Can any teachers tell me if this is allowed?

[bryheresse]

Dd finished school last year and did very well in her essay subject A levels.

Over Easter, she has met up with a friend in the year below, at the same school, taking two of the same subjects that she did. This friend says that all the students in the year have been given photocopies of Dd's A level papers as examples of what the examiners are looking for.

I was rather surprised to hear that the school could just access a student's public exam papers and distribute them, without asking the permission of the student concerned. Does anyone know if this is allowed?

We were given sample essays to look at (and dissect) when we were at school. And when I did my Masters a bound copy of everyone's dissertation ended up in the universery library for future students to refer to.

Sounds pretty standard to me.

Yes it is allowed. I believe there's a clause somewhere in the small print on the exam syllabus that states that the candidates agree to hand over copyright of their scripts to the exam boards, or something.

Yes it´s allowed. Personally, I would ask the pupil who wrote the answer if they minded before I shared it, but I don't think teachers actually have to do that.

Well, yes, but they are usually anonymised.

Schools can pay for copies of answer papers. It is good practice for both teachers and students to see how answers are marked, what is allocated marks. This is more important when an exam is changed, as all exams have been over the last couple of years.

So yes, it is legal. I used to pay for top and bottom achieving papers in order to show students how to gain and lose marks. All teachers should do this.

Your daughter should feel smug as all go to hell

But she should also feel pissed off as nobody should be able to tell the paper is hers!

Yea anonymised though I’d have thought

It’s unusual for it to be “this is X student’s response” but completely normal for schools to use exemplars like this.
Exam boards publish exemplar material every year, so teachers have some idea of what constitutes a particular level.

How did her friend know it was hers?

Why are you concerned?

Yes, it’s fine. Schools can pay to have papers returned after they’ve been marked so you can pay to have an a grade / c grade / E grade etc so you know what they look like and use them with your classes.

If the school has requested copies of these papers, there are restrictions on the use and circulation allowed. If your DD is not pleased, she can withdraw her permission.

I write sample essays to exam questions myself or use those supplied by the exam board in training etc - as far as I’m aware exam boards seek permission to use essays in this way.

I do let pupils see previous A Level coursework essays and GCSE controlled assessments in class, sometimes without the pupils’ express permission. I never photocopy them or let them leave the room, and while I don’t always directly get permission, pupils would be aware I may show them from being in my class previously. I would never show work which might have been particularly personal in some way, and choose the examples carefully based on students who I know wouldn’t mind. Previous work is also displayed at open night etc.

I do think photocopying and distributing essays without permission is poor practice though.

My history teacher gave out my sister's paper to our class. I didnt find it at all encouraging.

My dd's gcse geography paper was used anonymously, we weren't asked permission but informed at parents evening.

Yes always been allowed.

At uni I was asked for my permission but not at school.

I write sample essays to exam questions myself I stopped doing that when I saw the pickle a colleague got himself into when he wrote one that was utterly wrong. It would have made a perfect answer to a 2nd year Uni paper, but missed ALL of the A level criteria

For some reason I could never shake the fear I would do the same thing!

Is this just an excuse to stealthbrag?

I hope so. Or someone is very unhappy over a very normal thing

I think I'd be a lot unhappier to find out that my or my child's scripts were being used as examples of what not to do!

Yes standard practice and should be anonymised. Also normal practice to display student work on a visualiser to show how marks are being gained- be this for a student in the same class or a different one. Surprised your daughter raised it as an issue tbh.

I'd be so proud that my daughter's work was being held up as an example of academic excellence. So should you.

Not at all standard if these were written in an exam, it is totally against regulations to look at these before they are posted off. (Former exams officer)

trinity Did anyone say they did that?

It may be legal, but I think it’s really unethical of them to use the paper of someone the students have a likelihood of knowing without explicit permission from the student. They should us an anonymized response from a student the other side of the country.

Curious, yes the OP said they they were her child’s A-Level papers.

Except, they cannot get scrips from any other centre.

And the exam boards tell you that this is good practice, as does Ofsted!

When anonymised, obviously!

That's why the exam board sends out a sample of answers too!

No - not allowed.

Student should give signed permission to request papers from exam board and should also give permission for it to be shared with class.

If it is a homework essay or a timed q she did at school that would be different, but the teacher should have deleted her name. However, I always think it can be a nice compliment to student to leave the name on it and some students would like this