An exam board is investigating claims that teachers may have given students prior notice of the questions they were likely to face in a practical examination.
The Oxford, Cambridge and RSA (OCR) exam board is concerned that discussions in an online student forum ahead of their A2 biology practical identified key areas for revision.
A thread was started on The Student Room forums asking for ideas about which topics would be covered in the exam.
One student replied: "My teacher randomly covered kidneys today and offered no explanation. Also we covered yesterday a Benedict's test of a non-reducing sugar... can't be coincidence."
The following replies also appeared:
The Oxford, Cambridge and RSA (OCR) exam board is concerned that discussions in an online student forum ahead of their A2 biology practical identified key areas for revision.
A thread was started on The Student Room forums asking for ideas about which topics would be covered in the exam.
One student replied: "My teacher randomly covered kidneys today and offered no explanation. Also we covered yesterday a Benedict's test of a non-reducing sugar... can't be coincidence."
The following replies also appeared:
- "It's more than likely going to be food tests and kidneys for Q2, as I've been led to believe."
- "Pretty sure it's kidney and food tests."
- "Our teachers have had a look and gave us a revision list ..."
- "In my last lesson my teachers made us do this practical practice sheet on the kidney - all about the different areas and what's in them etc so yeah I would say that is going to be the microscope question."
- "The microscope is on kidneys! That's for sure, my teacher would not lie."
- "Yes, she (the teacher) gave us a *MAJOR* hint so no reason to disbelieve her. We looked through kidney slides today as well, spent a full 1 hour looking down a microscope at the kidney! She wants us to be 'familiar' with it."
- "Kidneys a deffo so revise everything. And the first question we were hinted by our techa that its got to do something with a mini water bath u have to make of ur own so is temperature and enzymes related to this?"
In a statement, the board said: "OCR is aware that, as is the case every year, various suggestions as to what might be in the practical examination were circulating on the internet.
"We will be closely examining the results from any centre where there are grounds for suspicion to ascertain if any candidate was unfairly advantaged."
In the same examination last year OCR were forced to abandon candidate's marks after many had difficulty in obtaining experimental results.
"We will be closely examining the results from any centre where there are grounds for suspicion to ascertain if any candidate was unfairly advantaged."
In the same examination last year OCR were forced to abandon candidate's marks after many had difficulty in obtaining experimental results.
