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Computer science nea may be scrapped

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-42138037
Thousands of students across the country got their hands on the NEA task paper before the controlled time period, now the exam board are in utter disarray. Do you think they'll be scrapped?
EDIT: I'm finding it rather amusing, I study the subject!

(edited 6 years ago)

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Reply 1

Blue_Cow

Original post by adamantacademic

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-42138037
Thousands of students across the country (including me) got their hands on the NEA task paper before the controlled time period, now the exam board are in utter disarray. Do you think they'll be scrapped?

I don't see the point of the NEA.

They should have an unseen programming paper instead that actually tests the students on their programming ability. Too many students cheat on NEAs either in class, or online by posting on TSR/private messaging users. It's an utter disgrace.

Also, it seems like too many students take CS GCSE because they think it's going to be a piece of piss (thanks to the *****y ICT curriculum, people think that CS = ICT = using spreadsheets) and therefore cannot program to save their life. I'm speaking from experience here in tutoring a few GCSE CS classes, and being the first cohort that sat GCSE Compsci.

I know someone at university who is being paid by a GCSE student to literally program the entire coursework. It's a ****ing disgrace and pisses me off - just because you have some money, doesn't mean you should be able to cheat. Scrap the entire thing and have a proper exam, making everything fair.

tl;dr - replace the whole paper with an online one, unseen material, under exam conditions (just like a normal exam) and it is automatically marked by a computer, and if you write code that fails to compile - you get zero marks. However, do give the students a copy of the official documentation but make the questions challenging so you can't just copy the doc examples and get marks.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 2

bigup1999

Looking through TSR and Reddit, I can definitely understand why they did this. This is barely testing us on our ability to program. My class was unlikely enough to start our NEA in September so people who may still be doing it have a huge advantage.

Reply 3

computuring

Original post by adamantacademic

sh*t i just finished it
any idea what exam board this is for ?

Reply 4

adamantacademic

Original post by computuring

sh*t i just finished it
any idea what exam board this is for ?

Ofqual so all exam boards.
BUT leaked papers were predominantly from AQA, so the future's unclear!

Reply 5

adamantacademic

UPDATE
Although consultations are pending, Ofqual Chiefs say NEA will still go ahead and be marked but will not carry any weighting with regards to grades!

Reply 6

computuring

Original post by adamantacademic

Ofqual so all exam boards.
BUT leaked papers were predominantly from AQA, so the future's unclear!

oh im on aqa ..... oh well lol

Reply 7

adamantacademic

Original post by computuring

oh im on aqa ..... oh well lol

UPDATE
Ofqual Chiefs say NEA component is likely to be compromised for every exam board!

Spoiler

Reply 8

adamantacademic

Original post by computuring

oh im on aqa ..... oh well lol

Dw the main thing is you gained insight into coding which can support your CV in future :smile:

Reply 9

computuring

Original post by adamantacademic

UPDATE
Ofqual Chiefs say NEA component is likely to be compromised for every exam board!

Spoiler

i guess it's the only fair thing to do if some dumbass actually posted the whole code, i'm just glad i hadn't wasted time on the report yet

Reply 10

ns_2

The apparent extent of malpractice in this qualification leads us to believe that it is no longer possible for exam boards to ensure that grades awarded next summer will fairly reflect the ability of all students unless changes are made to the assessment arrangements.We are asking for views on alternative assessment arrangements that would apply to students sitting exams in 2018 and 2019. Our preferred option is to retain the need for the non-exam assessment task to be completed by students, but for it not to contribute to their overall 9 to 1 grade. We continue to believe that there is significant value in students completing programming tasks and they will be required to do so. It is our expectation that teachers will want to provide feedback to students on their completed task as preparation for their exams, which include the assessment of computational thinking and programming, though they will not be required to formally provide marks for each student to their exam board

^^ (part of) Ofqual statement on CS malpractice

Reply 11

ns_2

Original post by adamantacademic

UPDATE
Although consultations are pending, Ofqual Chiefs say NEA will still go ahead and be marked but will not carry any weighting with regards to grades!

As of current information, this is misleading - Ofqual has stated that the above is their 'preferred course of action'.

As of this moment, the NEA shall continue as normal until Ofqual issues further official advice directly to centres.

Reply 12

absolutelysprout

i hate programming so much i kinda want it to be scrapped

Reply 13

AJaaaaaaay

https://apple.news/AWsU3IPnAQDmUYNzdIjelCA

Emailed my comp sci teacher and he said the whole exam board is in disarray, and its unclear if a resit/re take is going to take place.
This is annoying as out class have spend 10 hours + on the task, and not revising for mocks that start next week.
I'm nearly done with my whole code and boom, we might need to re do it all :s-smilie:

Original post by entertainmyfaith

i hate programming so much i kinda want it to be scrapped

also coding is life, learning c++ and c# , already know python predominantly, if coding inst your thing i dont think comp sci was a good choice :thinking:

Reply 14

computuring

Original post by adamantacademic

just realised how great this actually because that means i have another 10+ hours to revise exam content wow
i didn't like coursework anyway, it doesn't make sense to me to do so much work for only a small part of the grade, especially when everyone cheats :/