A flagship academy is facing allegations that teachers inflated their pupils' GCSE coursework marks in this summer's English exams.
Controlled assessments, where pupils do coursework in class under the supervision of their teachers, are being scrapped from core subjects.
The programme highlighted several cases in which teachers had changed pupil assessments or coursework to artificially boost a school's performance, in some cases under direct orders from the school's leadership.
Some schools switch weaker pupils to BTecs, coursework-based vocational qualifications equivalent to GCSEs, and falsify their marks, claims research.
It says that, in general, the awarding of modular GCSEs - in which pupils sit exams and submit coursework over a two-year period - has been successful.
The UK's largest examination board has called for an end to coursework counting towards pupils' GCSE grades in England, labelling it as cumbersome, open to abuse and "disliked by many teachers and loathed in some subjects".
In one secondary school judged outstanding by Ofsted, a teacher reported that pupils were ordered to copy coursework directly out of a textbook by one of the most senior members of staff.
In March, the exams regulator Ofqual held a seminar in which teachers' reservations about some of the things they are asked to do in the pursuit of better results for their schools – from telling pupils what to write for coursework to opening exam papers early – were discussed.
The scheme operates in 11 secondary schools across Torfaen and Monmouthshire, allowing pupils, parents and teachers to access coursework and classroom materials online.
Lore, a New York start up recently acquired by Noodle, has developed a platform somewhat like Facebook where teachers can share coursework and grades, and where pupils can converse with their teacher and each other.
