Should dozens of exam cheats be let off with mere warning? Discuss

MORE than a third of pupils caught cheating on exams last year were let off with a warning and faced no further action, according to new figures.

In all, 437 cases of “malpractice” were investigated in 2010 by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), of which 195 proved to be unfounded.

Of the 242 proven allegations, 83 exam candidates were given a warning which did not affect their right to appeal if they disagreed with their mark.

The warning would only be taken into account if there was any further breach of SQA rules.

However, 103 students had their external award cancelled, five had parts of their work “revised” based on the areas in which they had not cheated and 51 were given a warning and lost their right to appeal.

A warning with the loss of the right to appeal is a penalty given in circumstances that do not merit a complete cancellation of the award.

The candidate is allowed to retain their qualification, but cannot appeal if the result is less than estimated.

Malpractice can involve plagiarism, students copying work of another candidate or working collaboratively with others on an individual task; being involved in disruptive behaviour; and putting offensive or unrelated content into an exam paper.

It can also involve using unauthorised aids including mobile phones, MP3 players, notes, spellcheckers, books and sketches.

The SQA says while some incidents are intentional and aim to give an unfair advantage, others occur because of ignorance of the regulations or carelessness.

The authority said the number of cases of cheating by candidates sitting national examinations, ranging from Standard Grade to Advances Higher, is very low and is falling.

In 2010, 159,300 candidates took part in 736,158 exams and 242 cases which resulted in penalties being applied equates to just 0.03 per cent of the total.

Figures for 2011 are not available until conclusion of the appeals process.

A spokesman said there had been a year-on-year decrease in malpractice, with a drop of 0.01 per cent of the total number of candidates proved to be cheating between 2009 and 2010.

He said: “While one case of malpractice is one too many it is clear that our awareness-raising activities coupled with rigorous invigilatory and marking processes are proving to be effective.”

In 2009, when about 160,000 candidates participated in 736,920 exams, there were 506 cases of malpractice investigated, with 314 proved.

More than half (145) were given a warning that did not bar their right to appeal.

The total number of awards cancelled because of malpractice in 2009 was 124, with five being revised based on areas of work where no rules were broken and 40 candidates were barred from the appeals process but let off with a warning.

The spokesman said the figures showed a drop in the total number of cases of cheating, which had fallen from 0.04 per cent in 2009 to 0.03 per cent in 2010.

He added: “Every candidate in our examinations is provided with explanatory booklets – Your Coursework and Your Exams – which among many other helpful hints provide guidance on how to avoid malpractice and details those items which are prohibited in an examination.

“These include mobile phones, MP3 players, spell checkers, pencil cases notes, books and sketches.”