From his reaction, it seems reasonable that the teacher did not intend for the entire test to be copied. If I leave a bowl of candy bars at the end of my driveway during Halloween, my intention is probably that each trick-or-treater takes one bar. I could hire someone to distribute the candy but he or she might give two bars to their friends. I guess that if I wanted to be absolutely certain that my intentions were met, I would probably manage the candy distribution myself. If the teacher did not intend for the entire test to be copied, a good starting point would be to not give the test to the entire class. He might also lay some ground rules rather than saying, "Do what you want with it."
I guesstimated on the numbers I threw out. There are actually ~30 students in the class. The test was ~40 questions. I am not sure of the exact number because my daughter did not photograph the entire test. There were 5 images with ~7 questions on each. The highest numbered question I saw was 42. So, 30 students and 40 - 50 questions. Now, it would not be terribly difficult for a single student to copy the entire test in one period. It would be incredibly easy for an entire class to copy the entire test in one period.
As he walked out of the second meeting, the teacher looked at my daughter and said, "I hope you realize you've ruined it for everyone." My personal thought is that by "everyone" he meant himself since I suppose he will now actually have to do part of his teaching job and come up with a real study aid.
Your later contention that my daughter "circumvented her learning" is laughable. A study guide is just that. It is not a list of answers. In order to properly use a study aid, you still have to LEARN the material it emphasizes!
Well, as I see it, your daughter violated school policy by having her cell phone in class - this whether the school policy is enforced on a regular basis or not. Cell phones are often used by students to cheat on tests. That is one reason why many teachers prohibit them in classes and many schools require cell phones be kept in lockers and only used before or after school.
The intellectual property argument the teacher is throwing out is not one that will go anywhere (he would need to register his test before suing anyone and he would need to demonstrate damages), but that does not mean he does not have rights that your daughter violated.
I agree with the teacher that your daughter has probably "ruined it" for everyone, as the teacher will probably not be making tests available for studying again - or at least during the time your daughter is in his class or in the school. Your daughter has also made the school aware that cell phones are being used in the class against school policy, and they may now start enforcing this policy to prevent future problems.
So, yes, it is probably true that your daughter has ruined it for everyone who actually used the old tests as a study aid and worked during the class hour to better learn the material (instead of just spending a couple of minutes of the class hour to photograph the test
) or for everyone who used cell phones in class despite the policy banning them from the classrooms. So much for texting friends during class.
With all of that said, I find your last two posts curious. Even rules (and laws) that are not enforced still need to be obeyed, and I hope you are stressing that to your daughter. Just because you can get away with breaking a rule or a law does not mean you are not violating that rule or that law and cannot be punished if you are caught.
This is true in your daughter's case whether your daughter is the only one caught violating a school policy or the only one who must face the consequences of her violation.
It sounds as if the teacher has over-reacted, certainly, and the teacher has probably been wrong in the way he has handled the photographing of the test, but your daughter is not entirely blameless.
During the upcoming meetings over this matter, I would keep
that fact in your mind at all times.
