Singapore O-Level English oral exam discrepancies were not technical or malicious: MOE

The Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) has investigated discrepancies reported in the GCE O-Level English oral examinations, finding no technical issues or malicious intent behind the incidents. The issue arose after some candidates claimed the text prompt displayed on their screen differed from what the oral examiner read to them during the exam on July 15.

Senior Minister of State for Education Janil Puthucheary stated that while SEAB initially found no discrepancy, some candidates may have experienced distress that affected their performance. Schools are now assisting these candidates in applying for special consideration, a process designed to review final subject grades for those impacted by circumstances beyond their control.

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This is to ensure fair assessment. Each application will be evaluated on its merit.

Investigations revealed no discernible pattern among the 432 candidates who reported discrepancies. They came from 200 different oral examiner teams, and there was no specific order among those affected. The Ministry confirmed that all examination stations access the same secure, encrypted material. The prompt for the exam, which featured street barbers, was "Who do you think would go to a place like this for a haircut? Why do you say so?" Reported variations included candidates recalling phrases like "Would you go...", "Would you be interested...", or "Would you want...", even among students examined by the same team at the same center.

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To be clear, the discrepancies reported were not about what the oral examiners asked. Only that the recollection of the text prompt at the preparation station was different from what the oral examiner read out.