IELTS score-fixing scandal: Will university admission results be canceled?

(Dan Tri) - Inaccuracies in IELTS test scores will affect university admission results if the score is lowered significantly compared to the original.

After the IELTS organization confirmed that an incident had occurred that caused the results of "some candidates" who took the test between August 2023 and September this year to be inaccurate, many were concerned that it would affect candidates who had been admitted to university.

According to Dan Tri , some test takers saw their scores increase, but others saw a sharp decrease. Among them, Ms. Nguyen Thi H. (26 years old, living in Ho Chi Minh City) said that the British Council informed her that her IELTS test results were marked incorrectly.

After re-scoring, Ms. H's score decreased by 1.0 band (point), making her ineligible to apply for the job or scholarship she had previously applied for.

The change in IELTS test scores is expected to cause a series of impacts on candidates such as their application being rejected when the score is reduced, not having enough time to supplement their application, etc.

Candidates taking the IELTS exam (Photo: British Council).

Faced with the possibility of changes in the IELTS scores of some incoming and outgoing students, universities are reviewing data and discussing solutions, but are facing major difficulties.

Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade informed that it will set up a council to review cases of IELTS score changes, including both input and output. However, the school leaders acknowledged that this will face many difficulties due to the lack of official data, depending on the honesty of the learners.

Similarly, the head of the training department of a public school in Ho Chi Minh City shared that they had difficulty verifying information because the errors were being kept confidential between the organization and the candidates.

Regarding the solution, this person believes that if a student has been admitted to the school but the new result has a lower score than the initial admission round, the best way is to require the candidate to continue taking the test and supplement the minimum score achieved before. For example, if the score is reduced by 1.0, the candidate must retake the test to reach the original score.

"If this is not resolved, fairness cannot be guaranteed. This is also unprecedented," he said.

Meanwhile, another admissions manager is concerned that requiring students to provide additional certificates of compliance requires consensus because the error is not the student's.

"Requesting to cancel admission results, supplement appropriate diplomas or revoke graduation certificates will be complicated legal actions and require clear grounds," he stated.

Opinions are also concerned about the case of candidates whose scores are increased and then complaining and requesting benefits.

“Suppose there are students who previously applied but were not admitted and now their scores are increased and if the new increase is considered, they are admitted. Will the candidate’s request for reconsideration be resolved or not?”, an officer in charge of university admissions raised the issue.

Currently, many schools are reviewing and waiting for guidance from the Ministry of Education and Training on the above issue.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/vu-loat-bai-thi-ielts-bi-sua-diem-ket-qua-tuyen-sinh-dai-hoc-co-bi-huy-20251114093800735.htm