"Unauthorised" material in exams

Finding it rediculous at the moment now that exams are back about some of the stupid rules tbh. For instance no memory sticks allowed in exam rooms, which makes no sence, not like you can bloody stick one into the table and it lights up showing you answers is it. Also Pencil sharpners they can't see through, they have a look inside first if you ask them to make sure nothings in, and won't penalise you for it, so why do they take it away if they know there's nothing inside and they aren't penalising you or even taking down your candidate numbers?

Just wondering if anyone has any insight to that as it makes no bloody sence to me whatsoever.

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Originally Posted by Pipette

Finding it rediculous at the moment now that exams are back about some of the stupid rules tbh. For instance no memory sticks allowed in exam rooms, which makes no sence, not like you can bloody stick one into the table and it lights up showing you answers is it. Also Pencil sharpners they can't see through, they have a look inside first if you ask them to make sure nothings in, and won't penalise you for it, so why do they take it away if they know there's nothing inside and they aren't penalising you or even taking down your candidate numbers?

Just wondering if anyone has any insight to that as it makes no bloody sence to me whatsoever.

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Some people are allowed to use laptops during the exam. My friend who is dyslexic and has the scruffiest writing for example, used one in the exam hall where we were.

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Originally Posted by The Don

Some people are allowed to use laptops during the exam. My friend who is dyslexic and has the scruffiest writing for example, used one in the exam hall where we were.

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hrm i suppose that might explain the memory stick one, but surely that's just like other things where it's only gonna be for certain people, like no point enforcing that with whole schools that don't have one single person like that, but ye i suppose you gotta have equallness in rules. Still doesn't explain the sharpner one though ;p

well if you're not gonna use the memory stick yourself then i don't really understand why you're making such a big fuss about it, if you don't need it then there isn't much point in bringing it into the exam hall. never actually seen the sharpener one and it's never been a problem for me, i don't have a clear sharpener lol and they've never nagged?

i don't really see much point in this, they've very basic rules they want to abide that really aren't causing you much harm at all. and you know some people, and the amount of effort they'd go to to cheat in exams, so i guess i can understand ridiculous rules.

My old school were so strict we weren't allowed labels on water bottles, and only clear bottles (aka not like coloured ones). i also got told off for wearing all my bracelets (i have like 20 on one arm) because i could have written answers under them, and had to take them off to prove it.

But tbh, 'unauthorised' material is basically all things you don't reaaaally need in an exam so i just figured it's not that big a deal, just an inconvenience!

Ha ha Ye have to agree, and Georgia its just a little annoying cause only have non see through sharpners, and is really annoying cause like what if I run out of usable pencils mid exam, just find a lot of rules very pointless tbh.

I agree with all of the rules. Once you start allowing some things then it becomes highly subjective and you don't know where to draw the line. People will go to very extensive lengths to cheat in exams, and it's up to the exam regulators to keep up with the current practices. We must have clear pencil cases and keep water bottles (with the label removed) on the floor whilst we're not drinking from them. I just don't take a water bottle in though... there's no time to drink in there! :P

If you run out of useable pencils, you ask the invigilator for another! :)

Yeah you would never need any unauthorised material so there's not really a legitimate reason to complain. I just dislike how the times can be so short and how you're rushed. In my head, I don't see why not allowing a candidate to stay for 4 hours to do, for what is currently say a 1 hour exam, is really a big issue. Time limits should be increased as when I try and constrain my time I usually forget points I might remember if there was less pressure, but then I guess exams also test your ability to work with speed.

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Originally Posted by Mathew

I agree with all of the rules. Once you start allowing some things then it becomes highly subjective and you don't know where to draw the line. People will go to very extensive lengths to cheat in exams, and it's up to the exam regulators to keep up with the current practices. We must have clear pencil cases and keep water bottles (with the label removed) on the floor whilst we're not drinking from them. I just don't take a water bottle in though... there's no time to drink in there! :P

If you run out of useable pencils, you ask the invigilator for another! :)

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Ur school even harsher then mine ;o , we allowed our water bottles on the table aslong as no wrapping on them. But Ye with my place ur just about lucky to get given spare equipment in the mocks, real thing you stand no chance. Never quite got though how you could ever cheat with a memory stick unless you actually using a computer though, even invigilators when I was casually chatting to them earlier in the idea had no idea why that rule was there for non computer exams ;p

Back in the day school exams were so lenient. I don't see why people need to cheat. College is so much better, because people who are in your course actually want to do the work. Even though I had an exam last year and the water bottle and pencil sharpener was said by a invigilator. I wanted to complain but thought there wouldn't be any point as I'd just get laughed at.

In my history exam the other day, I had a green see-through water bottle with no label on. The invigilator tell's me that i'm not allowed it and to put it under the desk so I can see through it and that i'm only allowed colour-less bottles. Even though it was green see through.

Rules are there for a reason :P As silly as some may sound, they're there for a perfectly good purpose. I'm surprised they haven't actually started telling people off for having things written on their hand - not notes, just general scribbles but still, how is an exam invigilator meant to know that :P.

People who cheat disgust me, trying to get a fast-track way to a good grade whilst others have to endure hard work. Glad those people get disqualified. Oh, most interesting thing I read about exams was like 3/4 yrs ago - think it was like 80 teachers in total got caught helping students in GCSE exams. Nice to know they're there for us aha, but cheatin' is a bit too far :P

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Originally Posted by iBlueBox

only allowed colour-less bottles. Even though it was green see through.

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With tinted bottles you can put in an object of a similar colour into the bottle and it's difficult for invigilators to see.

In High School the main rules in an exam hall were:

Pencil Cases have to be transparent.
Water Bottles cannot have any labels on.
No paper in our blazer pockets whatsoever, they made us check everytime.
No coats/blazers on the back of our chairs.
No watches that are also calculators
No rules that are also calculators
No phones, so I just kept mine in my bag.
Things like that, I didn't really mind it though.

In college it's mainly those things above for me but additionally we're not allowed Calculator sleeves/covers as we could have writing on them therefore they aren't allowed in the room.
We got told that if we didn't have a calculator and we needed one we wouldn't be supplied with one yet they gave some people some, come on if you can't be prepared you don't deserve one.
No scientific calculators, they had to be basic ones to an extent.
Only water allowed, in High School they allowed us to have a drink of anything basically and sweets.

Things like that. I don't think it's unfair and I actually said to someone a few weeks earlier that if they want a clear pencil case does that mean they need a clear pencil sharpener too?

It literally baffled me the other day, someone in my uni exam was eating all the way through, cereal bars + mints, both with wrappers on, + drinking a fizzy drink, it went pshshhhh every time she opened it, so distracting. i know her so i know it isn't because she needs sugar or anything, so i was like :S

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Originally Posted by lawrawrrr

It literally baffled me the other day, someone in my uni exam was eating all the way through, cereal bars + mints, both with wrappers on, + drinking a fizzy drink, it went pshshhhh every time she opened it, so distracting. i know her so i know it isn't because she needs sugar or anything, so i was like :S

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haha thats weird. No idea why you would need to eat like that in the exam tbh!

I think the rules are fair really. People will go to extreme lengths to cheat, so if the rules have to be a bit 'extreme' to counter this, then I think its a good thing.

We're not allowed to have highlighters in our exam anymore so we have to underline with pen xD
But rules are there for a reason, too stop people from cheating by any means!

Highlighters havn't been allowed in exams since they digitised the marking because it doesn't come up properly when they scan it.

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Originally Posted by Matts

haha thats weird. No idea why you would need to eat like that in the exam tbh!

I think the rules are fair really. People will go to extreme lengths to cheat, so if the rules have to be a bit 'extreme' to counter this, then I think its a good thing.

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Exams at Uni are so much nicer than back in sixth form, we can leave as soon as we're done, take sweets in with us and all sorts. It's just generally less stressful on the day.

Saying that, I know a couple of people who have exams on a Saturday, so I guess there's a price to pay.

Something I remember was what my boyfriend told me the other week, when he had an exam they were allowed to take food in with them and someone had about 2 portions of chips and a burger with him and people were just eating during the exam? Not sure if that was because of the length of the exam or just because it cut through dinner at their school but I for one found that really weird.

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Originally Posted by Samanfa

Something I remember was what my boyfriend told me the other week, when he had an exam they were allowed to take food in with them and someone had about 2 portions of chips and a burger with him and people were just eating during the exam? Not sure if that was because of the length of the exam or just because it cut through dinner at their school but I for one found that really weird.

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that seems a bit silly rly :S mine was only a 2 hour exam, straight after lunch too.

it is nicer how much more relaxed it is at uni, i love being trusted more.


although to the invigilator who stood over my shoulder and watched me write for about 5 minutes....... not so fun.

I'm still amused I can take a dictionary into any of my exams. Then again, my university are far too relaxed, and one of the returning examiners looks like Nick Hewer from The Apprentice.

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Originally Posted by Recursion

take sweets in with us and all sorts.

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The exam boards allow things like sweets as long as they're not in wrappers. This not being allowed is on a school by school basis.

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Originally Posted by GommeInc

one of the returning examiners looks like Nick Hewer from The Apprentice.

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You're complaining about this?

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Originally Posted by Chippiewill

You're complaining about this?

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To be fair it just came out without thinking :P At the end of the exam he wished everyone a Merry Christmas and hopes no-one caught a cold off the girl who was sniffing all the time - who was really apologetic. Since then I seem to have no fear of exams, just because they're just not strict in Uni.

We're not allowed anything in the exam except our SQA number card, pens, pencils etc and that's it. We can bring in a bottle of water but just yesterday my mate got held behind because he was apparently 'drinking too much' and they thought something fishy was going on.

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Originally Posted by Chippiewill

The exam boards allow things like sweets as long as they're not in wrappers. This not being allowed is on a school by school basis.

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Universities are their own exam boards :P

(which unfortunately shows when they completely screw up questions by missing the last half off or not checking spelling and grammar.... or even using triple negatives, but we won't go there)

Madness!! In my school about 5 years ago now we wasn't aloud to have a rubber or seethrough paper packets n stuff like that

Even phones, iPod's have to be handed in now. Not allowed in bags at all.
They supplied things for us but moaned how they weren't for the next one, yet they did ;)

When I did mine I kept my phone in my pocket... Did anyone else :rolleyes:

I have once by accident, I felt so guilty and nervous the whole time (even though it was on silent)! I only realized about 20 minutes in and if i handed it in i'd get 0 so what's the point :S

I remember at school and college that they would make everyone check if they had a phone on them. So people who have forgotten can be reminded, and those guilty deserve the penalties. Did they not ask any of you (who genuinely forgot to hand it in) to check your pockets? I nearly forgot a few times, but the constant asking at the beginning always reminded me.

We can bring any food/drink into the exam, my friend joked about it saying she was gonna bring a nandos in haha

I'd never be able to cheat in exams, I can't write like 30 pages of notes on the inside of a bottle cap or sumit. lol