3rd September 2017 1:00
By Blue Tutors
Over the past week, it has come to light that teachers in several private schools, namely Eton and Winchester, have been implicated in cheating following an investigation into the Pre-U exams administered by Cambridge International Examinations (CIE). The breaches in security came from teachers sharing exam questions with other teachers and consequently candidates for the exam. Students were found to have prior information as their teachers were involved in exam question writing.
The marks of the students at these collages have been nullified and re-issued based on coursework and predicted results. Yet, the recent incidents have raised concern about the more general issue of current teachers writing examination paper questions. Ofqual, the watchdog for exams in the UK, has called for an investigation into the prevalence of this problem across examination boards and to reassess any conflict in using current teachers to set exam questions. The government school’s minister has come out in support of the investigation, as such allegations erode “public confidence” in the qualification and examination system in general.
However, others worry that without the involvement of current teachers who are the best placed to understand the current curriculum and assessment methods, it would be difficult to ensure standards. Given that “the overwhelming majority of teachers act appropriately when working with exam materials”, the extent of the problem is not widespread, but the regulator needs to ensure that clear rules are in place so this impropriety or “maladministration” does not continue and cannot go unreported.