A letter from a teacher revealed that, in order to reach the government target “A-C” pass rates there was no other choice for him but to cheat by helping pupils turn out good quality work. In addition, teachers spend hours coaching pupils for the exam (nothing new there, then)
A letter from a teacher revealed that, in order to reach the government target “A-C” pass rates there was no other choice for him but to cheat by helping pupils turn out good quality work. In addition, teachers spend hours coaching pupils for the exam (nothing new there, then)
In a letter to the telegraph this teacher said that the quest for higher grades is undermining if not corrupting, national academic standards. The teacher says “I understand why course work was introduced. Pedagogically and intellectually, I believe it is a worthwhile addition to the traditional final exam, Yet I would ban it tomorrow if I could because it leads me and many thousands of other teachers to cheat - not to put too fine a point on it. Before I started teaching, I had never cheated and I don't think I am a particularly dishonest person. Nor am I a teacher who (like some I know) has lost hope, with no belief in what I am doing. I am passionate about my subject and strive to find ways of promoting independent thinking and a commitment to learning - the very qualities that coursework was introduced to promote. So why do I cheat? Because, in the current education climate, I feel I have no choice, and nor, if it comes to that, have I any fear of being caught. I cheat for my pupils because it makes them just that bit more likely to achieve the vital five grades A* to C. If they do, they have just a slightly better shot at the future. If I do not cheat, other teachers will, and my pupils, possibly better, will get worse results. Also, so deeply has the rot set in that my pupils feel under no pressure to make their work as good as they can because they know from experience that their teachers won't allow them to submit sub-standard work. So I am faced with a moral dilemma that has no obvious solution. “
It appears that to get good coursework results is quite simple. All students “choose” the same questions. Lessons are taught that more or less dictate the answers. Help on starting and linking sentences is given, grammar is marked and re-marked until it is correct. It is time consuming, But it works. This teacher’s course work results average 84%. The examiners do not query this.
No wonder the universities say more and more young people arrive at university quite unprepared for academic life. The government’s push – at all costs –it seems for 50% of young people to go onto higher education is to be achieved only by diluting standards and pretending they aren’t. Isn’t is time that coursework was abolished ?
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