Cheating in exams

In a new podcast from Ofqual (The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation) – ‘Can I just qualify that’, their chief regulator, Ian Bauckham discussed malpractice not being limited to mobile phones.

“There are of course other devices, there are smart watches and smart all sorts of things. There might be smart spectacles next…that will play text across the inside of the lens that only the student can see’.

He added that Ofqual had to move really fast, because technology is moving fast and that they could not underestimate the challenge involved.

One of the things Ofqual need to do is give really strong clear messages to schools and to the public, that it’s not acceptable to have a mobile phone in the exam hall. The use of mobile phones and smart devices is the most common category of cheating in exams. It accounted for 44.3% of all student malpractice cases in last summer’s exam series, with 2,225 cases reported.

The DfE recently announced it would put guidance on mobile phone bans in schools on a statutory footing, which Bauckham welcomed.

Ofqual wrote to exam boards in March asking them to strengthen their approach to malpractice  including bringing mobile phones and other devices into exams and preventing AI misuse in coursework.

He said Ofqual was looking at the question of how to detect AI in coursework and what to put in place to make sure authenticity was guaranteed.