to want to complain about this exam invigilationr?

[bibbitybobbityyhat]

One of my children was in an A level exam today.

They started 15 minutes late.

Without announcing it, the invigilator turned the clock back at the front of the hall to the time it should have started. So turned it back from 2.15 to 2.00pm.

She did this without announcing it, I'll just say that again.

However, there was another clock in the hall telling the correct time.

My child was completely distracted by the question of what was the correct time and when would the exam actually end throughout the exam.

In the event, it ended 15 minutes before she was expecting and she missed out on answering her final question properly.

AIBU to be livid?

[itswinetime]

I'm confused the clock at the front was 15mins behind the real time? No one saw it change.

Your daughter went by the clock on the wall showing the actual time 15 mins ahead. But the invigilator went by the clock at the front? So how did the exam end 15mins before she was expecting it should have been longer than she thought surely?

[Todaythiscouldbe]

*clock obviously. I corrected that twice as well 🙈

[Piggywaspushed]

Look, it doesn't matter if we are going to argue semantics about age and be wildly unsympathetic. The rules were not followed. MNers are usually up in arms about this!

[CuriousaboutSamphire]

So how did the exam end 15mins before she was expecting it should have been longer than she thought surely? That's the question, isn't it?

The exam started 15 minutes late in real time. One clock was turned back, not the other - but not all students may have noticed as there seems not too have been a clear announcement of this fuckwittery. Students have watches, so do invigilators. 15 minutes late, turned back a clock, what times went up on the board? Who knows which clock was used to time the exam?

That's why JCQ have rules about clocks in exams!

[IronManisnotDead]

@bibbitybobbityyhat I think your DD was fully aware of what she was allowed to do in an exam, especially after sitting those 12 GCSE's, and her Mock A Levels, but you stated the clock was turned back, yet in another post you said your DD did not see it being turned back?

I think it's definitely worth putting a complaint in thou, and my last post was not meant to be offensive, I wish your DD the best of luck in her exams.

[ClaryFray]

If the exam time wasn't exactly an hour and a half or however longs it's meant to be and the examiner ended it 15 minutes earlier than it should end then yes complain.

[MILLYmo0se]

Im confused.....she used the unchanged clock for her timings? So then she had an extra 15 minutes she didnt expect at the end in which to finish her questions? Or have I gotten this backwards? Im here writing down times trying to figure this out , its been a looong Monday

[SuperMoonIsKeepingMeUpToo]

@IronMan you certainly came across as very offensive, I'm sad to say.

OP YADNBU and if I were you I'd be creating merry hell tomorrow. A levels are stressful enough without ridiculous actions like nit making the times transparent. You and your daughter have my sympathy.

[coconuttelegraph]

You should definitely speak to the exams officer to find out the facts.

What your DD is saying doesn't quite add up - how did she know the clock was changed, if she could see two different times the assuption would be that one clock must somehow have gone wrong or stopped not that someone had wound it back which would lead to the student putting their hand up to check.

It's implausible that someone who has 12 GCSEs, so maybe 30 exams, doesn't know you put your hand up if you need help or have a query

[itswinetime]

MILLYmo0se

I'm with you I feel like I'm in an exam and I'm failing! Too me there should have been an extra 15 mins not less.

[2toddlers]

I've invigilated uni exams. I've never moved the clocks around the room, that's very confusing for anyone who uses their own watch to glance at the time. Exams don't always start on the dot for whatever reason so you do end up starting at 14.03. It isn't rocket science adding the time on. You always write the start time and end time clearly on the board at the front and if it's a big hall in several places so it's clearly visable to everyone. I always did a 5 minute warning too.

If the finish time wasn't clearly displayed and changing the time really did confuse them I'd get them to have a word before their next exam to avoid it happening again. I doubt there's anything that can be done to their exam mark with it being an outside exam board marking.

[recrudescence]

In my 40 years as a teacher I never saw the clocks altered in a way that meant they were deliberately not telling the real time. Recipe for confusion I would have thought.

[goodwinter]

Rules now state that invigilators are not allowed to tell students how much time they have left though (just to confuse the issue)

What's the reasoning for that?

[HarryTheSteppenwolf]

In the event, it ended 15 minutes before she was expecting

This doesn't make sense. If one clock was showing 2 pm and the other 2:15 when she started, and the exam was scheduled to last 2½ hours, then one of the clocks would have to be showing 4:30 when the exam was due to end. One of the clocks in your daughter's exam room would have been showing 4:30 and the other 4:45; neither would be showing 4:15. So the exam did not finish 15 minutes earlier than expected: if she was looking at the wrong clock it finished 15 minutes later than expected.

That said, yes you should ask the school to inform the exam board about the invigilator changing the clock, leaving the two clocks showing different times (unless he/she explicitly told students which clock to refer to) and not telling students what time the exam would finish. There is no point complaining to the exam board as an individual. If the school won't support you (which it probably won't, as this incident would be the school's responsibility) you'll need to get a group of parents to complain collectively.

[KittyMcKitty]

Rules now state that invigilators are not allowed to tell students how much time they have left though (just to confuse the issue)

Rule 26.3 states that only a 5 minute warning to candidates is permitted.

You have never (in my time) been allowed to tell a student what time it says on a clock etc etc (tip tip make sure your children can read an analog clock you would be surprised how many can’t) - I assume it’s because this would be considered giving assistance to a student.

[placemats]

It's against the rules to have two working clocks of different times and most students now require digital also.

The times to start and end should be displayed clearly on a whiteboard.

You can give a five minute warning for the end of the exam. You cannot tell a student how many minutes are left if they put their hand up half way through the exam and ask.

A Levels are very stressful.

However, exams should not be starting at 2:15. The latest an exam can start in the UK in the afternoon is 1.30pm (the earliest being 12.30pm).

[KittyMcKitty]

However, exams should not be starting at 2:15. The latest an exam can start in the UK in the afternoon is 1.30pm (the earliest being 12.30pm).

The afternoon session is 1.00 - 2.00. But yes 2.15 is too late.

[bigTillyMint]

Eeeeek
Your poor DD. I would definitely contact the Exams Officer about it asap.

[nauseous5000]

A level exam means she's at least 16 unless seriously gifted. She should have asked or complain herself. She's not a kid anymore

[DishingOutDone]

Do people on here hate young people or kids or whatever you want to call them so much, and are they so obsessed with any adult employed in a school being beyond any form of reasonable reproach, that they are more than keen to overlook such an obvious breach of the rules and the duty that the invigilator had?

There's an exams officer on here, quoting the correct rules, with a photo, telling us EXACTLY what should happen and saying its fuck all to do with the student being expected to sort it out him or herself. I think we should all listen to her.

[user1486131602]

Complain to the examination board

[KittyMcKitty]

A level exam means she's at least 16 unless seriously gifted. She should have asked or complain herself. She's not a kid anymore

She had a right to expect her exam to be conducted as per the JCQ regulations.

[placemats]

Kitty

That is wrong. Exam papers are legal documents and on the pm session the printed start time is 1pm. However a school can start half an hour earlier than that printed time or half an hour later.

[DishingOutDone]

She should have asked or complain herself - in what universe is an A level student allowed to challenge all the sainted adults in a school? Its in the middle of an exam FFS

[placemats]

Can start within.