text: Teachers are helping pupils to cheat by giving advice during exams, wrongly bumping up marks and even writing coursework, it has been revealed. Tactics used to bend the rules were revealed by more than 500 whistleblowing teachers after an appeal by the exams watchdog. Ofqual found that one in five reported that colleagues had written sections of coursework, dictated essays or provided examples for students to copy. Teachers are helping pupils to cheat by giving advice during exams, wrongly bumping up marks and even writing coursework, it has been revealed (file picture) Details of the unethical techniques emerged at a Teacher Ethics In Assessment symposium at Oxford University. The Sunday Times reported that one teacher told Ofqual: ‘Giving students too much support in their coursework is a massive issue. It ranges from providing them with examples of good work, letting them copy others’ work [and] teachers standing over students telling them what to write.’ Another teacher said she was told she ‘would have to do it herself’ when she raised concerns with her head of department about her class struggling to produce work of sufficient quality. And 15 per cent said staff had given ‘hints’ or ‘pointers’ while invigilating exams. Glenys Stacey, Ofqual’s chief executive, said: ‘Teachers who bend the rules are deeply uncomfortable about it and do it in large part because of the pressure to get results.’ The latest Ofqual figures show 217 penalty notices were issued to schools and colleges for malpractice in 2013 – an increase of 61 per cent on the previous year. Tactics used to bend the rules were revealed by more than 500 whistleblowing teachers after an appeal by the exams watchdog (file picture)
target: Teachers are helping pupils cheat by giving advice during exams .
  Whistleblowers reveal teachers also bump up marks and write coursework .
  Ofqual found that one in five reported colleagues had bent the rules .