Assessed coursework for GCSE -- do parents cheat?

[Deadworm]

DS1 handed in an essay last week which will count towards his final GCSE result for English.

It just occured to me that some parents might check their children's assessed work and correct errors or suggest improvements. Does anyone do that?

It's not being stopped but will move to being done in school during a series of monitored sessions where the students will only have access to their notes made during their lessons.

My DD is much cleverer than me so there would be no point

I would like to see a schedule of coursework due dates and exams so I know whether I should be allowing nights out or not!

Some GCSE courses don't have coursework either -the Edexcel RE GCSE for example

Yes, they do.

I know someone whose son did all his girlfriend's GCSE chemistry coursework for her.

Fortunately for me, it was hard enough getting my DS1 to do his own let alone anyone else's

I didn't help any of my older DCs with theirs, mainly because I had a younger child and they didn't ask me. I know lots of people who 'proof read', there's lots of cheating going on.

Thank goodness they are stopping it.

If English teachers are correcting errors on coursework you are right to be

Exam board guidelines generally state that we are allowed to make suggestions at the end of a piece on how it could be improved in quite general terms, and suggest that a student looks again at their use of commas, for example, but we should not identify individual errors and certainly should not correct them...

For English, the current Yr 9 will do only 'controlled conditions' pieces in class, plus exams. There will be no opportunity to take anything home and get extra help on it - not that the parents of my pupils do this anyway, as most of them have little or no English or v limited formal education.

Current Year 11 and 10 will still need to do coursework for their GCSE. When current Year 9 start their GCSE's it will change to Controlled Assessment in school.

I daresay there will always be parents who overstep the line between helping the child do homework and doing the coursework for them. As I understand it, however, the main concern of the exam boards is plagiarism from the internet.

I think it is a shame that coursework is going as it gives really hard-working kids (and those children who need more time to get writing done, for whatever reason) the opportunity of doing well.

I can't help feeling it is a bit of a cynical ploy to even out the boy/girl divide as generally it is girls who will re-draft a piece of coursework over and over.

I think our year 10s will be our first cohort to do times assessments.

I am just ging through coursework now with my class and they tend to a lot of it too be honest in school in the library. I can spot fairly easiy if it is not their work and they wil be made to redo it or risk their work not being submitted.

I take in a first draft, give very general guidance and then take it in. Tbh with the sort of student who opts for my subject I tend to get very good quality work first time.

Of course, it may be different for some subjects - I meant Yr 10 and 11 will be doing coursework for English Language GCSE.

Yes , it may depend on exam board as well. Our subject is dropping coursework but I know the other subjects within our faculty are going to controlled assessments. I had assumed it was the case with all subjects but maybe it isn't.

I have helped children with their GCSE coursework and sometimes done it for them. When you care for a child and want it to go to university, you will do anything even cheat. If an A* is required, and they are on a B, then I believe most people would cheat. If you wish to keep your beautiful ethics intact, then watch your children fail and get a rubbish job, whilst other people's children race ahead to a better life. All parents who work know how competitive it is out there. It comes down to accepting that raw reality, and helping your child to kick the other children into the way of oncoming traffic.

Anyone who does not accept this analysis is either in cloud cuckoo land or lying to themselves and everyone else.

Controlled assessments - easy to cheat. Mum writes A* essay, child turns it into its own style - child memorises it - child writes it down at school within the time limits.

Where is the control here? Certainly not in the hands of the teacher or the examination system.

Controlled assessments - a gift to the middle (degree educated) classes who exploit it like crazy. And why not? They are only teaching their children early what the working world is truly like. It would be utterly cruel to tell their children to be fair, good, honest, truthful and kind in a protected environment like school, and them let them loose in the lion's den of work without protection. They wouldn't last five minutes - used and abused - a tasty offering on the altar of some other kid's career.

100% exams - the only way to truly assess ability.

Well perhaps my childrens' schools are unusually honest. They have only ever written the work in school and just brought home bullet point notes that they bring into the exam.

IMO unless the teaching is appalling, there is nothing to be gained from a parent writing an essay - teacher has an idea of where the marks are awarded. Surely it is easier to get a child to study and understand the material rather than "memorise" an entire essay.

In my experience there have only been controlled assessments in English and History; also the MFL are split into bits which are done at various times.

Rylzak - my DD got A* or A in all her subjects without cheating as did the majority of her classmates. Controlled assessments don't even apply to a majority of subjects such as sciences (experiment element done at school nothing brought home), maths, Latin etc.

ds 'school gave them a talk about plagiarism at beginning of Year 10 and this came under that.

THIS IS A ZOMBIE
Controlled assessments have changed!!! The assessed work all has to be done in class now, the only work done at home is preparatory, eg. Mock essays, or research, at the most.

Even dyslexic DD1 who normally asks for stuff to be proofed hasn't asked for help with English CA preparation.

Well actually she did, she asked me to dig out some holiday pictures to describe

(Makes a nice change to sodding history projects for the last three years. Where DH, me, and even DD2 have been roped in to try and get the things stupid things written. Last years teacher kept adding sections.

DD1 likes history and is good at it, but the shear amount of HW it generated was ridiculous.
I think history = all other subjects)

Rylzak Mon 17-Dec-12 23:22:40
"I have helped children with their GCSE coursework and sometimes done it for them. When you care for a child and want it to go to university, you will do anything even cheat. If an A* is required, and they are on a B, then I believe most people would cheat. If you wish to keep your beautiful ethics intact, then watch your children fail and get a rubbish job, whilst other people's children race ahead to a better life. "

Shocked at this even if the thread is a zombie.

If you care for a child, why would you want them to be failing, and possibly suicidal, at university rather than find a niche that was suited to their actual abilities? [shocked]

It is most likely not a parent but someone with an interest in introducing Govean "improvements". No normal parent would write that...

I know this is a zombie thread but I am prompted to comment on Rylzak's comments about helping children with assessments in order to get them to university and prevent them having a "rubbish" job. We are talking GCSE's here! If a student can't cope with the level required for progressing to 6th form or university at that stage, how are they going to cope with the demands of A levels and uni work? Are you going to continue helping them then - assuming you are even able to? Their scraped degree from a probably not very good university is not going to prevent them from ending up on the scrapheap for which Rylzak thinks they are destined without a degree. Separately, I think it is ridiculous to equate a lack of degree with future failure in life. I work in a creative industry where every entry-level position attracts huge numbers of applicants. EVERYONE has a degree and for many of them it is useless. We would much rather see some work experience or evidence of a genuine passion for the industry rather than a 2.1 in a subject which fifteen other applicants also possess.

I'm shocked by Rylzak's comments about cheating. I do agree with her that 100% on exam results is the best way forwards. Getting rid of O levels was a huge mistake.

For what it is worth DD2 is at a comprehensive school in the top stream. Many children in her class are horror of horrors "working class" and quite a few are the children of recent immigrants. The majority of them were working at level 8 in year 8 in English and are on course for A or A in their English Language GCSE which they are starting in year 9, of which they have already done some components. All the work is done in class. They are specifically told they cannot add anything outside of class and their notes are submitted with their paper. The majority do not have university educated parents, some parents do not even speak English. My own daughter has never asked me for help and is on course for an A or A despite being dyslexic.

I am sorry for children who cheat and even more sorry for the adults that help them. Stealing a GCSE or upping your grade by cheating is the same as stealing something tangible in my opinion. I have not seen any evidence of cheating in any controlled assessments that my children have done, nor have I heard any parent speak of such a thing. If I did hear of it I would be straight on the phone to the exam board and the school governors.