The body that runs the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma programme has said “appropriate and timely measures” are being taken to remove all online posts that contain leaked exam questions, but did not disclose how many students had been caught cheating.
The IB said on Monday its investigation found that “students have engaged” in “time-zone cheating” activities. It noted on Sunday it had discovered “a very small number” of students had engaged in the practice and there was no evidence it was widespread.
“We understand technology enables sharing and distribution which amplifies the number of students posts might reach, before posts can be removed,” a spokesman said in a reply to the Post on Monday.
“Appropriate and timely measures are being taken to remove all related posts and render consequences to the students involved.”
Time-zone cheating involves students who have taken an exam sharing the questions with candidates in another part of the world who have yet to sit it. The practice is explicitly forbidden under IB policy.
There will be no award of diploma certificate and involved students will be banned from resitting the examinations
While the Swiss-based IB did not reply to a question on the number of students found cheating, the Post found the leaked materials had been downloaded more than 47,000 times as of Monday afternoon.
Asked about calls for the affected tests to be cancelled and how the IB would ensure fairness to students who did not cheat, the spokesman reiterated that a formal investigation had been launched.
Those responsible would receive no marks for their exams or grades for the relevant subject, he warned.
“As an additional consequence, there will be no award of diploma certificate and involved students will be banned from resitting the examinations,” he said.
“To ensure fairness to students who didn’t cheat, the IB will carefully review individual exam responses and otherwise mark papers as usual, to ensure students who acted with integrity are not penalised.”
Asked how such an incident could be prevented in future, the spokesman said the IB strived to stay ahead of technological advancements which affected student learning as well as cultivating a culture of academic integrity.
The Post earlier discovered some questions and answers from this year’s maths papers had been shared in links posted to online forum Reddit.
Screenshots of a Telegram channel also had links to questions for business management, global politics, maths, physics, computer science, biology and chemistry.
The two-year IB diploma programme is an internationally recognised university entrance qualification. Almost 180,000 students took it globally last year.
The leaks have sparked widespread outrage among students, including those currently sitting the exams in Hong Kong, with some calling for them to be cancelled or retaken.
At least 3,600 people have signed an online petition, urging the IB to cancel this year’s exam or ensure justice for students who did not read the leaked materials.
Edward Law Shun-yuen, co-founder and director of tutorial centre HKExcel, said the IB had been offering two sets of papers for each subject to prevent candidates in different areas from leaking exams.
“The best solution is for the assessment authority to prepare more sets of papers, 10 for example, for different areas, but of course it involves a very high cost and manpower,” he said.
Law said the saga was probably the result of a rise in the use of social media platforms. Some users might have leaked exam questions in a bid to boost their popularity and number of followers.
He said the IB should also consider setting up supervisory committees to monitor social media accounts to prevent students from sharing exam paper content.
Last year, 2,275 pupils sat IB exams in Hong Kong, up slightly from 2,213 in 2022.
This year’s assessments are being held from April 24 to May 17. The IB and the Diploma of Secondary Education are the two major university entrance exams in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong’s Education Bureau has been contacted for comment.
Additional reporting by Connor Mycroft