Plagiarism exercise

Example 1: Plagiarize the original text by copying portions of it word-for-word.

Truly, no measure is perfect.  But the estimates of value-added and other “growth models,” which attempt to isolate the “true effect” of an individual teacher through his or her students’ test scores, are alarmingly error-prone in any given year.

Example 2: Plagiarize the original text by paraphrasing its structure too closely, without copying it word-for-word.

Sean Corcoran, who is an economist at New York University, has studied the teacher evaluation systems in Houston and New York City. His studies found that the average “margin of error” of a teacher in New York City was plus or minus 28 whole points.

Example 3: Plagiarize the original text by paraphrasing its structure too closely, and include a citation. Even though you cited it, paraphrasing too closely is still plagiarism.

Therefore, a teacher who has ranked at the 43rd percentile in comparison to his or her peers may really be anywhere between the 15th and 71st percentile (Ravitch 270-271). 

Example 4: Properly paraphrase from the original text by restating the author’s ideas in different words and phrases, and include a citation to the original source.

Due to fluctuation for value-added scores, teachers will likely receive different scores over several years.  One year he or she may have a good ranking, and the next he or she may have a bad ranking (Ravitch 270-271). 

Example 5: Properly paraphrase from the original text by restating the author’s ideas in different words and phrases, add a direct quote, and include a citation to the original source.

Ravitch points out that the rankings will never be stable.  Some of the value-added assesments may show accurate performance changes, but many will not.  Ravitch says, “it is difficult to trust any performance rating if the odds of getting the same rating next year are no better than a coin toss,” (Ravitch 270-271).