In May this year, the incident of leaking IB exam questions shocked the whole world, and many students and parents were deeply worried about the fairness of the exam.
In May this year, the incident of leaking IB exam questions shocked the whole world, and many students and parents were deeply worried about the fairness of the exam. With the rapid spread of information, this incident not only triggered widespread media coverage, but also made the education sector re-examine the safety and transparency of the International Diploma (IB) exam. Faced with this crisis, IB Examination Bureau responded quickly and promised to take measures to safeguard the integrity of the examination and ensure that all candidates can be evaluated in a fair environment.
Three new rules of IB exam
In May this year, the International Diploma Organization (IBO) encountered a topic leakage incident that caused widespread concern. With the rapid spread of social media, some candidates use the time difference to share the exam content on the Internet, which not only questions the fairness of the exam, but also makes students and parents around the world feel uneasy. On August 22nd, IBO made a formal statement on this incident, stressing that such behaviors were only committed by individual candidates, and no large-scale cheating was found, so it would not affect the scoring standard of the overall exam.
However, IBO made it clear that cheating in time zones is absolutely unacceptable and has taken necessary measures to investigate the relevant responsibilities. If the students involved are identified, the IBO will start the investigation process, and the relevant candidates may face the punishment of failing to score in the exam or failing to grade in related subjects, and they will not be able to take the make-up exam or obtain a diploma. This series of severe measures aims at maintaining the seriousness and fairness of IB examination.
In order to prevent similar incidents from happening again, IBO decided to adjust the examination regulations and will implement the new regulations in the upcoming November exam. The specific content mainly includes the following three important measures:
1. Set the shortest supervision period.
IBO stipulates that IB exams in all regions must be supervised for at least 2 hours. This means that even if the examination time is 1 hour, students still need to take the examination under the supervision of at least 2 hours. This new regulation will ensure that all students will take the exam under the same strict conditions, whether in traditional examination places or in special invigilation spaces set up in schools. By extending the supervision time, IBO hopes to effectively reduce the chances of cheating during the examination, thus improving the credibility of the examination.
2. Adjust the test opening time
In order to reduce the potential risk of cheating caused by time zone differences, IBO will adjust the start time of the exam. The core of this measure is to ensure that all candidates start the exam under the same conditions, and to prevent students who take the exam in an earlier time zone from revealing the exam content in advance. By unifying the test opening time, IBO aims to maintain the fairness of the test, ensure that every candidate can evaluate in the same environment, and further enhance the overall reputation of IB test.
3. Clear the calculator memory
IBO also put forward a new requirement, requiring schools to clear the memory of candidates' calculators after each exam. This new practice will help the school to re-evaluate the internal rules for candidates to use calculators in exams, and ensure that students no longer rely on pre-stored data or formulas in exams, but really rely on their own knowledge and ability to solve problems. This can not only improve students' independent thinking ability, but also better reflect their true level in the subject.
The IB test in November 2024 will be held from October 18th to November 11th, 2024. The test will be held in three different time zones, namely, test zone A, test zone B and test zone C.. Parents can know the time zone and test time corresponding to each test area in advance so as to make full preparations for their children. The implementation of these new regulations is not only a response to the incident of leaking questions, but also a commitment of IBO to the fairness and safety of future exams.
The specific schedule of the IB exam in November 2024
