No discrepancy found in O-Level English oral exam questions: SEAB
Complaints on social media had alleged that the question displayed on some candidates' screens differed from that shown to oral examiners during the exam.
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SINGAPORE: There was no discrepancy in the GCE O-Level English oral examination on Wednesday (Jul 15), as the question displayed to candidates was the same as that shown to examiners, said the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB).
Responding to CNA queries, SEAB said on Saturday that it had conducted investigations after receiving feedback. This followed complaints on social media alleging that the question displayed on some candidates' screens differed from that shown to oral examiners during the exam.
About 5,000 candidates sat for the O-Level English oral examinations on Wednesday morning.
In a Reddit post, a user claimed he was "stunned" by the different prompt and had asked the examiner for more time to gather his thoughts.
Noting the feedback, SEAB said: "The findings confirmed that there was no discrepancy, and the question displayed on the candidates’ screens was the same as that on the oral examiners’ screens.
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"We have also observed online comments from individuals who acknowledged that they had misread the prompts at the first instance."
SEAB said that for each oral exam session, only one version of the exam video and questions is released via its e-Examination system to all examination centres.
"Hence, all candidates and oral examiners access the same examination video and test content," it added.
"In addition, processes are in place before the commencement of the oral examination session to verify that the correct video and questions are shown onscreen."
The oral communication component of the O-Level English exam comprises two parts: planned response and spoken interaction.
The planned response component accounts for 10 per cent of the overall O-Level English grade. Candidates are given time to plan and deliver a response to a video clip and an accompanying prompt presented on a computer screen.
This is followed by the spoken interaction component, where candidates engage in a discussion with the oral examiners on a topic based on the same video clip.
SEAB stressed that all candidates will be "assessed fairly based on their prepared responses and in accordance with the assessment rubrics".
It said that the oral examiners are experienced teachers who have completed a standardisation exercise before being deployed for the exam so as to "ensure fair and consistent assessment for all candidates".
"SEAB will continue to monitor the conduct of the examination and remains committed to ensuring a fair assessment experience for all candidates."
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