Reform of exams ‘will lead to more cheating’

Government reforms to exams risk making it easier for teenagers to cheat, experts warned today.

Education Secretary Michael Gove is giving exam boards more freedom to design courses after abolishing the quango responsible for developing GCSEs and A-levels.

England's biggest board plans to use its new powers to increase the amount of coursework in GCSEs in science, maths and English.

But Isabel Nisbet, chief executive of exams watchdog Ofqual, warned the move would increase the risk of pupils plagiarising material from the internet or getting too much help from parents.

She pledged to take a "hard line" with cheats, and veto exam board proposals if they were not appropriate. "There is more scope for cheating in internal assessment [coursework]," she added.

Most coursework was axed from GCSEs three years ago amid fears that cheating was rife. There were concerns that teachers, under pressure to boost results, were giving pupils too much help, while the explosion in essays available online meant some teenagers were simply copying their answers.

Pupils now do longer essays, under exam conditions, and projects in school. They are not allowed to take work home. Ms Nisbet said: "The risks are that with coursework, students might cut and paste from other sources without attributing it, or parents might help by writing bits for them. There are also issues about people trying to sell model essays."

The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance exam board is considering re-introducing GCSE coursework, possibly from September.

A Department for Education spokesman said: "We want a robust qualifications system in which employers, universities, subject specialists and schools have confidence, and where standards match the best in the world. It is for Ofqual, as the independent regulator, to achieve this.

"We will set out our broader approach to qualifications in due course."