IB ‘unannounced visits’ to stop time-zone exam cheating
January 28, 2025
Original Article:
The International Baccalaureate (IB) has warned schools they face unannounced visits during the 2025 exam season to ensure they are adhering to new rules designed to tackle the “time-zone cheating” that affected its summer 2024 exams.
In an email sent to schools, seen by Tes, the IB says that while it understands that the new rules requiring students to be supervised for up to two hours after an exam “may present challenges”, they are vital to ensure “the highest standards of academic integrity”.
As such, schools are “expected to have a clear policy to manage the two-hour supervision requirement” and this will be monitored “through unannounced examination visits”.
“If a school fails to have a robust policy in place or is not adhering to it, this will be treated as a serious matter,” the IB adds.
IB action to prevent time-zone cheating in exams
The IB said in a statement to Tes that such visits during exam season are standard practice: “The IB undertakes school unannounced inspection visits every year, so this is a completely familiar requirement to our centres.”
Furthermore, while schools have questioned the logistics of holding students for two hours after an exam - including the costs this will incur - the IB said it was possible for students to “resume normal activities, such as attending class or sports events”, as long as they cannot access “social media, chat groups or other online platforms”.
The IB said this would “reduce opportunities” for students to “share answers or discuss questions online” and thereby ensure fairness for all schools that offer IB exams around the world.
“Consistent supervision enhances the credibility of IB examinations with regulatory bodies, universities and other stakeholders,” it added.