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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to want to complain about this exam invigilationr?

316 replies

bibbitybobbityyhat · 20/05/2019 17:21

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?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
7
TheFallenMadonna · 21/05/2019 14:27

The exams officer would I think thank you for a heads up, because it's a breach of JCQ regulations, and they won't want it happening when they get their inspection. JCQ will not think it's "just life".

caughtinanet · 21/05/2019 14:48

Exactly the same deadposh, an invigilator changed the clock?

Even if you don't complain I'd be reporting that to the exams officer, every invigilator on the thread has said that's a clear breach of the rules.

Rufusthebewilderedreindeer · 21/05/2019 14:58

I agree with gatehouse and kitty

Badly trained or incompetent invidgilator there

If they are doing that wrong what else might they be doing wrong

TheTitOfTheIceberg · 21/05/2019 15:23

It doesn't really matter if anyone thinks the OP's DD shouldn't have been affected by this. It wouldn't have mattered even if none of the students had been disadvantaged this time. The invigilator broke the guidelines either through ignorance or (less likely) wilfully and the Exams Officer needs to be made aware so that it can be addressed before this person invigilates again. If they carry on doing their own thing because they haven't bothered reading the JCQ rule changes properly or for whatever reason, sooner or later someone will be seriously disadvantaged in such a way that even MN couldn't argue otherwise as if MN could ever pass up the chance for an argument so it needs to be reported now.

DecomposingComposers · 21/05/2019 15:39

If your child is doing a levels I would expect her to be intelligent enough to work out the time correctly by looking at only one clock

How would you know that the clock had changed unless you sat looking at it or had happened to look at it soon after the exam started?

If you are engrossed in what you are doing it's understandable that you might look up eventually and think that time is going quicker or slower than you thought. I wouldn't leap to " someone must have changed the clock, let me check". I would just accept that the time was correct.

dazzledandconfused · 21/05/2019 17:41

I’m an invigilator although I don’t do A-levels. For the exams I do do, there are strict rules from the exam board saying there should only be one clock in a room. If the room is big enough it needs more than one, they absolutely need to say the same time. Mention it OP as it may be taken into consideration.

MissBelle83 · 21/05/2019 17:53

This is something invigilators used to do.
You should tell the schools exams officer so they can ensure they are following current procedure. The school should investigate and can gather statements from students about the impact this had to then submit to exam board. However it is highly unlikely the exam board will do anything. They are very very strict. For example, if your mum or dad were to die in the two weeks prior to exams you would only get 5% uplift in your mark.

M3lon · 21/05/2019 17:57

I'm really confused about how this situation could possibly lead to your DD losing 15 mins at the end.

If the exam was an hour she would have been expecting it to start at 2 and run till 3.

According to this situation the exam finished when one clock read 3 and the other read 3:15. It didn't end when either clock read 2:45 - which is the only way I can imagine she would not have been expecting the exam to finish by.

Jellyrunner · 21/05/2019 17:59

Sounds like something your DD should raise, she is 17/18 after all. But raise it as a point to note and to make sure it doesn’t happen again, not a complaint. I agree with others, if she had been confused she should have raised it there and then.

Jaxhog · 21/05/2019 18:01

I get it Op. Because she didn't know one clock had been changed, she made the wrong assumption about the exam end time. Making the wrong assumption, means her planning for answering the questions was wrong too, meaning she thought she had time to answer the last question when she didn't. That is unfair in my opinion.

MumW · 21/05/2019 18:01

Is it ok for a student to raise their hand and ask a question after the exam has started?
Absolutely ok. We can't report/solve an issue if you don't tell us. Things do happen in exams. We had a battery fail on us and it was a student that alerted us to the fact the clock had stopped so we were able to fix the problem. We did inform the students of what was going on as well as report it on the incident log. I always check the exam clock against my watch as a back up.

MissUGirl · 21/05/2019 18:03

I agree with M3lon. If the child was following the wrong clock she would have ended up having 15 minutes longer than she expected to.

MumW · 21/05/2019 18:10

Could your DD see both clocks during the exam?

celticprincess · 21/05/2019 18:19

Watches are possibly no longer allowed in exams now. I had an exam at uni for my MSc in January and we had to remove watches. This is due to smart watch technology and the possibility of cheating.!

Jogonandshutup · 21/05/2019 18:20

No warning is given signalling the end of exams - this is normal practice.

bubblegumunicorn · 21/05/2019 18:34

Its been a while since I’ve been in an exam like this but from what I remember they wrote the start and end times on a whiteboard at the front do they not do this anymore? As that would have had her budgeting 15 minutes less surely!

Nonnymum · 21/05/2019 18:34

Yes students can raise their hand and ask a question and many do or ask for a pen, to go to the toilet, etc etc. . The chief invigilator should make this clear when they give the instructions at the beginning.

Ferrisbuellersdayoff · 21/05/2019 18:36

Teachers are allowed in the exam room, but not normally if they teach the subject being examined.

Ferrisbuellersdayoff · 21/05/2019 18:38

Candidates wearing watches have to take them off and place them on the desk. If they have smart watches/fitbits, they must not bring them into the exam room or they have to hand them in before the paper starts. Exam centres are allowed to ban all watches from the exam room if they choose.

Whoops75 · 21/05/2019 18:38

Do they announce when there is 10 mins to the end of the exam?
Did your daughter leave early?

Ferrisbuellersdayoff · 21/05/2019 18:45

Invigilators are only allowed to give a 5 minute warning and no other warnings apart from frequent reminders to save work for candidates using computers or in other special circumstances - for example, candidates that need a prompter.

beautifuldaytosavelives · 21/05/2019 18:46

it used to be common practice to turn the clock to an ‘easy’ time, but it’s not permitted now. There is a requirement to write start and end time on a board though. Raise with the school as they will need to report the disruption and apply for special consideration if appropriate. Only analogue watches are permitted in the room, but it’s a good way for them to keep track of their own time

beautifuldaytosavelives · 21/05/2019 18:47

No warnings permitted anymore other than for saving on a computer

Ferrisbuellersdayoff · 21/05/2019 18:47

Invigilators are definitely allowed to give a 5 minute warning.

00100001 · 21/05/2019 18:52

"Invigilators are definitely allowed to give a 5 minute warning."

Depends on the exam board actually.