Exam papers get electronic tags to foil cheats*

By Graeme Paton, Education Correspondent
Last Updated: 12:39pm BST 11/05/2007

UK - Exam papers will be electronically tagged to combat cheating, it
emerged today.

Batches of papers will be fitted with anti-theft radio devices - similar
to those found on CDs and clothes in shops - amid growing fears that the
examinations system is open to abuse.

Tags will be scanned as they are posted to schools and colleges, and
then checked at regular intervals before students sit GCSEs and A-levels
exams. The technology will store data such as how many papers are in the
bundle, where they came from and where they are going.

It follows fears that papers have been stolen and sold in the past,
while others have appeared on the internet before tests are staged.

Two years ago police were called to investigate the theft of maths and
chemistry A-level papers after questions were posted online ahead of the
exam. And in 2002, Farzana Akbar, a teacher, was jailed for three months
after admitting stealing five GCSE maths papers from the Archbishop
Lanfranc School, south London, to help students.

The new electronic tags are among a range of high-tech measures being
tested by Edexcel - one of Britain’s biggest exam boards - to stamp out
cheating.

Tests are also being printed on special paper to make sure they are not
photocopied and a computer-based marking system will flag up any
unexpectedly good results.

It comes just weeks after a new book claimed teachers were being urged
to mark up students’ coursework to inflate their grades.

Jerry Jarvis, Edexcel’s managing director, said: “Incidents involving
stolen papers are extremely rare, but the potential impact is massive.
The logistics of re-issuing an alternative paper to schools and colleges
around the country and re-training markers on the new paper are
complicated, costly and could ultimately be detrimental to candidates.

“We’re doing a major trial of new techniques and technologies with the
aim of deterring potential thefts, enabling us to better identify the
source of a lost or stolen paper, and reducing the threat of fake papers
being sold to candidates.”

Strict guidelines cover how papers are stored in schools and colleges.
Locked cupboards, only accessible by exam officers, must be used and
batches cannot be opened ahead of a designated date.

However, Edexcel said a small number of suspected breaches were reported
each year during the assessment process.

Of the 620,000 bags of examination papers despatched by the exam board
last summer, around 70 security breaches were detected. It included
examinations packages being inadvertently opened early.

In addition to the tags, new “micro texting” technology will be used for
the first time, using a distinctive printing technique which ensures any
photocopied papers can be easily identified.

Edexcel is also using an online marking system, making it easier to spot
cheats. Nine out of 10 papers are scanned, digitised and marked on-line
by examiners using the so-called ePen system, which flags up any
candidates who have performed significantly out of line with expectations.

The online system also makes it easier to spot if a group of students
all have the same answers and cheating is suspected.