Number of Australian school students caught cheating doubled in 2015

An Australian state's education department has been left alarmed by revelations that the number of students caught cheating in Year 11 and 12 exams doubled in 2015.

Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) investigated 65 alleged breaches of exam guidelines by these students over the 2015 school year - up from 38 incidents in 2014.

The data only included cases of cheating that occurred during the all-important Victorian Education Certificate (VCE) exams, which influence students' final Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) grade.

Australian universities use ATAR scores to select the best applicants for undergraduate courses.

Of the 65 incidents, 10 students were eventually penalized for "serious breaches." One student had their subject results returned to zero, while the rest had their grades reduced by up to four grades.

VCAA chair Chris Wardlow said most students understood that cheating in VCE exams wasn't worth the risk, given the harsh sanctions they faced if caught.

"It's unfair to yourself and your classmates. Students who do appear before review committees are deeply remorseful for their actions," Wardlow told Fairfax Media on Thursday.

Wardlow said the education watchdog was particular aghast by the number of cheating cases in which the mobile phones were used.

According to the data, almost 30 percent of the breaches involved a smart phone.

In one instance, a student repeatedly looked at photos of an already-marked essay on their mobile phone in a bid to earn a higher grade during an end-of-year exam.

"There is no excuse for students to bring mobile phones into the exam room," Wardlow said.

Last year, VCAA banned smart watches, contending that the electronic devices could be used to "store, receive and transmit information" to sneaky students.