Ofqual 'shocked' by cheating

If Ofqual really is 'shocked' by discovering that some teachers cross the line between legitimate preparation and cheating then the organisation is naive beyond belief.

When I was doing my GCEs at school in the late sixties, we were quite well aware of the advantage that our English teacher had in being an examination setter and marker; not that he cheated - but being on the inside of the examination system helped.

And later, in the seventies, when I was a science teacher, I joined the West Midlands CSE Board Subject panel for chemistry – again, I didn't cheat, but it did help me teach more effectively through knowing the system. But I'm certain that some teachers, even then, crossed the line.

Now, when school reputations and jobs depend on examination results, I deplore the fact but cannot be even slightly surprised that some teachers cross the line. If that can be proved post facto by Ofqual, then that is clear evidence that Ofqual has fallen down on the job of maintaining standards.

Here are two examples of cheating that I have dealt with.

First, we had a teacher of French who, instead of recording on tape the answers given by the pupils in their oral examination, accidentally recorded himself telling them the answers to give. His union attempted to defend this gross example when it came to a disciplinary hearing though the case was open and shut – listening to the tape was enough!

The more recent example relates to Key Stage 2 tests and is a little more complex and difficult, so bear with me. A secondary school had several feeder primary schools, and the value added from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 4 was assessed for each pupil, with the usual targets and so on.

What the secondary school discovered was that pupils from one of the primary schools routinely made less progress than expected, and when Year 7 pupils were assessed on transfer, it became obvious that the primary school was inflating the Key Stage 2 scores. And some of the Year 7 pupils were interviewed and said that when they were doing their tests, teachers walked up and down and gave a signal when the pupil was making a mistake.

Guess what happened when two secondary schools spotted the same pattern and complained to the local authority? Absolutely nothing, as the primary school was "outstanding" and threatening to become an academy.

The whole system requires root and branch reform – and Ofqual and the DfE need to recognise that high-stakes testing leads to questionable practice, all the way from gaming to cheating.

John Freeman CBE is a former director of children’s services and is now a freelance consultant