Exam Code of Conduct

Rules for conduct for all internally run examinations

Cheltenham Secondary College holds high expectations for all its students undertaking Year 10 and 11. Examinations are undertaken for the purpose of establishing levels of student performance over the entire semester’s work. They enable students to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and understanding across the subject content of Year 10 and Year 11. Examinations are an important aspect of a holistic education. They facilitate the development of effective preparation and study skills as well as preparing students for future state-wide examinations such as VCE exams.

Cheltenham Secondary College students are required to observe the following rules and protocols for all Year 10 and Unit 1 and 2 VCE Examinations conducted at our College. All supervisors of examinations are required to follow and enforce these rules. Any alleged breach of these rules that compromises the examination and any alleged cheating or dishonesty must be reported to the relevant Leader of Learning: Senior School and/or the relevant year level coordinator.

Students MUST be in full school uniform to be admitted into the exam room. If for some reason they do not have their full school uniform, they are required to see the Year Level Coordinators prior to the commencement of the exams for a note.
Student must check their individual timetable carefully and highlight their exams. It is important to know, exactly when and where your exams are.
Students are advised to be on time – students should be there at least 20 minutes prior to the exam. They need to wait to be ushered into the room. Teachers/Supervisors will mark the roll and pass it on to the Year Level Coordinator as soon as possible. If students arrive late, they will not be permitted to enter the exam room.
No bags must be brought into the exam room under any circumstances.
Students must ensure that they have pens, pencils, paper, extra batteries for calculators and other equipment required for the exam. There will be no borrowing equipment from other students during an exam for any reason.
Mobile phones, iPODs and other electronic devices such as organizers and computerized watches are not permitted in an exam room under any circumstances. All watches must be removed and placed on top of the students table or desk, where they are clearly visible. Teachers/Exam supervisors will collect this equipment at the start of the exam and place it on the front desk.
All students once they are seated, must be silent. No student may communicate in any way with another student in the exam room while the exam, including reading time, is being conducted.
Clear water bottles are permitted, but no other drinks will be permitted into the exam room. No food is permitted in the exam room.
During reading time a student may study the directions for the exam and read the question paper. A dictionary is permitted in the exam. A student must not begin to write or mark his or her paper in any way or use a calculator until the signal to write is given.
All students must remain seated in the exam room for the full scheduled duration of the exam. If there are special arrangements this needs to be discussed with the Year Level coordinator.
A student must cease writing when the signal to do so is given. Students must adhere to this rule. A warning signal will be given 5 minutes before the conclusion of the scheduled writing time.
Teachers/ exam supervisors will be roaming in the room – if a student has a question they must put their hand up and address questions to the teacher in charge.
If a student misses an exam they must provide a medical certificate to be able to reschedule this exam.
If there are clashes in the exam timetable – it is the student’s responsibility to advise their Year Level Coordinators and reschedule the exam.

Examination preparation

Success in examinations depends on:

1. thorough preparation

2. effective question interpretation and answer preparation.

There are a number of logical steps in thorough preparation, these include:

 being aware of the content that will be examined, this is usually spelt out by your subject teacher.

 familiarising yourself with the examination format; multiple choice, short answer, etc

 preparing concise lists of key facts, formulae, quotes, examples, etc

 consulting your teacher about the best preparation techniques for a particular study.

 test your knowledge and understanding by discussing concepts and explaining them to other students.

To establish effective question interpretation and answer presentation techniques

 do some past questions, as many as possible in the same time as allowed for the exam.

 compare your answers with those supplied;

 identify areas of weakness and address them before attempting the next paper.

 discuss, with your teacher, questions which you have trouble interpreting, or which you misinterpret.

Think of the examiner.

When you are doing practice questions, try to present answers clearly. Therefore ensure that your exam presentation is clear and very readable.

Examination technique

Thorough examination preparation will only bear fruit if you exercise effective techniques during the examination.

Understanding the instructions.

On the front cover of your examination or GAT booklet will be a set of instructions. They will probably be similar to the instructions on the front cover of past exams but they may not, so read them carefully and follow them. Instructions as to marks allotted to each section and the recommended time to be spent on each section should be well noted.

In some exams these instructions may refer to multiple choice answer sheets, supplied data sheets or other information included with the examination. Check that they accompany your exam. If anything appears to be missing from your exam, tell the supervisor immediately.

Reading time

You will be allowed 15 minutes reading for each of your exams and the GAT. Whilst you cannot write anything during these 15 minutes, it is an extremely important period.

It enables you to get an overview of the exam and plan your approach, deciding on the order in which you will attempt the questions. Whilst many students work through the exam from question 1, others gain confidence by completing questions they are most comfortable with at the start of the exam. If your examination has a multiple-choice section, it is wise to do this section first. Quite often one or more multiple choice questions might provide some impetus for later short answer questions.

If you have read the paper completely and there is reading time remaining, think about the questions you intend to do first and start constructing answers.

The examination time

Read each question at least twice before answering it. It is important to answer the 'question which is asked' not the 'question which you would like to be asked'. Don’t dwell on questions that you are uncertain about. Complete the other questions and return to ones you are uncertain about. On multiple choice items if the answer is not obvious or difficult to arrive at, then eliminate the alternatives that seem to be incorrect or inappropriate.

After answering a question quickly check that you did, in fact, answer the question that was asked. Use clear diagrams where appropriate. Present your answers clearly, in legible writing. This is important because the person who will correct your Unit 3 or Unit 4 examination will never have seen your work, so ensure that your exam answers are clear and very readable.

Be consistent and persistent

Success in examinations depends on working steadily through the questions. Most exams give an indication of how much time you should spend on each of the questions, so try to avoid spending longer. You shouldn't work too fast or too slow but steadily.

The Cheltonian

Issue 6 · 12 May 2017

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