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'Pupils should be allowed to Google in exams,' says exam chief
Critics slam OCR chief for saying pupils should be allowed to use Google when sitting GCSE and A-level exams
The head of a major exam board has been criticised for suggesting in a Telegraph interview that pupils should be allowed to use Google when sitting some GCSE and A-level tests.
Mark Dawe, the OCR exam board chief executive, said introducing tools like Google or calculators will help teachers assess the way students draw on information and apply it to their learning.
He said everyone has Google available to them and students will only have a limited amount of time to conduct online searches anyway.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Mr Dawe said: “Everyone has a computer available to solve a problem but it’s then about how they interpret the results. We have tools, like Google, why would you exclude those from students’ learning?
“Surely when they learn in the classroom, everyone uses Google if there is a question. It is more about understanding what results you’re seeing rather than keeping all of that knowledge in your head because that’s not how the modern world works.”
He compared the idea of introducing Google to examinations to the old-age debate about whether to have books available during a test. He said: “In reality you didn’t have too much time [to consult the book] and you had to learn it anyway.”
Lower standards
But Chris McGovern, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said the idea would lead to a "dumbing down of standards".
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It's a nonsense.
"We have a crisis in standards in this country. We are three years behind the Chinese at the age of 15, we have got universities running remedial courses.
"We have got employers saying too many youngsters are unemployable.
"And here we have the OCR board saying 'let's dumb things down'.
"You can have an exam on how to use Google, but that is not the same as having a history or geography exam.
"Exams should be about knowledge and understanding. It includes knowledge, therefore we do have to test what children are carrying the in their heads."
Despite his enthusiasm about the introduction of technology during examinations, he said this reality was at least a decade away in the UK. He added: “It is important that parents and teachers understand and believe this is fair. The government would need to ensure they have the right regulation to ensure the quality of standards are maintained.”
This isn't the first time it has been suggested Google is used during exams. Last year a Harvard physics professor said schoolchildren must be allowed to have access to the internet.
Some corners of social media welcomed the idea.
However, not everyone was that enthusiastic about welcoming the internet to the examination process.