44 Schools Impacted by Cambridge’s Grading Blunder in 2024 Exams

Shockwaves hit Mauritius’ academic community after Cambridge Assessment International Education publicly admitted a serious mistake in grading a chemistry exam during the November 2024 AS & A Level tests.

The error involved the assessment of an experimental scientific procedure in the practical chemistry paper. Specifically, questions 1c3 (worth one point) and 1c4 (worth two points) were incorrectly marked, with a total of three points mistakenly left out due to a fault in the marking scheme.

This small mistake had big consequences. To make up for it, Cambridge announced that every student who took the exam would receive an extra three marks as a bonus.

The Mauritius Examinations Syndicate (MES) held a press conference on May 14 to share the news.

They revealed that the correction would affect students from 44 schools, with four students set to receive a Higher School Certificate (HSC) instead of the original GCE qualification.

Cambridge’s Apology

One student in the HSC Pro program will now be graded as ‘Pass’ instead of the higher grade they initially earned.

This correction could change students’ overall grades, possibly affecting their future studies and scholarship chances.

The official results have now been updated, with four different listings reflecting the changes. A new electronic results statement is also available online, showing the corrected scores.

Cambridge issued a formal apology, expressing regret for the error that affected these students’ achievements.

Source: Defi Media