An exam centre in Jamaica has been identified as the source of a leaked maths exam sat by secondary school students across the Caribbean earlier this week.
Speaking during a Zoom press conference on Friday, the registrar and CEO of the Caribbean Examinations Council, Dr. Wayne Wesley, confirmed investigations had pinpointed the specific location where the breach occurred. However, he would not name the centre, nor the parish, nor specific individuals implicated.
The exam board chief added that the Jamaican ministry of education had been informed and “the matter would be dealt with following CXC security protocols”.
Jamaican police have not yet been brought in to investigate, although that option remains on the table, Wesley confirmed, in response to media questions.
Scale of the leak
He was unable to address Compass inquiries about any motive behind the leak or whether the board’s investigation had uncovered money changing hands in exchange for access to the paper.
However, he said, “Given the nature of high stakes examinations, persons would want to have an advantage by any means and perhaps this an indication that persons were trying to get ahead.”
Given the breach led to widespread sharing of the paper “right across social media and various platforms, it will have reached many countries,” he said, adding that the full extent of the leak and precise number of countries implicated would require further investigation.
“It was really widespread, right across the region,” he confirmed.
Cayman’s Department of Education Services on Friday told the Compass there had been “no indication to date that students in the Cayman Islands were involved in the breach”.
How will students be graded?
For students who sat the paper this week, the exam board CEO stated grades would be awarded using a “modified approach”.
He acknowledged that news of the leak would have caused “much anxiety and concern” and said factors, including the mental health of students involved and the need to release results on a set time frame, had been weighed when determining how students would be assessed due to the leak.
As a result, grades will be calculated using students’ performance on paper 1, the multiple-choice paper, along with results from school-based assessment. CXC said the relevant ministries of education had been informed of this decision.
“CXC would like to reassure candidates that the security of the regional examinations is paramount and their best interests continue to be at the centre of the organisation’s decisions and processes,” Wesley stated.
CXC’s credibility questioned
CXC previously faced criticism in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic from students who argued their results did not reflect the work they had done during the academic year, nor the scores they had expected to attain.
In 2020, 69 exams from Cayman were reviewed as a result of these concerns.
Speaking on Friday, Wesley insisted the board would “continue to do what is in the best interest of our candidates as we protect the integrity of the examination process”.
“We recognise that the matter requires a great level of sensitivity, confidentiality, but at the same time, being accorded a level of urgency that is required to allay concerns of most critical stakeholders,” he said.
Wesley argued that, even with the “greatest of systems that you have in place,” there was still a need to rely on the integrity of people with access to the systems.
The DES told the Compass it had “no concerns” regarding the credibility of CXC.
“While unfortunate, international exam boards are faced with data breaches and other forms of exam malpractice annually. CXC had measures in place to identify the breach, and has moved swiftly to address the issue,” a spokesperson for the department said.
Related Videos
