In June this year, an unprecedented external technical issue disrupted the College’s Part 2 FRCOphth Written Examination while it was underway. This, understandably, caused distress and confusion for our candidates.
In response, when we were assessing the exam results, we applied a discretionary marking approach, which we believed to be fair mitigation for the disruption caused. Candidates were advised of their results in late July.
We have subsequently been informed that this action was not in line with the General Medical Council (GMC)’s standards, which require summative assessments to be “appropriately standard set…using a methodology that is consistent, robust and fair over time.” (CR4.1.F, Excellence by Design). We have therefore had to advise some candidates that their initial exam result was incorrect. We are in direct communication with these candidates and are supporting them to resit the exam. We have also communicated with other candidates who were not directly affected.
The external technical incident has been thoroughly investigated, and we are satisfied that the issues that caused it have now been fixed by the supplier. We have successfully run another examination since then, without experiencing technical problems.
We offer our sincere apologies for the disappointment, distress and disruption this incident has caused some of our exam candidates and have put in place a full package of support for them.
Our suite of exams provides a vigorous assessment of the quality, safety and efficiency of the patient care provided by ophthalmologists. They are highly regarded globally and we continue to successfully assess thousands of candidates annually.