After a significant number of test-takers reported that their scores in the United States Advanced Placement (AP) exam were cancelled due to alleged misconduct, a new cheating scandal involving the international exams used for admissions to universities overseas has allegedly involved a number of students.
The impact affects candidates from various regions of the nation, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, as well as lesser, second-tier cities. Beijing and Shanghai collectively have the most AP curriculum institutions in the nation.
Study abroad experts have noted that the issue could potentially disrupt the recruitment of Chinese students from US universities this year, leading to delays in acceptance or cancellation of offers, even though the precise number of affected students remains undisclosed. Online publication of the AP exam results occurs in early to mid-July.
Within the past week, University World News had discovered over 2,000 posts regarding the cancellation of AP scores on the Little Red Book, a popular social media platform, as of July 11.
Test-takers responded with disbelief and regret. Consequently, some candidates have asked for a review of their results. Nevertheless, a significant number of individuals acknowledged the remote likelihood of overturning the decision. One pupil stated, "I am experiencing feelings of desperation."
Candidates are also concerned that prospective institutions may become aware of allegations of misconduct, despite the fact that the College Board, the US administrator of AP and SAT exams, maintains that it does not notify colleges or universities of a student's plagiarism infraction.
Significant risks
According to Xiao Jingdong, the founder of Yixiao, a third-party independent evaluation agency for international education, reports of AP test leaks and plagiarism are "more rampant" this year, despite their regular reporting.
"The benefits of fraud are substantial, which is why some individuals are willing to take the risk," Xiao stated to local media. He also acknowledged that the penalties for malfeasance imposed by the College Board are somewhat "limited."
Xiao stated that if deception incidents occur frequently in a particular school, it will impact the overall reputation and university admissions opportunities of future students, as other students at the school or even in the country will come under suspicion.
The AP score cancellations occur as part of an investigation by the International Baccalaureate (IB) assessment body into the disclosure of exam questions.
Earlier this year, the IB experienced time zone deception for the first time in its 55-year history. High-quality students who aspire to study abroad typically come from international schools and typically take the IB.
A thorough examination of AP
The College Board notified prospective international students who had their scores cancelled after the May AP examination last week, prior to the official release of results on July 8.
The College Board's email from July 2 states, "A thorough investigation revealed testing misconduct."
"The College Board decided this after identifying "clear and overwhelming evidence" of misconduct," according to its email.
It also provided examples of behavior that may be considered cheating, such as the analysis of answers that indicate collusion or duplication or the use of applications other than the official testing application, Bluebook, on the testing device.
The study encompassed popular disciplines like economics, calculus, psychology, statistics, biology, and chemistry. Schools and test centres conducted the 2024 examinations from May 6–10 and May 13–17.
Social media speculation attributed the cancellations to extensive exam leaks. In May, Chinese media outlets reported that it was possible to purchase authentic AP exam questions online on Little Red Book and another social media platform, Zhihu. In some cases, the entrance to the testing site was openly advertising answers.
On May 6, China administered the AP chemistry exam for the first time. Some candidates who unlawfully obtained test questions in advance posted on social media that the first half of the free-response questions and many multiple-choice questions were "exactly the same."
Subsequently, these suggestions became increasingly prevalent, which led to concerns that the tests may have been disclosed beforehand.
Examination oversight issues
The disclosures may be the result of oversight issues, according to study abroad experts. The National Education Examinations Authority, which was under the Ministry of Education in Beijing, supervised the AP programme in the past. The examination administration process was relatively rigorous, and there were few leaks reported.
Nevertheless, the ministry has ceased to supervise the AP exam as of September 2020. The College Board has formed a partnership with Prometric, a US test administration agency, to supervise the overall registration and administration of the AP exam in China.
According to Fu Ying, a senior AP examiner, the agency delegated management responsibilities to schools and training institutions, which has led to a multitude of supervisory vulnerabilities.
Fu informed the media in May that "subjects such as mathematics, economics, and calculus are at high risk of leaks, and they are also the subjects that people are more willing to spend money on."
Cheating on the time zone.
Students in Asia completed the "Mathematics P1" exam of the International Baccalaureate (IB) on May 1, and thirty minutes later, they posted the test content and answers on the social networking platform Reddit. This facilitated a significant number of downloads by students in the European time zone who had not yet begun the exam.
Following the examinations on May 2, additional subjects' test contents were revealed.
On its official website, the International Baccalaureate Organisation announced that it had received reports of students sharing parts of the May exam content online.
Nevertheless, it expressed confidence that the cheating was "at the fringes of what is otherwise a standard exam session" and refrained from acknowledging the potential for widespread occurrence.
Over 190,000 candidates worldwide who took the exam in May received the results in early July. However, the IB organisation chose not to reveal the number of candidates penalised for time zone deception. It has committed to conducting a review of the time zone arrangements for any future experiments.
"The IB is currently implementing innovations to mitigate the effects of any such behavior by students." For instance, the organization has implemented formal start times for exams in each country and is transitioning to three exam zones worldwide." They explicitly stated that they would review these after analysing the observed behaviours this year.
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