Summary
RUTH KELLY, the Education Secretary, has finally begun to address the single feature of our examination system that probably does more than anything else to undermine standards, namely, coursework - projects carried out by pupils, supposedly unaided, and assessed by their teacher. She has commissioned Ken Boston, chief executive of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority to consider whether coursework is appropriate in all subjects. It follows a review by the QCA of the role of coursework in the exam system that has revealed a worrying level of abuse of the system at every level.
Its survey of teachers, parents and students, found that nearly two thirds, or 63 per cent, of parents admitted helping their children with GCSE coursework in some way - half had given occasional advice, nearly 40 per cent had helped find source material and 37 per cent had checked grammar and spelling. Five per cent of parents of GCSE candidates admitted they had actually drafted some of their coursework - which suggests the actual figure may be much higher. In mathematics, the subject where parents provided most help, the QCA found that grades awarded for coursework were higher than for written exams. Then there is the problem of internet plagiarism - there are several sites that offer examples of coursework on every subject. Half the children surveyed admitted to colluding with each other on their projects.See the full content of this document
Extract
A System That Rewards Cheats
And some of the teachers admitted that they allow their students to redraft ...
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