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A growing number of students are now gambling with grades because they can’t bear to part with smartphones during tests, experts warn.
Exam watchdog Ofqual revealed that GCSE, A-Level and VTQ test takers are now clinging to phones as a ‘comfort blanket’ despite the risk of disqualification.
Smart device sanctions are up more than 50 percent from 2019 to 2022, with more than 250 students missing out on qualifications and aggregation last year.
Students often don’t plan on using their phones, and research shows they may just be worried about losing or damaging them.
An exam officer told Ofqual: ‘It’s true that I think most students who bring their phones into the exam room don’t intend to use them to cheat or actually turn them on. It’s almost like a comforting blanket and they feel anxious when they’re away from their phone.”
A growing number of students are now gambling with grades because they can’t bear to hand over smartphones during tests, experts warn (stock image)
Another added: ‘It’s such a normal part of their lives that they feel robbed and some fear it will be stolen if left outside, but the message from us is clear.’
Bringing phones to exams is considered malpractice in addition to other forms of misconduct such as sharing answers, exchanging scripts, and impersonation.
Coventry’s Ofqual stressed that students often think they won’t be caught with a phone unless they actually use it.
Sanctions range from loss of grades to disqualification from all exams, with the watchdog signaling that the consequences have been made clear.
Teenage students lost points in GCSE and A-Level settings in more than two-thirds of the punishments handed out last year.
In 2022 there were a total of 1,845 sentences compared to 1,385 in 2019, the last time exams were taken.
Meanwhile, about three-fifths of all punishments handed out to btk students resulted in grade loss.
Fewer than 150 BKO students missed out on a qualification or aggregation as a result.
“My experience in dealing with the students caught with a phone is that they had no intention of cheating,” another examiner added.
“It’s either by accident or they just don’t think it’s a problem because they never intended to use it.” Often they justify it by telling me it wasn’t on.’
Ofqual’s research comes on the heels of numerous studies into “smartphone separation anxiety” and nomophobia.
This generally includes the inability to turn off your smartphone, obsessively check it, and take it to the bathroom.
Scientists previously found that this condition only gets worse as our devices become more personal.
Research highlighted that students often think they won’t get caught unless they actually use their phone (stock image)
“As smartphones evoke more personal memories, users extend more of their identities to their smartphones,” researchers wrote in the paper from Sungkyunkwan University and City University of Hong Kong.
“When users see smartphones as their extended selves, they are more likely to become attached to the devices, which in turn leads to nomophobia by increasing the tendency to seek proximity to the phone.”
In a blog post, Ofqual stated that addressing students’ concerns is a good way to combat the problem as exam season kicks off.
It read: “School and college exam officials and awarding organizations are working hard to communicate the realities of rule violations to students and identify ways to address any student concerns.
“We hear that some of the most successful methods of keeping phones away from exams and assessments are often their value, such as bag and ticket systems to keep them safe.
‘It is clear that the students themselves are best placed to influence the fate of students in this area.
So if you’re taking exams or tests this year, please don’t be tempted to bring your cell phone, smartwatch or anything else into the exam hall or test location. If you are concerned about your cell phone, please contact your exam officer. They will gladly help you.’