A Level History: NEA

[nearlyemptynes]

So my son has been accussed by his school of plagiarism in his NEA coursework. They have reported him (and others) to the exam board for use of chat GTP. They have been advised they must submit a mark of 0 whilst it is investigated- he has scored 17. He said when they were given the coursework back any parts suspected were underlined in red and for him it was a couple of sentences, for others much more he says.

What are his chances.

I'm surprised if they can identify a couple of sentences as being from ChatGPT. A couple of sentences from a more static source, yes, but ChatGPT gives different responses each time, so it's the overall style (or changes in style) which can be more of a giveaway.

Did they say ChatGPT specifically, or internet plagiarism?

Did he use ChatGPT?

Turnitin can now identify AI generated content.

Best case scenario: he gets the awarded mark
Worst case scenario: he's disqualified
Most likely: he loses the NEA mark

He admits he used chat GTP. He says he used it for research. I know this is probably not true.

Ah. Then I suspect it's more than a couple of lines..

Realistically, he's probably looking at the loss of the NEA mark, as MrsHamlet says, as it's a discrete unit of the qualification.

So update time. We have now heard from the school who have heard back from the exam board. They used their software and there was a 98% match to chat GP AI. He has lost the NRA mark as well as the whole History exam. No surprise really and just glad it hasn't affected his other subjects.

You're very calm! I would be incandescent. Well, it's a salutory tale for students isn't it? I wonder, did the school warn them not to use it, and the risks involved? At uni level everything goes through Turnitin, so students know the consequences of plagerism.

I wonder, did the school warn them not to use it, and the risks involved
When students fill in their candidate declaration, they sign to say it's their own, unaided, work.
The fee we pay for Turnitin in my school is worth every single penny.

Turnitin is incredibly specific. When I was doing essays for my professional course, I had to go through every line and work out whether it had picked up generic phrasing (e.g. 'a mean arterial pressure of more than 65 mmHg is recommended') or if there was a risk that I had inadvertently used specific phrases in my work. I found it really helpful, and massively reassuring when my Turnitin score was low.

Did your DS genuinely think he had only researched using chatGP or did he admit that he'd used it for his work? It would be in his best interests to fully appreciate what he's done so that he doesn't do it again.

I am calm because I have been around the block I think. I have 3 DC , eldest is at Cambridge and that hasn't been without it's stresses. The latest being that his finals and dissertation is unlikely to be marked before September and so we are faced with a graduation at the end of June with no results. My second DS who is the one involved with this AI thing should never have taken A Level History and was unlikely to pass. He is a bright boy who hates writing. They are , in some ways victims of Covid. They also have a big part to play themselves of course!