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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think school should have done something about this cheating in exam

32 replies

Notrightbutwhattodo · 25/06/2018 10:44

DS did end of year 8 tests a few weeks ago. Following one subject came home and told me most of his form had cheated in the subject they had done that day. Apparently they got hold of a cheat sheet from other dc who had already done the test. There was only ds and a few others who didn't cheat. Consequently the bulk of the class have aced the test but ds and co have not! This is definitely what happened as I spoke to some of his friends and their parents. He is very annoyed, as am I, but doesn't want to snitch. These marks will be used to set targets and decide which set the dc will be in next year.

I phoned school the next day and informed the office who assured me that this would be taken seriously and passed on to the year head. DS really didn't want to be named as he didn't want to be seen as a snitch so I didn't leave a name or details.

Weeks have passed and nothing has been done at all. They all have their marks back. DS hasn't done too bad but he is normally towards top of the year but obviously not this time. I don't know whether to let this go or not but feel so annoyed every time I think about it!

OP posts:

DianaPrincessOfThemyscira · 25/06/2018 10:44

What are you expecting to hear back exactly?

Hidillyho · 25/06/2018 10:47

What do you want them to do?

Their marks and expected grades will be given due to cheating and therefore make it harder for them to achieve their predicted grades. I wouldn’t stress yourself about it as you know that your DC has achieved what they could by putting in the effort. The only people they are really cheating will be themselves as they will have to do tests that they are unable to cheat in and risk getting a fail

seventhgonickname · 25/06/2018 10:48

Since this will not affect your son at all as he will have individual targets leave it.Unless the cheats manage to do the same in every test the results for them will even out.One good test amongst the many they take won't amount to much.

Dontfuckingsaycheese · 25/06/2018 10:48

How would you know? Have targets been published? Sets announced? You were anonymous so can't expect an update.

Original poster

Notrightbutwhattodo · 25/06/2018 10:48

I think they should have have at least investigated the cheating at school and preferably redone the test.

OP posts:

Sharkwithknees · 25/06/2018 10:51

Really, let it go. I'm not surprised your DS didn't want to be named.

upsideup · 25/06/2018 10:52

What do you want them to do? The kids who did cheat are hardly going to own up, if they are put in a higher set which is too high for them they will be moved down when they start to struggle, your ds will be put in the correct set based on his correct mark so it isnt going to make any difference to him.
Its really common for Y8 kids to cheat a little bit for not properly supervised exams at this stage, it will have happened before and will continue to happen but when it comes to the GCSE tests that matter, it will be fair and no one will be allowed to cheat.

DragonsAndCakes · 25/06/2018 10:53

They’ll probably just use other information to decide how to set them. I don’t think they’ll tell you what they’re doing.

upsideup · 25/06/2018 10:54

Let it go, it really doesnt matter, a year 8 child in his school wll be cheating on a test everyday, they always will be.

brilliotic · 25/06/2018 10:57

Well if only top set is allowed to do x/will be taught y (e.g. for GCSEs) and your DS misses out on top set because only z number of children can be in top set and some others are now in there who shouldn't really be, then this could affect his future.

Therefore if that is the case, you should probably call school again, but this time not anonymously. You should be able to rely on school dealing with this confidentally and nothing falling back on your DS.

You need to give your name/DS name so that if he gets put in a lower set than you think he should be, you can 'appeal' the decision and have a paper trail of evidence.

Seeing as you didn't give your name, how did you expect to hear back on this in the first place?!

MoreAndLess · 25/06/2018 11:01

If it was me I would call the school again but not do it anonymously.

JessicaJonesJacket · 25/06/2018 11:06

It depends how important the tests are. I'd imagine the school decide the DC's sets on continuous assessment throughout the year and not just end of year exams. In which case, the children will be positioned fairly as the exams will appear as a blip in their overall pattern.

You should have arranged a meeting with the teacher rather than calling the office if you wanted them to even consider resitting the exam.

Bibesia · 25/06/2018 11:11

How do you know they haven't investigated? They wouldn't tell anyone other than the parents of those they find have cheated. They will probably make decisions about sets etc based on teacher assessments anyway.

BeautyBox · 25/06/2018 11:14

Maybe they'll put them into sets based on other info and disregard the test results.

I understand your concern that your DS might miss out on being in a higher set because of where he sits compared with the average score given the cheating but I imagine they'll do set reviews and if he seems to be performing better than some of the cheaters they'll be some moving around

Tinkobell · 25/06/2018 11:19

Write to the Head, say what you've done so far and ask them to clarify what actions they've taken. Say you're dismayed by the schools culture of accepting cheating at a young age and if unaddressed this potentially poses serious risks for the school and its reputation at a public examination level. It's a shame that the school send the message to the kids that cheating pays and integrity and hard work doesn't.

Wonkypalmtree · 25/06/2018 11:21

If they put him in a lower set he can be moved up, happened to me, I was depressed going into secondary school so didn’t do well but going into third year sets I was put in a mid league set, by first half term I was put up top set. Teachers will look out for children that need to go up or down.

As others have said there wasn’t a lot the school could do, unless a new exam could be set, which doesn’t fit with most schools policy

SnuggyBuggy · 25/06/2018 11:22

Surely it will be obvious that someone who isn't great at a subject that has suddenly aced a test has cheated.

It's not fair on him if not.

Bobbiepin · 25/06/2018 11:32

Targets are calculated using ks2 data and one outstanding test will look suspicious amongst other tests throughout the year that aren't so good. Teachers will spot who has suddenly achieved much better than previous assessments, they aren't stupid. It's year 8, it's not the end of the world.

northernirishgirlonline18 · 25/06/2018 11:34

If you really don't want to let it go, then do phone the school and ask for an update. There isn't much that can be done without names of the individual's being put forward.

You could ask why the pupils weren't all made to re-sit the exam, but again, if they can't change the content of the exam then it would be difficult to ask them to do this again, without the same cheat sheet being used.

It's good that your child has confided in you and if it were me I'd be pretty pissed off too (as a student and if I was the parent). You could always write a letter to the Head of the School or an anonymous email from an account that wouldn't be linked to you?

Otherwise, maybe letting it go is the best thing to do, you and your child are safe in the knowledge that he wasn't one of the cheaters and got the score he did on his own.

VladmirsPoutine · 25/06/2018 11:39

Thing is, even if they have done something that something can't be divulged to you. Secondly, an end of year 8 test isn't going to set the world alight so you should probably let this go seeing as you've done the only thing you could have done which was to inform them.

CanaBanana · 25/06/2018 11:40

There's no point getting upset about one test when everything at school is a lie. Teachers are required to show progress during the year so they will artificially lower grades at the start or inflate them at the end to show the required results. Sometimes the results are required to show a spread of grades (we can't have too many As) so results get adjusted up or down to fit the required spread. E.g. In a class with not many As, the top Bs will get bumped up, whereas in a class with too many As the borderline ones will get bumped down.

I taught age 16+ and was told that every pupil MUST pass or the school wouldn't receive government funds for that pupil. So I was required to make sure they all passed, even if I had to do the work for them because they were incapable. It's all about money and having the "right" results on a bit of paper, it's not fair at all and never will be as long as the "right" results carry a financial bonus for the school and the "wrong" results mean the teacher will be disciplined.

user789653241 · 25/06/2018 11:42

I think I would call school again and as others said, not anonymously.
They must already be suspicious, if so many who shouldn't aced the test.

Inertia · 25/06/2018 11:50

Not sure how you'd expect to hear back if you didn't tell them who you were?

Kokeshi123 · 25/06/2018 12:12

I'm surprised at the responses here. I would have expected the school to have followed this up at least.

Allowing cheating, even in a minor test, sets a bad precedent. Given the levels of plagiarism and cheating at university level these days, maybe we need to start making a stand about this early?

Original poster

Notrightbutwhattodo · 25/06/2018 12:18

I am in a quandary because I really am not 'one of those Mums'. I hate phoning school or making a fuss but the injustice here has really annoyed me plus I don't want my son to think it's OK to cheat. Agree though I don't know his set or target for next year and am just assuming they will be lower than the cheaters who aced the test.

OP posts:

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