SATS cheating - by the Head!

[Dilemmaramma]

In my DC’s final SATS exam yesterday, the headteacher was overseeing and they picked up DC’s paper, DURING the exam, flicked through it, then rubbed out one of the answers and told DC to try again. They also pointed out another wrong answer and indicated DC should re-do that question.

This is clear cut cheating, right?

YABU - don’t report it, the whole year group could get their SATS voided and they’ll be devastated
YANBU - this is appalling and the Head needs to be investigated

It’s called flagrant cheating!

And as an FE teacher, my dh wishes schools wouldn’t ’artificially inflate’ GCSE results. Can you see a pattern yet?

I know this is a few days old but I think it should have been reported. If this HT is happy to do this in SATS what else are they happy to flout the rules on? It's about morals and not turning the other way. Those who have said what if she got to gain from reporting it, do you feel the same if she turned the other way of someone was getting robbed or hurt etc? She would have nothing to gain from reporting that but she'd be expected to do so.

That would if course be a case for reporting as it is a serious matter. SATs are not.

To the teachers who have to abide by an enormous set of serious rules and recommendations, and live with the consequences of the performance measures they lead to, they absolutely are.

You have made the wrong decision.

I'm not allowed in the exam room with my gcse students so there is no cheating going on.

How can they do that?

(Ignoring 2020 and 2021).

Not many still have coursework, and these are moderated.

I’m referring (of course) to the interventions/practising that some secondary teachers call hot-housing.

Obviously.

I am not being purposely obtuse here.

For most subjects, the students have to sit exams. The teachers don't know the contents of the exams in advance.

Or are you saying that good quality, focused teaching is bad?
You get what you measure. The measure is GCSEs, so schools teach to gghat.

I’m saying that good quality, focussed teaching plus good quality, focussed revision sessions are good.

But when primary school teachers do this, some teachers and parents accuse them of artificially inflating pupils’ attainment/hot housing.

Writing is a case in point - the standard required at Y6 is crazily high. Many adults would not be able to write at this standard. I’ve seen children’s spelling/punctuation fall off a cliff when they reach secondary. Did we hot house them? Or do we simply have higher expectations because we have to?

Years ago, I took part in a transition project with Y7 teachers observing me. They couldn’t believe the standard that Y6 were working solidly at because it wasn’t anywhere near where they pitch their teaching. Y7s come back and report boredom because so much is repeated over the next two years. And HLTA of ours tutors GCSE students outside school and can’t believe how much of the Y6 curriculum constitutes GCSE Maths.

Out of curiosity OP, if the HT was a class teacher instead, would you still decide not to report him?

You really ought to know that it's a really bad idea to let anybody in without checking even in a two-invigilator situation as one may be needed to take a child to the toilet, though.

It’s just a recommendation. Not a rule. 😉

RTFT, @NeverDropYourMooncup

My decision is mostly about not wanting the whole year group to have their scores voided. So I don’t think that would change my decision.

When SATs first started, so a long time ago, Primary schools didn't have as much experience of external exams as the High schools. My OH, a marker, got a batch with a note from the Head saying that after the allotted time a line had been drawn under each child's work and then they could continue to finish the Paper! When OH passed this up the line he was told to mark the whole Paper just like the rest.

I used to work in Y6 and one year there was an investigation because someone had made an allegation about staff helping the children/cheating. I suspect it was a whistle blower in the school as it was common knowledge that the SLT would always invigilate the children who were borderline.

We were all interviewed, but we still got our results as usual.

I think there would have to be substantial evidence of cheating for a whole year group's results to be voided. Eg several children's papers where answers have clearly been altered by someone else.

You have made the right decision

I guess I can still change my mind. This is where I currently am. Reporting is an irreversible decision. Not reporting isn’t, if you see what I mean?

If a years SATS scores are invalidated it doesn't negatively impact anyone later on in life. They aren't GCSEs.

Do you think the kids and teachers would be pretty upset? I’m assuming they would, after all their hard work. It feels so unfair, after all it would be through no fault of their own.

You're absolutely right, OP.

Whatever people's opinions on SATs are, they are official tests and the Head really over-stepped. Everyone in schools is well aware of the rules around official testing.

I'm glad you're going to raise it with him. Make sure you mention that other kids saw/heard and are speaking about it, or he might try to accuse DD of lying.

If he's desperate enough to take risks like this, he's desperate enough to dig his heals in.

Hopefully your conversation will give him pause and stop him repeating these actions in future.

That’s all on the HT, not you.
The “unfairness”has already happened - to those who did not receive any help either in your son’s school or at others.

Did SLT change their behaviour at all after that?