Bridgeport Schools battle AI temptations with new academic integrity policy

BRIDGEPORT – As is the case with schools across the nation, the Bridgeport school district is coming to grips with the influence and temptation of artificial intelligence (AI) on students. It’s an issue Bridgeport High School Principal Tamra Jackson addressed last week and told the regular meeting of the Bridgeport School Board on Jan. 29 how she went about it.

“There are programs that we are interested in as a school district, particularly in high school, that are available for access by students, which have become far too tempting,” said Jackson. “Writes my paper, it prints out, I put my name on it, and there it is. ChatGPT is one of them.”

Jackson used an assigned subject as an example.

“Write a paper on the fall of Communism in the USSR and make it sound like a tenth grader wrote it, and these are the five things that have to be in it,” began Jackson. “Type that in, hit return, and it’s all right there.”

“That still doesn’t sound like me, so change the words a little bit here or adapt it, so you just keep giving it directions, and it spits out whatever you want,” explained Jackson. “Sadly, it’s becoming widely used in Bridgeport and other schools.”

Jackson said the beginning of the new semester seems like an appropriate time for the school to send out its remedy to the plague of AI-sourced schoolwork.

“Every student was given this today,” said Jackson, referring to the two-page Bridgeport School District Academic Integrity/Honesty Regulation she shared with the board.

All students were told the motives behind the regulation: What is academic integrity and honesty? What is plagiarism?

The students signed the form and then took it home for parents to sign also.

“They need to be back,” stressed Jackson. “Because we’re not going to grant any grades until they’re back, so any grades that happen this week - if this is not turned in - they’re not getting credit. We’re not kidding…these come back.”

Facing failure of an assignment or failing a class, students have no other option.

“I don’t think it will take long to get these back,” Jackson predicted. 

Jackson brought examples of show-your-work math problems Bridgeport students “solved” using AI. 

“They are solving problems in ways that they have never been taught or that teacher never taught, or they’re using math book tabulator that they are not using in class.”

Jackson related an interesting fact about the new technology that is barely a year old…It doesn’t always tell the truth.

“It just won’t say ‘I don’t know,’ it will make it up,” Jackson said.

She cited an example of a recently disbarred federal prosecutor in the news because he used ChatGPT to write his brief for a judge. When it came to footnotes citing references to actual cases, the AI program did not know those…so it made them up. 

Case closed - for the former prosecutor - as it were. 

Jackson said she created her statement from Wenatchee Valley College and Central Washington University.

“This a compilation of the two colleges that we grant college credit from,” said Jackson. “This is what their statement is about integrity, honesty, student conduct.” 

“There are none out there yet,” said Superintendent Scott Sattler. “No policies around AI. Everybody’s kind of hands-off right now because they don’t know where it’s going to go.”

Mike Maltais: 360-333-8483 or michael@ward.media