Rude doodling on exam papers sent to parents

Scrawling a rude note on the side of exam papers has returned to haunt 20 school pupils, with copies of their offensive musings sent home to mums and dads.

The Qualifications Authority has released the results of investigations into cheating allegations from last year's NCEA exams.

Punishment was handed out to 90 pupils caught cheating in or writing offensive messages on their papers, the Dominion Post reported today.

Last year was the first time the dodgy doodling was recorded as misconduct.

Twenty students were reprimanded for writing rude messages - often to markers or about teachers - on exam papers, or drawing offensive pictures.

Most of the guilty students' results were allowed to stand, but copies of the drawings or messages were sent to parents and the school principal.

Of 186 rule breaches investigated by the authority, 90 were proven. This compared with only 22 in 2003.

The authority's schools liaison manager, Andrew Kear, said yesterday that the four-fold increase reflected a new reporting system.

The most common method of cheating was sneaking notes into the exam room, followed by whispering across the room to a friend for help.

Technology also made an appearance, with pupils caught texting during an exam.

Four international students were found using electronic translators. While most students were reprimanded for their sins, some had credits disallowed or in extreme cases their entire marks were wiped.

- NZPA