Google 'should be allowed in examinations'

Today's youngsters have grown up using the Internet to do
their homework
It is inevitable search engines such as Google will be allowed
in public examinations, including GCSEs and A-Levels, the
head of an exam board says.
OCR chief Mark Dawe told the Today programme allowing
internet use in exam rooms reflected the way pupils learned
and how they would work in future.
He said students would still need a basis of knowledge and
would have limited time to conduct searches.
The Campaign for Real Education condemned the idea as
"dumbing down".
Mr Dawe said: "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 to the debate about whether to have
books available during a test, saying: "In reality you didn't
have too much time [to consult the book] and you had to
learn it anyway."
Mr Dawe suggested some exams may allow internet access
and others may not.
He told the Today programme: "It's about understanding the
tools they have got available and how to utilise them.
"When we are asking a question where we know there's
access to the internet, we could ask a different question - it's
about the interpretation, the discussion."
On the issue of when internet use might be allowed in exams,
Mr Dawe said: "It's very unlikely to happen in the next few
weeks or next few months, but it's certainly inevitable, I
would suggest."
Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, said:
"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."
He added: "You can have an exam in how to use Google -
that's not the same thing as having a history exam or a
geography exam.
"We do have to test what children are carrying in their heads".