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2010-02-03 11:00:09
By Sean Coughlan
BBC News, education and family
More than 4,400 people were caught cheating in last year's GCSEs and A-levels
in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the exams watchdog says.
Figures from Ofqual show a 6% rise in cheating by candidates although the body
points out cheating is still very rare, affecting 0.03% of exams taken.
The main way pupils cheat is by using mobile phones or other technology.
Schools are being sold detection equipment to trace devices being used secretly
in exam rooms.
But pupils are also being targeted by websites openly selling "exam cheat
equipment", including concealed ear-pieces to receive information.
As mobiles have become more sophisticated - for example, providing internet
access - they have become one of the biggest problems for exam invigilators.
Warning poster
Every exam centre must now display a warning poster telling students about
strict rules on not bringing mobiles or other electronic equipment into exam
halls.
Schools are also receiving adverts from technology firms selling detection
equipment, promising to identify texting, e-mails or pupils using mobiles to
search the internet.
Among these is Mobysafe, a Gloucestershire company, which is marketing a
handheld mobile phone detector to schools.
The firm's owner, David Spurr, says invigilators are faced with communications
devices and mobiles which are getting smaller and more powerful.
Tackling cheats who try to use mobile phones is a difficult challenge for
examiners.
The jamming of signals is not allowed, because that might interfere with other
equipment.
And there have been doubts about the practicality of other tactics, such as
sealing rooms with materials which block mobile phone signals.
There have also been suggestions that exam halls could have CCTV cameras
installed.
Another approach, tested in Denmark, has been to stop trying to prevent the use
of technology in exams and allow pupils to have open access to the internet.
It is not just mobiles which can be misused. All kinds of other types of
electronic devices commonly used by teenagers, such as music players, are able
to carry useful data or images for an exam.
There are other types of electronics openly sold online as "exam cheat
equipment" - including concealed ear-pieces which would allow candidates to
receive information in an exam hall.
There are also ear-pieces which can be used wirelessly with concealed digital
music players - with the suggestion that lecture notes could be played back to
the exam candidate.
These are openly advertised as being of use to students wanting to cheat.
Disqualified
Ofqual's warning to exam candidates specifies a ban on "reading pens and
electronic communication or storage devices, including mobile telephones, iPods
and MP3/4 players and... any product which can capture a digital image".
In terms of penalties, those candidates who are caught bringing a mobile phone
into an exams room - but do not have their phone at their desk - might receive
a warning, says the exam watchdog.
But candidates found using a mobile phone during an exam might be disqualified
from the unit or the qualification in the current exam series.
Kathleen Tattersall, Chair of Ofqual, 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."