Probe into exam system after claims of 'tip offs' to teachers
Inquiry launched after claims that examiners told teachers what questions to expect in 'secretive seminars'
AN OFFICIAL inquiry into the school exam system has been ordered after "cheating" examiners were caught telling teachers which questions to expect in GCSE and A-level papers.
Teachers were advised about what areas of the syllabus would be assessed, future questions and specific words pupils would need to include in answers to improve their marks, an investigation by The Daily Telegraph has revealed.
Undercover reporters went to 13 "secretive seminars" held by examination boards, which cost between £120 and £230 for teachers to attend.
At a WJEC exam board course for GCSE history held in London last month, Paul Evans, a chief examiner, told teachers about the specific cycle of a compulsory exam question in a bid to save them time teaching all the syllabus topics.
"We're cheating," he admits in a secret recording by reporters. "We're telling you the cycle. Probably the regulator will tell us off."
Evans explains that "if we are proper educationalists our gut instinct is to teach the lot" but that his option would help teachers in "hammering exam technique".
In a separate seminar for GCSE English held by the AQA examination board in Brighton, teachers were told that students could study just three poems rather than the 15 set out by the Qualification and Curriculum Authority.
Steph Warren, the chief examiner in geography for Edexcel, another examination board, also advised teachers on what questions students were likely to find in exams.
Education Secretary Michael Gove yesterday ordered the exam regulator Ofqual to mount an urgent inquiry to report back before Christmas.
In a statement, Gove said the exam system needs "fundamental reform" and that the Telegraph's revelations "confirm that the current system is discredited". He added: "We will take whatever action is necessary to restore faith in our exam system. Nothing is off the table."
Exam boards defended the integrity of their exams but promised to investigate if examiners had broken the rules. This morning the WJEC suspended two examiners and was considering redrafting exam papers, according to BBC News online. ·
