Cheats sticking with traditional mode of deceit

By STUART DYE


Despite the new technology available, school students who try to cheat their way through exams are sticking to tried-and-tested methods used by generations before them.

Universities have been trialling devices that alert supervisors when a candidate is using a mobile phone during an exam. There are also fears about the memory capacity - and what's stored in there - of some calculators and hand-held computers.

But the New Zealand Qualifications Authority says the small minority of secondary school students who give in to temptation persist with the traditional "cheat-sheets" or answers scribbled on hands.

Kate Colbert, the authority's group manager, secondary, said there was very little evidence of mobile phones and texting being used to deceive invigilators.

Taking notes into the exam hall remained the most common technique for would-be cheats, she said.

As the second day of NCEA and scholarship exams gets underway today, NZQA is warning that any student found guilty of misconduct will face harsh penalties.

In the past, about 30 candidates a year had been found guilty of misconduct that included various forms of cheating.

Penalties range from reprimands to the cancellation of a candidate's results in all subjects. For the most serious cases, candidates have been banned from national exams in subsequent years.

Ms Colbert said the most serious punishment was reserved for extreme cases - of which there had been very few in New Zealand - where a "substitute" impersonates a student and sits the exam.

In its biggest exam operation to date, NZQA has appointed more than 400 exam centre supervisors at schools throughout the country and about 4500 supervisors.

Ms Colbert said they were all "extremely vigilant" and had been given detailed briefings on their responsibilities and what to look out for.

Toilet inspections were standard procedure to check if notes had been stored there before an exam.

If a student is suspected of cheating, the supervisor files a report to the qualifications authority which investigates cases in January.

Ms Colbert said in very rare circumstances a school could face action if a teacher was found to have helped a student.

"We view [cheating] very seriously and students must take every care not to take anything into the exam room that may be interpreted as something that is for cheating," Ms Colbert said.

Last year, NZQA investigated 184 alleged cases of misconduct. There were 36 hearings and misconduct was proved in 22 of the cases.

Meanwhile, the first day of exams passed off without incident, said Ms Colbert.

Cheat sheets

Answers written on hand, arm, leg or ruler

Copying from another student

Sophisticated calculators with answers pre-programmed

Mobile phone texting

"Substitute" exam candidate impersonator

Timetable, November 11

Morning: maths level 1, French level 2, media studies level 3, chemistry scholarship.

Afternoon: French level 1, media studies level 2, French level 3, art history scholarship.