OCR Void IT Assessments

[SteveBentley]

This might create a few headaches for your IT teachers - OCR have declared some controlled assessments void because worked answers have appeared online.

 

OCR assessment shock hits GCSE Computing students

 

If the article is correct and they are using the same assessment each year, it's astounding that they didn't expect that this would happen and have something in place to mitigate.

[Bompalompalomp]

Stupid. There's so many tests that have entire dumps online and this is just punishing everyone to spite the few who may have used one.

Surely they could've informed people beforehand and not have ruined their studies.

[Garacesh]

If the article is correct and they are using the same assessment each year, it's astounding that they didn't expect that this would happen and have something in place to mitigate.

Completely agree - if they're going to keep doing the same thing year after year, people are going to put the answers out there. This is just like the sites that give you past papers to practice with.. Just OCR aren't changing the 'papers'. I'd go as far as to say it's OCR's fault.

 

Stupid. There's so many tests that have entire dumps online and this is just punishing everyone to spite the few who may have used one.

Surely they could've informed people beforehand and not have ruined their studies.

Agreed on punishing-the-many-because-of-the-few, but it depends when they first found out about it. Although apparently the notice was dated July, so did they just date it wrong, or have the issued it too early? (and if the latter, what on earth were they waiting for?)

Plagarism isn't too hard to detect. I would expect it to be even easier to figure out if any kind of programming is involved.

[SteveBentley]

The plot thickens.

 

Rory Cellan-Jones @ruskin147

 

OCR exam board tells BBC decision scrapping assessment in computing GCSE "posted in error" on website - final ruling tomorrow

[SimpleSi]

Follow #withdrawnCA on twitter to get a full flavour of the storm!

[Oaktech]

Fortunately it doesn't affect us.

 

However, one of my friends was on the phone to me in tears this morning ahead of having to tell her students they were going to have to do almost 40 hours of summer school to get the new tasks completed.

 

Nightmare.

[Garacesh]

"As a result, we have decided that with immediate effect OCR will withdraw the existing controlled assessment tasks and will be replacing them for the next academic year.

 

"However, to avoid penalising the vast majority of hard-working students and teachers, those candidates who have completed or just started their controlled assessment tasks will still be able to submit their work. OCR's examiners will be extra vigilant when overseeing the marking process and will use a range of tools to ensure that no candidate has gained an unfair advantage.

Source: BBC News - GCSE computing tasks withdrawn after answers appear online

 

Looks like they're allowing them for this year but will scrutinise them a little closer, and changing them for next year onwards.