Cheating Examiners: ANOTHER Secretary of State fobs me off!

In December 2011, I wrote to Secretary of State Michael Gove, among others, on the subject of the role and responsibilities of GCSE and A Level Examiners. I simply pointed out that abuse of position is well known and has been going on for years. Moreover, I told him that I had told him this before.

I got a response on 29th December 2011 that told me that Sec of State Gove is too busy to write to me but a minion has been delegated to write to me … here is Mr Haynes’ reply (don’t you just love the century’s old Mr Haynes!!)

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Dear Mr Williamson

Thank you for your email of 11 December, addressed to the Secretary of State, about alleged exam malpractice. As you will appreciate, the recent media coverage has generated a considerable amount of correspondence and the Secretary of State is therefore unable to reply personally. It is for this reason I have been asked reply.

Ministers have always been committed to significant reforms of the exams system. To restore standards and faith in the system, Ministers have already:

• legislated so that the exams regulator, Ofqual will be able to fine exam boards
• legislated to give Ofqual freedom to raise the standard of qualifications; and
• reformed the performance table system for schools, so that only performance in the most valuable qualifications for young people will count. 

More recently, the Secretary of State commissioned Ofqual to conduct an urgent inquiry into the allegations over the exam system in the Daily Telegraph. The Secretary of State welcomed Ofqual’s initial report that was published on 21 December and the actions they have in hand to repair the damage the revelations have done to the reputation of exams. Details of Ofqual’s report and the Secretary of State’s response can be found at: http://www.education.gov.uk/inthenews/inthenews/a00201221/michael-gove-letter-to-ofqual

You may also be interested in the statements I have included below, from Ministers, setting out their views over the need for urgent reform of the exam system. 

• In an interview in The Times in June, the Secretary of State declared that one of his chief aims as  Education Secretary was to ‘change our discredited exam system’.
• The Secretary of State gave a speech at the Standards Summit convened by the qualifications regulator, Ofqual on 13 October – seehttp://www.education.gov.uk/inthenews/speeches/a00199197/michael-gove-to-ofqual-standards-summit
  He spoke about a range of issues over standards including the risk of a ‘race to the bottom’: 'It’s important that collectively we recognise that exam boards and awarding bodies, in the natural and healthy desire to be the best as an exam board, don’t succumb to the commercial temptation to elbow others out of the way, by saying to schools and to others “we provide an easier route to more passes than others.”'
• In an exchange of letters between the Schools Minister and Ofqual on 29 November – see http://www.ofqual.gov.uk/news-and-announcements/128/807- the Minister highlighted the following: ‘In our view, the chief risk of market failure with qualifications, particularly pre-19 qualifications, is in relation to standards – the so called ‘race to the bottom’. The nature of competition seems to present significant risks of awarding bodies producing more accessible specifications, with content which is less intrinsically challenging, in order to capture market share’. And, in relation to awarding bodies being involved in the publication of textbooks, ‘To protect public confidence in the system and to manage conflicts of interest effectively, we need the highest possible ethical standards, combined with a fully transparent system.’
• The Secretary of State’s initial statement about the exams system in the light of the recent Daily Telegraph articles – see http://www.education.gov.uk/a00200596/michael-gove-responds-to-the-daily-telegraph-investigation - included the following: “Our exams system needs fundamental reform. [These] revelations confirm that the current system is discredited. … As I have always maintained, it is crucial our exams hold their own with the best in the world. We will take whatever action is necessary to restore faith in our exam system. Nothing is off the table.”

You may be aware that changes to GCSEs are being introduced. The following link provides information:

http://www.ofqual.gov.uk/news-and-announcements/130-news-and-announcements-press-releases/820-ofqual-confirms-changes-to-gcses

Thank you for taking the time to write with your comments and concerns.
Yours sincerely

Mr G. Haynes
Public Communications Unit
www.education.gov.uk

As part of our commitment to improving the service we provide to our customers, we are interested in hearing your views and would welcome your comments via our website at www.education.gov.uk/pcusurvey

Your correspondence has been allocated the reference number 2011/0083207. To contact the Department for Education, please visit www.education.gov.uk/contactus