Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Pupil got marks for rude reply in GCSE Examinations

A pupil who wrote "Fuck off" on a GCSE English exam paper was given two marks for spelling it correctly.

It meant he got 7.5% - and England's chief examiner said he'd have got 11% if he had added an exclamation mark.

The pupil gave the four-letter answer, which earned him two marks out of 27, when asked to "describe the room you are sitting in", reports The Sun.

Peter Buckroyd, chief examiner of English for the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance, said: "It does show some very basic skills we are looking for, like conveying some meaning and some spelling.

"It shows more skills than someone who doesn't write anything at all."

But Campaign for Real Education chairman Nick Seaton said: "No wonder our exam system has lost all credibility.

"The candidate should have been given no marks at all. The remark is totally inappropriate and neither teachers nor examiners should be expected to suffer such abuse."

But the Government's exam regulator OfQual refused to condemn the approach.

A spokesman said: "It is for awarding bodies to develop their mark scheme."


Tsk tsk!


~ ananova.com

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