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Original poster

Is it normal for teachers to cheat in SATs?

245 replies

MerryMarigold · 11/05/2017 16:47

I don't personally give a stuff about SATs, but ds1 came home and told me that teachers have told him some of the answers - in all of the tests. Is this normal behaviour? I am shocked, mostly because it is teaching ds1 that cheating in exams is ok. In this case, it is the school cheating.

This just seems really off - and will obviously boost the school's results. On another occasion the HT told my ds1 to 'get a move on' with his paper, which I thought wasn't good either. Ds1 does have slow processing, but I'd rather he was careful and did the questions correctly than storm through the paper. Another time he missed a question as he didn't know the methodology so he moved on (I taught him to do this rather than waste time on something he doesn't know) and he told to go back and do it.

Oh well, it's all over now.

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Fayrazzled · 11/05/2017 16:54

Absolutely not normal in my experience.
If it my child came home and said that, and I was sure they were telling the truth, I'd report it to the Standards & Testing Agency. It's not on.

Tomorrowillbeachicken · 11/05/2017 16:55

I'd report that tbh

Original poster
MerryMarigold · 11/05/2017 17:03

Any teachers out there?

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Fayrazzled · 11/05/2017 17:05

MerryMarigold, I'm a teacher and it is not normal. Most teachers, whether they have misgivings about testing or not, will do everything they can to maintain the integrity of the tests, Cheating is not on and it's not fair to any of the children.

cantkeepawayforever · 11/05/2017 17:11

That is absolutely not normal - and not fair. The pressure put on teachers, and heads, is very high - and with data analysed down to the nth degree, certain categories of pupil may have a disproportionate effect on the school's overall progress results - but the vast, vast majority are honest and obey the rules.

For a teacher to give a pupil the answers makes a mockery of the whole system.

In your position, I would report the answers being given, but not the 'get a move on' or the reminder to go back and complete a question, as neither of those are 'cheating' in the same league as giving answers.

Acornantics · 11/05/2017 17:11

There's a thread about this very thing from a parent on the TES community site. The replies all recommend reporting any information about possible cheating by school staff to the Standards and Testing Agency.

Original poster
MerryMarigold · 11/05/2017 17:13

Well I have 2 younger kids in school so don't want to cause too much trouble. Also the 2 teachers involved with answers are really nice, one is the deputy HT. I just wondered if it's actually fairly common. Shocked me as that have to sit in the hall at tables either end of a table so no chance to look at anyone's work. It's definitely true, he was telling me as part of general conversation on how it went, not like "Wow, guess what happened...."

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Original poster
MerryMarigold · 11/05/2017 17:15

What would be the next step of reporting?

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TheDonald · 11/05/2017 17:15

Yes my dd is in y10 now but back in y6 her school did this. I posted about it at the time.

I expect it's more common than you'd think.

In our case it was the deputy head. She walked around the class and read over their shoulder and tapped any answer that was wrong with a pen.

I couldn't bring myself to report or complain at the time but dd is now having real problems with an unrealistically high gcse target in English so it has had consequences.

cantkeepawayforever · 11/05/2017 17:17

Report it. What does everyone involved being 'nice' have to do with anything?

I suspect you can report anonymously if needed. There have been previous cases of misdemeanours being investigated and whole sets of results invalidated - quite rightly too.

soapboxqueen · 11/05/2017 17:20

There's a lot that goes on from gently skirting the rules, to very grey area stuff but flat out telling people answers is not usual at all. Whether I would report it or not I don't know. It's very hard for me to give a shit about anything SATs related.

cantkeepawayforever · 11/05/2017 17:20

This is the official guidance. It states that "We will endeavour to keep the name of the person making the allegation confidential. "

OddBoots · 11/05/2017 17:21

I did hear from a teacher who resigned and moved aboard a couple of years ago of schools offering "breakfast revision" and the papers being opened and looked at by teachers just before this session so the revision could be very targeted. That was with GCSE papers so I could easily see the same happening with SATs.

TheDonald · 11/05/2017 17:37

The problem will be that it's the teacher's word against an 11yo.

I didn't want to involve dd and I don't know how else they'd get to the bottom of it.

I think the worst thing is the message it gives the kids that cheating is OK.

Mind you at least they weren't actually telling them the answers so it doesn't sound as bad as your school.

BubbleBed · 11/05/2017 17:41

Being a secondary school teacher of Y7s, who's abilities do not match their SATS scores, this seems to happen...... I've heard from students about students having readers and being told answers, so they did the best ever, and the school got good grades.

sparepantsandtoothbrush · 11/05/2017 17:42

It absolutely is cheating and should really be reported. However, I know of someone who did report this happening and the whole year had their tests voided. The kids were devastated to have spent months of SAT revision to have nothing to show at the end of it

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/primary-schools-sats-results-entire-5481384

DarkFloodRises · 11/05/2017 17:42

Definitely doesn't happen at my DC's school.

BubbleBed · 11/05/2017 17:44

Definitely doesn't happen at my DCs school either! They wouldn't be having the shit they have off Ofsted if they did 😂

Iamcheeseman · 11/05/2017 17:45

I'm a teacher and a sats marker. Please report this. At the least it should mean they'd be one of the schools visited next year to check they are doing them properly.

OSETmum · 11/05/2017 17:48

I'm a TA and no, it does not happen at our school.

Original poster
MerryMarigold · 11/05/2017 18:11

I know, the thought of voiding the whole year's SATs is hideous. They have worked so so so hard. Ds would be devastated. I have to be careful even taking to him because if he knows this info would get anyone into trouble, let alone the best teacher he's ever had, he'd be likely to change his story.

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Original poster
MerryMarigold · 11/05/2017 18:12

OSET, one of them was a TA.

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Original poster
MerryMarigold · 11/05/2017 18:15

In terms of them being nice, it is relevant, because they have gone above and beyond for the kids and the school. It's obviously got the better of them. I may mention it to the HT though so he knows the pressure is making staff do this. I won't say who did it to him though.

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mrz · 11/05/2017 18:28

Cheating is definitely over and beyond Hmm

HumphreyCobblers · 11/05/2017 18:35

This has never ever happened in any school I have worked in.

And the AGONY of silently watching a child rub out a correct answer and put in an incorrect one cannot be expressed fully.