Frequently asked questionsIs Cambridge removing marks for the multiple-choice paper?
No. We are not removing marks from students. We are simply calculating marks for the multiple-choice component in a different way that ensures fairness and avoids disadvantaging students. The marks students receive will be based fairly on their performance in their other exams and reflect their hard work.
Can students still get top grades?
Yes. Students can still get up to 100% of the marks. The top grades are still available.
Won’t students be disadvantaged if you disregard this paper?
No. Our process makes sure candidates with assessed marks for a component have no systematic advantage or disadvantage compared to other candidates. The assessed mark they receive will reflect their performance in the other components and their work on this course.
Why isn’t Cambridge treating multiple choice papers in the same way in zone 4?
The paper was leaked from zone 4, but students in zone 4 have not gained unfair advantage from it as they had already sat the paper. We are investigating malpractice in zone 4 (sharing the papers immediately after the exam) and we will impose sanctions where we have sufficient evidence.
Why do students in zone 3 have to suffer when they didn’t leak the information?
Regrettably, some students in zone 3 attempted to benefit from advance sight of the questions shared widely on the internet. We need to take this action to make sure they do not benefit from their actions, and to make sure other candidates are compared fairly.
Why is Cambridge just taking action for candidates in Egypt, Kuwait and Jordan? If your assessed marks approach is fair, why not use it for all candidates taking these syllabuses worldwide?
We are only taking action in the countries where we know students had access to the leaked material prior to sitting their exam. Exams are the fairest and most accurate way of assessing candidates' performance. In circumstances where students cannot sit an exam or in this case, where we cannot count an exam as fair, we award assessed marks so we can still award candidates an overall syllabus grade.
What if I have an exemption from one of the other components?
We can calculate an assessed mark for another component based on the component you sat, and award a grade. If you have any more questions about this, please contact your school.
Why can’t Cambridge just discount the answers to questions you think have been compromised?
If we discounted specific answers, we would have to do it for all candidates in all countries who sat the affected variants, not for specific countries. A much larger number of candidates would need to have the answers discounted, even though we have no evidence that those candidates saw the questions before the exam.
What are you doing about exams in future?
In light of what we have seen with these question papers in the June 2022 exam series, we are reviewing arrangements for November 2022 and beyond, to reduce the probability of this happening again. For example, we have been reminding schools of the importance of keeping materials secure after exams, to prevent this sort of impact on students.
Was this the only option Cambridge had?
We considered a range of options and decided that this was the fairest approach to the greatest number of candidates. Requiring students to resit an exam, for example, brings many practical problems, including students not being unable to attend the new date, and a delay to results.
Can I find out the multiple-choice marks by sending an Enquiry About Results after results appear?
No. We will not provide marks from the multiple-choice tests as in the Enquiry About Results process because they do not form part of the valid marks for this paper.
Are you sure these results are fair?
Yes. We use assessed marks in many different circumstances where we cannot use the marks from a paper – for example, where students are absent with good reason from the exam. In addition, we use examiner judgement and statistical analysis (for example, results from benchmark centres, forecast grades) to inform our grading. You can be sure that these results are fair to students in these unusual circumstances.
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