On closer examination, we’re not all cheats

Ah well, we tried. We all knew we couldn’t keep up this intellectual student façade for long. Might as well give up now then, right?

I am referring to the fact that since December, the majority of newspapers have now labelled us as ‘cheats’. In December, using undercover journalists, the Daily Telegraph revealed that some chief examiners have been providing schools with crucial information concerning school exams. E Jane Dickson from the Independent stated this came as little surprise as “We have long expected exams are not what they used to be.” –translate this as: “Every August, students seem to be brighter than the previous year–obviously impossible! For many years, we have suggested clearly the exams are getting easier, despite revelations that certain questions on recent papers have been unanswerable. Now we can actually prove they are cheating! Our pride is not soiled!”

It is awful that chief examiners have been providing certain teachers with such information. That is not what I’m debating. I just wish to question whether this scandal really is the reason students’ grades have been going up. Older generations seem to have agreed that this scandal is clearly the solution. There is no way the youth of today could possibly be more intelligent en mass. Remember, the teens of today hang about in hoodies on street corners, become pregnant ever younger and loot shops (as long as it’s not raining or cold). It would be wrong to suggest that their intellect could possibly match or better that of the generation who have plunged us into a recession and begun to melt both ends of the planet.

The Daily Telegraph were at the forefront of the discovery as they attended 13 seminars run by examination boards and filmed the examiners dishing out extremely helpful advice. These videos really weren’t that scandalous. In one, a chief history examiner states that this year’s compulsory topic will be ‘Life in Germany 1933-39’. He does not proceed to tell the teachers what that question will be. His behaviour may be foolish but is it worth all the hype?
Most school examinations have a compulsory question, and this question can be on any of the topics that the students have studied that year. These questions always go round in a cycle. The examiner wasn’t really telling the teachers anything new; anyone with access to past papers could have guessed the same thing. And besides, conscientious students will still feel the need to study the entire module ‘just in case’.
Furthermore, students still have to study for these examinations. They still have to work hard and the teachers still have to teach them. It is unfair to simply dismiss months of work and state these students cheated.

And aren’t the older, critical generations forgetting that they are kicking themselves in the teeth a bit? Our generation has been taught, brought up by and benefited from the previous one. Teachers work very hard. They pass on their intelligence and conscientiousness to us, and consequently, we achieve better grades in our exams. Some of these teachers are so good at what they do that they can predict what questions will come up in the examinations.

Moreover, we are benefiting from the inventions created by the past generations. We have access to the internet, to revision guides, to practice essays and to photocopiers! Consequently, we are the first generation to have the blissful bonus to not be totally screwed if our teacher is crap.

Why are some of the older generation so sceptical of this new batch of young intellectuals? Threatened? Do they fear for their jobs? Have they not seen the horror stories focusing on graduate employment which feature in newspapers everyday? They need to get over it and stop sulking.

There is no doubt that the chief examiners were wrong to carelessly reveal quite this much information to teachers. However, I do not agree that this immediately explains why our generation has been achieving better grades than past ones or that it can be used to tarnish every single students’ success. We’re clever (especially with the internet!) get over it.