HSC cheat posted tell-all photo on phone to social media
A PUPIL was caught cheating in last year’s Higher School Certificate when they posted a selfie to social media from a toilet cubicle inside the exam hall.
NSW
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THE state’s dumbest student has been revealed, after the pupil was caught cheating in last year’s Higher School Certificate because they posted a selfie to social media from a toilet cubicle inside the exam hall.
The Year 12 student, who cannot be named, had millions of encyclopaedia entries at their fingertips courtesy of a smuggled smartphone, and broadcast the scam by uploading a happy snap complete with date and time.
Last year’s HSC cheaters also went old-school with techniques such as sticking typed notes on the back of a ruler, writing on their arms and attempting to smuggle in cheat sheets, according to NSW Education Standards Authority data obtained by The Sunday Telegraph.
However, Education Minister Rob Stokes heaped praised on the 2017 cohort for their honesty as just 27 out of more than 70,000 HSC students were last year caught red-handed cheating in their high-stakes final exams.
Mr Stokes said the results showed why the NSW HSC remains one of the most desirable academic awards recognised by universities in Australia and around the world.
“This group of students have acted with honesty, integrity and discipline. Their moral conduct and sense of fair play is a credit to them, their parents and their school communities,” Mr Stokes said.
“Over the past 50 years, examiners have seen and heard it all, which is why applications remain honest.”
Students were far more likely to be caught cheating on their class tests and take-home assignments throughout the year.
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A total of 693 kids were caught trying to pull the wool over their teachers’ eyes, half of whom plagiarised, 14 per cent snuck a peek at unauthorised notes and 7 per cent shared answers with their mates.
Students and teachers are getting better at gaming the HSC system to earn special treatment in their exams.
There was a massive 236 per cent rise in students claiming “vision or cognitive disability” for an extra five minutes every half-hour of the exam because it’s the easiest disability to prove, according to NSW Secondary Principals’ Council president Chris Presland.
“All kinds of conditions or alleged conditions qualify for extra time and it requires the least specialist evidence,” Mr Presland said.
Similarly, close to twice as many students were granted permission to periodically stand and stretch, but Mr Presland strongly doubted the number of kids with proven “chronic pain or concentration disability” doubled in a year.
“Schools in general are getting far more aware of disability provisions and far more adept at completing applications to access them,” he said.
According to Minister Stokes, disability provisions are essential for creating a level playing field for all students.
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