Hi-tech exam cheating rises as pupils use mobile phones and secret ear-pieces to pass tests
By Daily Mail Reporter
03rd February 2010
More than 4,400 pupils taking GCSE and A level exams last year were guilty of cheating, with the use of phones and other hi-tech gadgets the biggest problem, the exams watchdog said today.
Cheating in GCSE and A-level exams rose by 6.2 per cent last year - with the greatest number of problems relating to pupils taking mobile phones, personal stereos and other technology into exam rooms, according to a report by exam regulator Ofqual.
While schools are using detection equipment to trace cheat devices, pupils are being targeted by websites openly selling state-of-the-art 'exam cheat equipment', including concealed ear-pieces to receive information.
In total, 4,415 penalties were issued to candidates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland during the June 2009 exam series, up from 4,156 in 2008 - a rise of 6.2 per cent.
Overall though, the penalties totalled 0.03 per cent of all exams taken by students.
In almost half the cases students lost marks, and in a sixth of cases, pupils lost the chance to gain a qualification.
In a third of cases candidates were issued a warning.
The findings show that candidates were punished 1,897 times for taking unauthorised material into an exam, 1,084 penalties were for copying, collusion or plagiarism, while a further 349 were for writing offensive, obscene or inappropriate comments on exam papers or coursework.
Students were thrown out 539 times for being disruptive, and failed to follow instructions 240 times.
In 220 cases, candidates had been caught receiving, exchanging or attempting to pass information that could relate to an exam.
There were also 86 ‘other’ cases, which involved impersonation, theft, destruction of work, altering results and misusing exam papers.
Ofqual’s report also reveals that 88 penalties were issued to teachers and other exam staff for cheating.
The majority of those (58) were because teachers had given candidates help.
And 70 penalties were given to schools and other exam centres, most of these (48) were due to schools not following the requirements of an exam.
In two cases there had been a breach of security, and in 20 cases the school or college concerned had given help to students.
Ofqual chair Kathleen Tattersall said: ‘As regulator it is our role to ensure that fair systems are in place and that these are followed correctly.
‘We require that awarding bodies report annually on the number of candidates notified as having particular requirements and the number of malpractice incidents reported and investigated.
‘These figures provide invaluable information regarding the examination season and allow us to check that the systems put in place to protect learners are followed.’
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