To think parents completing their childrens A level work is unfair.

[GlamGiraffe]

I dont mean helping a bit, I mean doing the coursework themselves.

DS is in the final year of a levels and goes to a school with a particularly high population of parents who are artists, designers etc by profession. He is battling to complete his work for both art and dt and despite working away at school and home is not managing to keep up to anything near the same level as a lot of the students. Recently they have been laughing and commenting about how their parents do all of their work, one girls mother apparently has written more than 80% of her history of art essay alone which comprises a significant proportion of the mark, another boys mother has produced all of his DT work and produced all the drawings etc. These are just as examples of the type of things that are happeneing).

I am aware we all try to help our children but surely there has to be a line (And we dont all have the same suitable skills). Children are not being marked against their peers any longer. A different marking system needs to be instigated. Perhaps smaller projects only carried out in school?
Am I unreasonable to think the system is now ridiculously unfair?

This was happening when I was at school, i vividly remember visiting a friend and her mum was completing her art assessment. Mum had done everything submitted for two years (and this was when there was no final exam)
It is unfair but what can be done?

Speak to the school about it? Or are they complicit in the expectation of good results? In which case I'd be tempted to contact the exam board...

They aren't doing their kids any favours in the long run, remember, they aren't learning anything and will be found out eventually.

I despise this. A family member has his dissertation written by his mother. It was way beyond his ability level.

I would never do this for DC
But i have a personal friend whose sister (older by 10 years) did his dissertation. He got a 1st. And is now extremely senior in a well known organisation directly linked to his degree.

Surely the schools can see the mismatch in styles/abilities in the classroom vs at home?

Can the teachers not tell? Surely an otherwise average student in class producing amazing coursework would ring some sort of alarm bell??

As a teacher who has dealt with coursework, there are very few parents who do this, but a lot of students who claim they do. It's cool to pretend you didn't actually do the work when you're a teen. Like saying "I didn't revise before an exam" - when we all know you did lots.

It's also very easy for teachers to recognise it's not a student's work. Plagiarism is easy to spot - especially in art work I've been informed by art teacher friends.

This is why coursework should be carried out in school and not at home.
The whole education system is unfair. Even if everyone did their course work at school, there would still be some children benefitting from what their parent can provide, such as a private school or private tutors for exam prep. And some kids, who have no parental support, will still be at a real disadvantage.

And who is going to come a cropper at uni ?
Not your kid who has got there with their own efforts.

I always wonder how long this would go on for, if they go to uni will the parents do their work then too? Or do they struggle enormously because they aren’t used to doing academic work by themselves?

I had a relative who had his grandmother effectively do all his internal assessments for his law degree.

They managed to up his mediocre exam results.

And I went to uni' with a mother who came and notated the law lectures for her daughter, who couldn't possibly make it to a 9am lecture. Oh how we laughed when she asked if she could possibly just get us to send her our notes (I managed to type them verbatim at the lecture), to save her the bother. . .

Given some of the posts from parents on here of late teens/early 20s children does it really surprise you?

Someone I know my age (late 20s) Got booted off her PhD when someone found out just how much her mum was helping her write her thesis. No idea how they found out but a word to the wise I guess.

Here's what AQA say;

Reporting malpractice
If you believe you have witnessed malpractice in exams and assessments, your first port of call should be your head of centre who has a duty to investigate and report all such incidents. If you believe that you may be victimised by raising such issues with your head of centre, or if you feel that your senior management team is involved, then please contact us directly.
Awarding bodies are keen that malpractice and maladministration are reported and would encourage anyone who has information regarding malpractice to come forward and report the matter. If you wish to remain anonymous, this will be respected, unless an awarding body is legally obliged to report the identity of the person making the allegation.
You must be aware that information supplied anonymously cannot be used as evidence. However, such information can form the basis of, or give probable cause for, an investigation. In order to support any potential investigation it is better if you supply all the information you have at one time, rather than add information later, if possible.

Edexcel - qualifications.pearson.com/content/dam/pdf/Support/malpractice-and-plagiarism/JCQ_Suspected_Malpractice_18-19.pdf

If they have already signed the forms confirming it's all their own work, the actual procedures are different - but it doesn't sound as though the staff have either noticed or are turning a blind eye to the fact that the students are submitting work that is not theirs and has not been completed under exam conditions. This means that they are unlikely to refuse to accept the work as they must if there's any doubt about provenance.

The pressure to allow it to happen is intense in some schools. I've been 'encouraged' to 'just read through a bit before it's submitted' before - but the subtext was obvious. When a job can be at risk for lower results, it can be difficult for somebody to resist that pressure, never mind the ones who know and don't care because it makes them look good.

Contact the exam board and give as much information as possible. They will act. Otherwise, if it comes out later, your DC could lose the grades that have been genuinely earned through hard work.

If this is true and it’s not just your DS’s peers trying to look cool, they’re heading for a HUGE face plant when they get to uni and aren’t taking their books home to Mummy every night.

I was kicked off my A level English Literature course as they didn't believe i had written my coursework! I had but was too shy to put up a fight, i just ran out and cried!

Surely the teacher can spot coursework thats different to the student's usual work.

I suppose for the DT it should be blatantly obvious that the work isnt bring completed by the pupils. None of it ever gets done at school and full professional constructions which would take an average hobbyist days to make turn up in multiples every week obviously made to to professional standards. School of course are guaranteed great grades.
In art none of the pupils have ever had to produce written work before so the art teachers wouldnt have a clue if they could even spell.
I'm just finding it really hard to understand how the system has been allowed to get to this. To truly mark a practical subject like art or DT surely they need to refuse e the amount of content required but make sure it's done in school?

It's not allowed.

That's why you need to report it.

I was kicked off my A level English Literature course as they didn't believe i had written my coursework!

This sounds odd.
Where were you parents in all this? If such a thing happened to my DD, I'd be at the school immediately.

At least it’s parents doing the work. DH often used to get told to do his employer’s daughter’s coursework during his work hours. And wasn’t it in the news that a teacher admitted doing Prince Harry’s coursework for him?

I'm a solicitor and have observed plenty of colleagues "helping" (writing) university essays, dissertations, job applications, even their work when the little darlings are employed. It's horrifying and unethical.

My DD does most of her practical for DT, Fine art and 3 D art in school - very rarely do we see any of it at home. Her written work - like all essay based work is done in her own time, but her teachers question her on the work produced. I am sure that if she hadn't written it it would be apparent in the gap between written and verbal knowledge.

I am sure when she gets to college she tells her peers that she has been out partying and at festivals for the entirety of her holidays. In reality she has put in really long hours of research and work on her technical skills.

This is rife in the middle class enclave I live in
And not even particularly a secret
People regularly say to me Need to redo DC's whatever tonight
No way would I do this Teaching my DC personal integrity is more important to me

What is quite interesting, is the parents who are not even studying the A-level / degree can complete the course work!!

My idea sot be to make all GCSE/A-levels exam based.

What I don’t understand is why the parents don’t TEACH their DC instead of just doing it for them?

Can the teachers not tell?

Of course! However the pressure is so great for good results that staff are expected to accept it. I recall one particular pupil who produced a very professional piece of work, clearly not done by her but I was told that I had to accept it and grade it. When the girl ploughed the written exam I was almost pleased,

I wouldn't want exam only. Some kids are terrible in exams, do it doesn't reflect their true ability. Coursework was supposed to even that out a bit and take some of the pressure off.