There were 68 security breaches relating to GCSE and A-level papers last year, Ofqual’s annual report reveals.
While the overall level of security breaches was the same as in 2018, in 2019 there were a higher number of cases where there was “an actual or potential question paper security breach”, rising from 14 in 2018 to 24 in 2019.
The report also identifies 71 errors in assessment materials and exams in 2019.
The exam regulator says that the “most significant security breach” in 2019 was the leak of Pearson Edexcel’s A-level maths paper, which had also been targeted in previous years.
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“We monitored Pearson’s ongoing investigation and the subsequent sanctions it placed on two staff and 21 students,” the regulator said.
“This included disqualifying 16 students (with eight of these being further debarred) and issuing warnings to an additional five.
GCSE security breaches
“We were satisfied that Pearson took appropriate steps to secure the delivery of the 2019 exam and made sure that students were treated fairly. The police launched a criminal investigation in relation to this incident, which is ongoing at the time of writing this report.”
The report says there were 71 errors identified in question papers and other assessment materials in 2019. Ofqual says it was “disappointing” to see these errors despite an overall reduction in mistakes in papers from 2018.
“However, we did not consider the impact of the errors mitigated in 2019 to be significant,” the regulator says.
The report adds that the “continued growth of smart devices has increased the opportunity to quickly and discreetly capture information, and the reach of social media means that materials can be shared quickly, widely and often privately”.
