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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

cheating on exam tomorrow

127 replies

elerng · 07/01/2021 21:06

DD has an 11 plus exam tomorrow, it is for a private school and academic scholarships will be awarded based on the results.

The exam has been sent to all parents today to print out for the child tomorrow. The children will sit the exam being watched by teachers via zoom, and complete the printed out paper. The parents then need to take the paper away and send it to the school.

DH and I have different views on if cheating will happen. I don't think parents will cheat, I have to believe all parents will respect the difficult circumstances however DH does think others will cheat.

So I guess AIBU to think parents won't cheat on behalf of the child?

OP posts:
Blacksheepcat · 07/01/2021 22:15

Why would the school do it this way...they can’t possibly think it’s fair. They could do the exam ‘live’ online easily. It would put me off the school if they can’t get to grips with online exams in this day and age.

oakleaffy · 07/01/2021 22:16

@Toptotoeunicolour

At my son's school they had interviews after the exam for scholarships, with math question. Presumably they will still have those over zoom and it will become clear who has cheated.
A lovely boy I knew gained a scholarship to a top school, but he was always passionate about his subjects {Geology and Music} and walked the exam and interview on passion alone. Well deserved.
Sandalison · 07/01/2021 22:17

That’s crazy and there will definitely be cheating.
Definitely

ilhahih · 07/01/2021 22:17

They will cheat.
I am in another country and tutor English. A lot of the children have had online exams recently which are important for getting into various schools at 14.
I was asked by several sets of parents to cheat. The exams were to be done online but without a webcam switched on. They wanted me to sit with the child and do the exam. I refused in all cases. No way.

shelbyrae · 07/01/2021 22:18

Yes, they will cheat, when it;'s so easily done and will help the child secure such a big opportunity.

Changemaname1 · 07/01/2021 22:19

I think everyone would cheat too haha I’m thinking if I would ... 😂😂 I would certainly let them have the test paper in advance I know that !!

As a pp says though wonder if they will have any sly questions or something that would draw out any cheaters ? Probably aren’t aloud to do that but if you are going to cheat to I’d make sure that all the questions are stuff that dd has definitely covered !! 😅

tabernacles · 07/01/2021 22:22

Not only will some people cheat, but this method is excluding children whose families don't have a printer, i.e. the poorer ones, who are more likely to be members of various social minority groups, so it's indirectly discriminatory.

Testing during the interview won't reliably weed out the cheaters either, as some children will be much better at written questions than verbal ones, even when the content is the same.

I got into a grammar school that I wasn't in the catchment area for (so had to score higher than others) and we didn't have the average technology at the time (i.e. we wouldn't have had a printer if it was now, maybe not even a computer/internet), so I wouldn't have got a place (or even been able to apply) if this had been the situation then.

Witchend · 07/01/2021 22:22

@elerng

Really? But an 11 year old will know cheating is wrong and will know they are cheating. I can't imagine helping my child to do that and letting them think it's ok. Shit. Oh well I'm not changing my values.
Some 11yos won't care. But with 11yos you can just subtly make sure that you happen to have mentioned that bit you know they need beforehand and they probably won't remember-or even put information stuck up behind the screen so they can read it..

At secondary Dd used to do a termly interschool maths thing. It was meant to be a fun thing that was just about doing fun maths. They gave 1/2/3 prize and all that took part got a chocolate bar. Lots of fun for them and generally the children loved it.

One of the schools consistently came last/second to last.
The term they hosted their teams all came first.
Talking to one of the children afterwards they said to dd "we were just lucky. The head of maths (who was sent the questions the day before) decided we'd do an afterschool session yesterday for training and he went through several questions some of which were almost the same as the ones we did today."
I'll also note that the head of maths decided to "tease" the school that had come first the previous time (and was at that point winning) by pretending to not want to give them their question paper for the last question. He was holding it above their heads and pretending to make a joke of it, after the timer had started. They lost (I was watching and timed it) nearly 90 seconds of a 5 minutes question, that's around 1/3.

If someone will cheat on something like that which really doesn't matter, then yes, parents will definitely cheat on an 11+.

HeadNorth · 07/01/2021 22:24

Remember those wealthy American actresses who actually employed people to cheat their children into prestigious schools? So yeah, parents who want to give their kid a leg up over other kids will cheat like hell.

Anon778833 · 07/01/2021 22:24

Some people will definitely cheat BUT if the child gets to school and doesn’t perform like a scholar, and they are continually outperformed by others then the school is going to know exactly what happened aren’t they?

inkandpen · 07/01/2021 22:25

God, what a depressing thread. OP if it's any consolation I wouldn't even consider cheating (and I've been through the 11+ system). Stick to your guns.

Anon778833 · 07/01/2021 22:25

You have to remember that scholarships are not worth much financially - they are a kudos award. The child will be expected to live up to it.

Dontsayfuckorbugger · 07/01/2021 22:29

Of course they will. Christ I would if it meant my child got a better education. I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Blowingagale · 07/01/2021 22:31

Some of the children won’t twig if the parents just suggest revising X or Y the day before and they come up. The parents will likely have been nagging at them for weeks about Y (and A and B) because they know it is a weak spot for their child.

Of course this only applies to the parents who have knowledge, time, language skills etc to cheat.

BreakfastClub80 · 07/01/2021 22:33

I’m with you OP, my dd wouldn’t be happy if we’d helped her to cheat and we wouldn’t be able to hide it.

SunshineCake · 07/01/2021 22:35

People will cheat and when their child struggles in a school they aren't capable of being in they will complain hugely.

Don't cheat. Helps no one.

Firkinhavinalaugh · 07/01/2021 23:05

You’d think a HT wouldn’t back up any claims, but the opportunity to write in a prospectus that one of your children got into a prestigious school? I’d back it up 😂 (actually not really but I can really see the temptation - especially in private schools that are essentially a business)

Claireshh · 07/01/2021 23:27

I wouldn’t. Imagine your child knowing they got a place on the back of cheating?

MintCassis · 07/01/2021 23:51

I can tell straight away when parents complete the home learning for the pupils in my class, even when it's typed, as can my colleagues. I'd be wary of cheating, it will clearly stand out to those who are marking which papers children have completed it independently and which ones have had significant adult input.

reader12 · 08/01/2021 00:16

Parents will easily be able to cheat a little bit without the child realising, by getting them to practice similar questions to any they know they will struggle with beforehand. I’d guess most will do this, and the school probably even assume they will if they’re sending the paper out early.

Sinful8 · 08/01/2021 00:18

@elerng

DD has an 11 plus exam tomorrow, it is for a private school and academic scholarships will be awarded based on the results.

The exam has been sent to all parents today to print out for the child tomorrow. The children will sit the exam being watched by teachers via zoom, and complete the printed out paper. The parents then need to take the paper away and send it to the school.

DH and I have different views on if cheating will happen. I don't think parents will cheat, I have to believe all parents will respect the difficult circumstances however DH does think others will cheat.

So I guess AIBU to think parents won't cheat on behalf of the child?

Is it cheating to get them to memorise the answers or is that just teaching?
Charlie63849 · 08/01/2021 00:19

I think you are incredibly naive to think people won’t cheat.

Gobbycop · 08/01/2021 00:23

What a fucking stupid way of doing it.

Stompythedinosaur · 08/01/2021 00:28

Of course people will cheat!