Higher grade boundaries (minimum grade to pass a subject), resitting exams, or downgraded results? These are some of the major concerns that have emerged among students across the globe and, in particular, for those in the Asia-Pacific region, writing the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP)-2024 exam (equivalent to class 12), following the leaking of questions of some of the subject papers on a social media platform and a messaging app in one of the zones while the test was yet to take place in other time zones.
Over 4,000 students have signed an online petition titled ‘Justice for all M24 IBDP students’ against this exam paper leak, urging the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) — a Switzerland-based non-profit that conducts the test across countries — to either cancel the examinations or take stringent action against those who leaked the questions while doing justice to the larger section of students who wrote the exam honestly.
According to reports, in an alleged case of “time-zone cheating”, mathematics and biology questions were leaked by students who wrote the exams on May 1-2 while the IBO found out about the leaks on May 3.
The IBO is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and was founded in 1968. The diploma programme was the first course offered by the IBO board and is taught to students aged 16-19 years. It is governed by a Board of Governors representing cultural and geographical diversity. The IBO conducts the annual exams across three time zones — Zone A (Asia and Australia); Zone B (Europe and Africa); and Zone C (Americas).
The IBO board doesn’t allow students to take question papers home and this is the first such case of online cheating that has surfaced since it was established.
In India, there are 210 IBO World Schools, with larger concentrations found in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Chennai.
What do student petitioners say?
Students from India falling in the Asia-Pacific region are most concerned since the paper leak happened after they had taken the exam. Fears of re-writing the exam, extremely high-grade boundaries, or a downgraded result are what they have been apprehensive about, prompting a large number of them to join the petition against the leak.
“This is a global issue that has put in jeopardy the efforts of all students who have worked hard for the past two years to get the diploma. Anyone with a working computer and minimal research skills can easily find these leaked papers. These papers have created a massive gap between those who gave the paper with all honesty and those who gave it upon the leaks. There is no point in using backup exams since it is speculated that many students have seen the leaked papers, which will naturally push the average score and increase the grade boundaries, again causing those who maintained academic honesty to suffer greatly,” an Indian student, who started the petition, wrote.
Another student, aspiring to be an aerospace engineer, who signed the petition, said that his two years of preparation will go to waste if the results are downgraded by the IBO or the grade boundaries are too high. “I have fought against the odds in life to study and work hard to realise my dream of becoming an aerospace engineer. Only I didn’t know that I could be robbed of my dreams by some students who would leak the papers and those who wrote the exam honestly would have to suffer for it. If the grade boundaries go extremely high because of cheating, it will be the saddest thing for all of us,” the student wrote.
“If the IB grade boundaries go up, it will be really unfair to people in the Asia-Pacific region who had already taken the exam before the leak. Additionally, if they use predicted grades, final exams were our chance to try and improve our IB grades and that would again be unfair and maybe lead to a situation like the one that happened during the Covid pandemic,” wrote another student while signing the petition.
The students urged News18 that they not be named in this article.
IBO responds
News18 also reached out to the IBO via email for its response to the students’ concerns as well as its next step forward to allow them a level playing field. Responding to this, the organisation said that it has opened a formal investigation into the matter. “Those responsible for this activity will receive no marks for their examinations or no grade for the relevant subject,” it said. “There will be no award of a Diploma certificate and involved students will be banned from resitting the examinations.”
On concerns about grade boundaries, the IBO said that to date, there is no evidence of widespread cheating. “We are confident that no grades will be adversely impacted, so as things stand, we will not be changing the boundaries,” it said.
In a statement to News 18, the IBO board further said that from its investigation, it has discovered that students have engaged in online “time zone cheating”. The board has identified the source and is taking appropriate steps to hold those responsible accountable.
“We understand technology enables sharing and distribution, which amplifies the number of students posts might reach, before posts can be removed. Appropriate and timely measures are being taken to remove all related posts and render consequences to the students involved,” it said.
Besides, the IBO said that to ensure fairness to students who didn’t cheat, it will carefully review individual exam responses and otherwise mark papers as usual, to ensure students who acted with integrity are not penalised.
What are grade boundaries?
According to the IBO, grade boundaries of an International Baccalaureate exam are the minimum marks required to achieve a certain grade in a specific subject with 7 being the highest and 1 being the lowest. These boundaries are determined post-examination, factoring in elements such as the exam’s difficulty level and the performance of students.
In essence, grade boundaries serve as a yardstick, ensuring consistency and fairness throughout the assessment process. By setting these benchmarks, the IB programme maintains its integrity, guaranteeing that standards remain uniform across various exam sessions.
Stay Informed With Live Updates On HPBOSE 10th Results. Check Official Website , Passing Marks , Pass Percentages & Direct Link . Stay ahead with all the exam results updates on News18 Website.
Comments
0 comment