheating will not be countenanced in the Upper School. Parents will be notified of all such incidents of dishonest behavior, and the record of such incidence will become part of the student’s permanent file, with all consequences that ensue when a student applies to college, yeshiva, or other post high-school programming. Here too, students who ‘give’ are equally as culpable as those students who ‘receive’.