According to an official report on malpractice for the summer 2013 GCSE and A level exams, cheating among teachers and students has gone up. The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) in the UK, reports that teacher malpractice rose by 62% since 2012. In 2013 97 teachers were facing penalties, as opposed to 60 teachers in 2012.
Teacher malpractice wasn’t the only one to swell up. Students’ total penalties were 2,590 in 2013, a 1.6% increase since 2012. The exams watchdog has also reported that schools are becoming more relaxed as to how resolutely they implement regulations. The numbers show a 4% increase in school malpractice since 2012.
There were in total 59 cases where teachers offered assistance to students during an exam and overall 23 teachers are no longer qualified from being involved in exam proctoring in the future. Mobile phone usage and plagiarism where among the most frequent forms of malpractice among students, with plagiarism numbering no less than 515 cases this year. 498 students’ cheating resulted in disqualification while a total of 720 students were given written warnings.
Ofqual’s report although unmistakably illustrates a growing number of malpractice incidents, a look at the bigger picture shows malpractice is still the exception. The total of 2,590 student penalties amount to a meager 0.019% of all GCSE papers— in 2009 the percentage of students being penalized was 0.027%.
So how can instances of malpractice or cheating be mitigated? We believe the use of automated proctoring solutions will reduce much of the temptation or the confidence in getting away with cheating. Safeguarding the integrity and standards of examinations is entirely possible through effective proctoring.
