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More kids cheat on exams
27/03/2006 07:49 - (SA)
London - The number of students
penalised for cheating in school exams and coursework in England
rose by over a quarter last summer, the country's exam watchdog
said on Monday.
Candidates caught with cellphones in exam halls accounted
for around 25% of the offences, the Qualifications and
Curriculum Authority (QCA) said.
"Over recent years we have seen a noticeable rise in the
number of cellphone related incidents in examination halls
across the country," said QCA Chief Executive Ken Boston.
Students can be marked down or even failed for just having a
cellphone with them during exams, whether they use them to
cheat or not.
Boston said he would be writing to all schools about the
importance of students leaving their phones outside exam halls.
Just over 4 500 students were penalised during last summer's
round of A-level and GCSE exams, a rise of 27% over the
previous year.
However, the overall number of candidates penalised remains
low, with less than one incident for every 1 500 exams taken.
Around one-third of the offences involved students caught
for plagiarism, collusion or copying another candidate's work,
typically in coursework done before a final exam.
Others were penalised for cheating or disruptive behaviour
during exams, writing obscenities on their exam papers or
failing to follow instructions from invigilators.
- Reuters
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