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

ugh this thread has made me proud of the fact that we're all a bunch of rule following nerds at our school 😆 No one even opens the outer boxes of the papers without witnesses, much less the inner plastic packs. etc. I remember one year feeling badly that I'd messed up IN PRACTICE RUNS because I'd read everything aloud for the child who needed someone to read for them, but after being instructed on the guidance I found out I couldn't read the symbols aloud for them for the real exams. I still worry about that one!

oh but I'd report, absolutely.

But you're not allowed to suggest they have another go, or indicate they have got it wrong. The child got it wrong and it's up to them to check their answers and correct them, or lose marks. The teacher cheating means that the child will look again and gain marks that they wouldn't have.

This is absolutely correct, one of my children had their PTM/PTE test manipulated by school (child told how to answer questions, pointed to correct answers, told which ones to correct, several children inc my child taken out class to ‘work on test’. This hindered my child greatly as all looked good on paper child ended up getting a ECHP due to SEWB from unmet needs, child’s detailed as ‘Complex SEN’ but you wouldn’t know it from their test scores!

And the guidelines quite clearly state that this is not allowed.

I can't believe how many people seem to think this is okay. It's also unfair on those of us who do follow correct procedures, because our results are compared nationally.

This is true.

It also reflects on how well the primary school performs

Please report. As a headteacher who conducts SATs with integrity it’s not fair.

I think this head was looking out for their reputation and wanting high results. Did he go around looking at everyone’s papers? It’s quite bizarre and I feel conflicted about tbh. The rule follower in me does not like this at all but the mum in me doesn’t want all the children disqualified. Tricky situation, perhaps approach the head for a discussion.

I deal with parents who try to tell me their child is well-behaved in school.
You really have no idea.

No, because they aren’t told these grades until Year 9 or 10 and other factors go into them too.

All I can conclude from this thread is that the cheaty teachers were drawn to it like magpies.

I am shocked at all the people tying themselves in knots to justify not reporting it.

The children won't be disqualified.

The head may face closer scrutiny in future, particularly if enough people report it.

I reported my son's head and there was no suggestion of any possibility he would be interviewed about it /the children would be disqualified

Yes they are, though my daughter’s year missed SATS due to lockdown and her predictions were based on average CAT scores from year 7 instead. Her CAT scores were very spiky, with 134 for verbal reasoning and around 110 for everything else , so the average score gave her predictions of grade 6 in all subjects when she is really advanced in English and wordy subjects but struggles in maths and science. SATS have been shown to (statistically) correlate with GCSE results. That’s not to say a predicted score is what a child will achieve. My daughter’s maths teacher insisted for the past two years that she’d achieve a grade 6 in maths, when she was averaging just below grade 4 in every test!

I can't speak for all secondary schools but we don't use SATs for target levels for KS3 or grades for GCSEs We use MIDYIS (Middle Years Information System) for that. For setting, we issue own tests mainly though SATs results are also taken into account as well as the class teacher's view in the first term of secondary.

If the HT did cheat, it's obviously highly unethical and may be a sign of the pressures they feel they are under.

I would absolutely report it. That is really, really terrible behaviour from a head teacher. SATS don’t matter. They shouldn’t matter. So nobody should need to cheat.

It's about time SATS were abolished. They are pointless as secondary schools do CATS when they start.

I'd report it to the governors.

I think this practice is pretty widespread. Just a gentle ‘you might want to look at that again’ sort of thing. It certainly happened to my child years ago.

Outside invigilation is the only way to prevent it and that’s unlikely to happen because of the cost.

Reporting one person will not make any difference. However, it may destroy someone’s career and even their life if the tabloids jump on it which they have in the past, although to be fair I think the case I heard about involved a teacher or Headteacher actually altering papers after the test.

Of course it’s wrong, but personally I would let it go, or have a quiet word with the headteacher making them aware that you have concerns. This would probably ensure they didn’t do it again.

As long as the system remains as it is, it will always be open to abuse.

How has it helped the child? SATS measure the performance of the school, not the child. By cheating, the head teacher is trying to bump up the schools performance, presumably to make the school appear more attractive to prospective parents. It’s very dishonest.

This is my issue is that it’s what people believe but many children with Sen are capable and the scribe gives fhem access - my daughter has quite complex Sen needs and requires a scribe but she is academically able her scribe would not help her but is she does well that’s what people will assume.

That poster wasn’t saying all children with SEN aren’t capable. She’s talking about specific children who scored well above their individual ability (not above some low score she thinks all children with SEN will get), and therefore probably had help from the scribe or reader.

There was a teacher got caught out doing this a while ago and he lost his job and was struck off from teaching. I don’t think it’s great but not sure I could report. The heads must be under so much pressure and stress.

I doubt a few questions hinted are going to make much difference, maybe he was being kind? Is your child known to be intelligent and he felt sorry for him for making too many obvious mistakes? Maybe he's just a really kind man!! Don't be a dick and report him.

Report it. We don’t need dishonest cheats for headteachers. Our children deserve to be taught by people with integrity and professionalism.

If it doesn't matter why endeavour to ruin someone's life? Just for kicks?!