Schools are gaming the system by entering pupils for maths GCSE twice with different exam boards to give them double the chance of scoring a good grade, figures suggest.
Data revealed under the Freedom of Information Act shows hundreds of pupils were entered for maths GCSE with more than one board last year.
It is feared schools may be trying to boost their league table positions by trying their luck with two boards – a breach of the rules.
The Department for Education figures show 54 schools ‘double-entered’ pupils for maths GCSE in 2016. Of these, 43 double-entered pupils at the end of Year 11.
One school entered 69 pupils for maths with two boards.
The Department for Education figures show 54 schools ‘double-entered’ pupils for maths GCSE in 2016. Of these, 43 double-entered pupils at the end of Year 11
The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), which is responsible for monitoring exams, is investigating the schools and has the power to suspend them.
Mel Muldowney, a maths teacher at Alcester Academy in Warwickshire, told the Times Educational Supplement, which gathered the figures: ‘Double entry is going on. I can understand why – the pressure of accountability and desire to get the best result for students.
‘But it is not fair and not right for the rest of us who are playing the game according to the rules.
‘And what experience are those children getting of maths, having to sit nine hours of maths exams? That bothers me, it is turning kids off maths. It may be a small minority of schools but it is a moral issue – education is not a game.’
Education is not a game
Mrs Muldowney submitted her own FOI request to Ofqual, the exams watchdog, and found that in total 172 exam centres double-entered pupils for maths in 2016. These included centres which were not schools.
Of these, 20 double-entered more than one candidate and nine double-entered ten or more.
A spokesman for the JCQ said it believed that 15 schools – entering around 400 candidates between them – merited investigation.
In general, it is against the rules to enter pupils for the same qualification with different boards, although there may be exceptions, for example in the case of resits.
Under DfE league table rules, only the first exam taken in any subject counts in the rankings, but in an apparent loophole, if qualifications are taken on the same day, the best result is used
Under DfE league table rules, only the first exam taken in any subject counts in the rankings, but in an apparent loophole, if qualifications are taken on the same day, the best result is used.
Sanctions for malpractice can range from a written warning to stopping the centre from offering an exam body’s qualifications.
The JCQ spokesman said: ‘Malpractice remains rare and cases are usually identified through rigorous inspection visits, whistleblowers and data analysis.
‘The small number of potential GCSE double entries that have come to light are being reviewed carefully.’
The DfE said that it was not possible to conclude from the data that malpractice had been committed.