Compute Science GCSE mess up

[fairyqueen]

Any computer science teachers out there got any words of wisdom for DD who has spent all term working on her controlled assessment? Just doesn’t seem fair to scrap it at this stage. Not fair to carry on either of course. www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/ofqual-says-marks-computing-coursework-should-end-after-widespread

DD's task involved writing a quiz (OCR) ...

I know that you completely didn't mean to and that it seems a fairly innocuous comment but this is an example of information about the NEAs being made 'available' on social media, easily. There will be students who are taking the OCR qualification who have yet to start their NEA. Indeed, some were planning to be taken off timetable over three or so days in Jan/Feb to sit the NEA in one go and be working on skills for it, right up until the end.
They would now know that the task is a quiz, they can now look up many solutions online and start memorising them - thus having an advantage over a student who didn't have this information, prior to starting.

Of course, by highlighting it, I am also complicit! But this was the argument that so many of us teachers told OFQUAL about the impossibility of keeping these NEAs a complete secret with 70,000 odd students/parents having access to the Web. It should never have got to this stage and OFQUAL should apologise for being responsible for a qualification that they were told wouldn't be enforceable.

There was already a comment on this forum stating what the two NEA's were prior to my comment but I do appreciate your comment....

There are 100's of comments all over the internet that go as far back as September !

This will give you an idea of some of the posts on the net :

I have just started my computing NEA. We have been given the quiz task. I have a fairly limited knowledge of python and so I need a lot of help with the actual code and possibly write up. I am hoping to achieve at least an A in the task. I know most of the marks are in the write up so if there is a template or example for an A* grade that would be amazing. Any help would be massively appreciated as my teacher from last year was poor and my current teacher can only do so much. Thank you.

I don’t think Roly needs an idea of what comments there have been on the Internet if they are already teaching this but of course they can reply themselves if not but I think they were just highlighting how easy it has been for malpractice to go on with this NEA with comments about the tasks reaching the thousands, rather than personally attacking you.

Roly used the words - innocuous comments - if she had taken the time to read the comment before my post she would have seen that two references had been made to NEA tasks but she chose to highlight my comment... I am not a teacher but a parent of a child that has just spent 20 hours on an exam that for all intensive purposes was a waste of time ....I think its sad that a subject that allot of children were excited about will end up with 100% theory exam - Is this supposed to attract children to computer science ? I have a bright child who could have easily gone into this field BUT was turned off by 80% theory never mind 100%. Very sad indeed !

I mentioned two of the tasks. There were more I believe. At this stage, on Mn, I that it was fine for the tasks to be mentioned briefly with no expansion or further explanation. This is a parenting website and I was talking from the point of a parent who's Dd has potentially had her final grade compromised by the acts of others and the lack of foresight if those agencies paid an awful lot of money to set these exams. I only know of the other task as other teachers at open evenings have mentioned it when we've visited the computer science departments. However, mentioning the basic premise of the task doesn't actually help a student to cheat - they know their own task in lesson 1 of starting the NEA. The brief mention of it on a site like MN gives them no further information. Obviously if we'd then posted an explanation of how to break the tasks down and how to approach it, or suggested some python (or whatever language) code that might solve it, it'd be a different matter.

It would appear to me that it is a very small minority of schools do the 20 hours in a block over 4 days. Looking online about this mess up I've found evidence of very few at all. The vast majority do it over a period of weeks. And unless those children weren't allowed to go home each evening they've got ample opportunity to google for several hours then if if they were so inclined. So again, after day 1, then they have time and opportunity if they are the type to cheat.

I’m a bit confused by the outrage at @RolyRocks’ comment. ‘Innocuous means ‘harmless’ to mean your sentence seems harmless but OFQUAL have said this is exactly what they don’t want and Roly’s post went on to highlight that this was an example of how easy it has been for things to go on Social Media and that it is OFQUAL’s fault-not yours.

Technically the tasks are still live and I can assure you ‘Hulababy’ that many schools are doing the tasks in blocks. There are many thousands and of schools signed up to the course and plenty have done just this. But that was not the point I think Roly was making (and I hope they come back to confirm!) and i’m sure it wasn’t meant to offend. The fact is, that the tasks ‘have’ been mentioned on this thread and this is part and parcel of what has got OFQUAL in a twist. Of course, the horse has already bolted and I don’t think either of you need to feel bad or apologise but it is still a valid point that the tasks are still live, some schools still haven’t started it and yet you are talking about the tasks. Something we have been forbidden from doing (but impossible to stop!)

I certainly don't feel bad or a need to apologise for simply mentioning what two of the possible tasks may be. The consultation talks about the solutions available and cheating. Simply knowing the nature of the task is not that. You need way more information than a two or three word description to get any further. And having been to 6 sixth form open evenings recently and read about more via friends with similar age children in other areas - the basic nature of the possible tasks has been spoken about by every single computer science department, and that includes those who haven't started it yet - starting January for many it would seem, though not in blocks in those cases.

I dont think Roly's post was necessary on this forum...on one hand she is stating that it was a harmless comment and then on the other hand she was stating that I had highlighted the nature of the NEA to students who had not started the assessment when this is a parents forum.

I totally agree with Hulababy after the first session whether its 20 individual hours or 4 block periods then students would be available to seek help from the internet.

If you go to the student room there are realms and realms of coding posted for students to copy that these go back to September - further more I think student posts and a couple of innocent posts "after the consultation had been announced and where the recommendations were that the NEA would not form part of the exam" seem to be the least of problems - my understanding is that the big worry was teachers interpretation of Use others’ solutions to help conduct the NEA" and that cheating or should I say bending the rules seems to be ingrained.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-42608372

course work will not now count - what a F* up. Feel for all of those , along with my DS who put hours and hours of effort into this.

Is there a public sector institution in this country that is capable of delivering the job they are supposed to do.

I suspect there will be a judicial review. A public body should not be making retrospective decisions like this.

They've done it before.

The component was compromised by the people who posted high control material online. The public body (Ofqual) had to act to minimise unfairness.

A judicial review is unlikely to achieve anything, even if it is possible (haven't checked the rules to see if Ofqual decisions can be challenged in this way). A judge will only overturn Ofqual's decision if it is Wednesbury unreasonable, which basically means irrational. Given that it is clear there has been widespread cheating, it is difficult to see how else Ofqual could preserve the integrity of the qualification.

So what now is the point of Computer Science if there is no actual programming in it.

Note from our computer science department - they have to complete the task, the head has to confirm this was done and the exam board may visit to check apparently! One of the exams includes questions on programming although not the same as writing a programme.

That was the information my DS got, it won't count but they still have to complete the coursework. He is not happy but I am trying to convince him to see it as some kind of practical revision.

20 hours js quite a lot of time. My dis was about half way through when the plug was pulled. Clearly they want to get it finished now in minimal time as it’s not marked and they’ d rather spend time on exam prep. I believe they will now be allowed internet access during the allotted hours so I think DS plan is to get it done quickly with minimal write up and then spend rest of time studying/revising something else. What a mess !