Boredofstudies is in the news again
HSC exam cheats call on hi-tech help | National News | News.com.au
HSC exam cheats call on hi-tech help | National News | News.com.au
SCHOOL students are swapping tips on the internet on how to cheat in the HSC by smuggling in notes on phones and MP3 players.
Postings on popular student study sites, including Bored of Studies, discuss how new technology can be used to access notes in HSC exams.
One student wrote it was "unbelievably easy to cheat in the HSC. Just write notes on your phone and go to the bathroom and pretend to poo. bam 100 uai". Allegations of cheating have already rocked this year's exams, with one female student from Tumbarumba High School accused of smuggling notes into her English Modules exam last week.
The Year 12 student told users on the Bored of Studies website that she found a blank piece of paper in her pencil case and decided to write notes on it.
"I was about to start my exam when (an) examiner took (my notes) off me.
The examiners collaborated and decided not to give them back and they've accused me of cheating," she wrote, adding she was now awaiting a ruling by the Board.
Last year 39 students were found guilty of cheating in the HSC - 28 caught plagiarising and 11 others penalised for taking unauthorised notes into exams. Students caught cheating are awarded zero or partial marks, and in extreme cases can even have their HSC cancelled.
Storing notes on iPods and sending text messages from mobiles in toilet breaks are among suggestions from current and former students. One user wrote: "Bob cheats by keeping notes in his pencil case. He also cheats by sharing calculators. He goes to the toilet during test time and calls his friend on his (mobile) and asks for the answer."
The NSW Board of Studies conceded a number of HSC students had been caught trying to smuggle electronic devices into exam rooms.
But Board spokeswoman Rebecca Lloyd said traditional cheating methods were still the most common.
"While the technology is there, it's not proving as useful to them as you might think," she said.