Invigilator ended test five minutes early

[NameChange2745637]

I had a test yesterday that was meant to be 1 hour long. I was nearly finished and had four questions to go but was told by the invigilator that the test was finished and to stop what we were doing (there were only two other people left doing their exam at this point). I was a bit surprised because I thought you were normally given about 5 minutes notice, so I said "We're finished" which he replied "Erm yes". This was a computer based exam so I was told there and then that I failed.

I have just signed into my account to see what areas need improving and it said that the duration of the test was only 55 minutes. AIBU here? Should I complain? I didn't notice at the time because I was concentrating.

[DGRossetti]

That might have actually been the case, I said it wasn't done by the computer but it might have been. I didn't get to 60 mins though so I don't know.

Ah ...

Nothing fills me with dread more than humans who think they can do better than the computer.

All I can say is YANBU. Unless the test was one of these damnedable aptitude tests, where they aren't interested in the actual result, but something else.

[Coulddowithanap]

The centre I invigilate at doesn't give a 5 minute warning.

Was the start and finish times written on the board in the front of the room?

[Bagamoyo1]

@peak2021

I think you should complain. It may be a genuine mistake but if you were told 60 minutes, it should be 60 minutes.

Though if it had taken place at Old Trafford football ground, you would have probably been given 63 or 64 minutes.

Or as long as was needed to pass!

[UrAWizHarry]

@UhtredRagnarson

Doubling down on the bullshit is a pretty common tactic. Just a simple link will do.

Go on.

The fact is, pupils who have sat and left an exam in good faith are not forced to resit because the exam THEY HAVE LEFT ends early.

That is complete and utter horseshit and you know it.

There is no link. I can give you dates, names location, I can describe the invigilator’s outfit. But I won’t. You are free to believe what you like. I haven’t lied.

Sure. Sure.

[DGRossetti]

Some exams don't allow candidates to leave early.

#Justsaying.

[gavisconismyfriend]

You have legitimate cause for appeal. Take a photo of the test duration to include in your appeal. You don’t say what the test was for, but if it was in our institution, an HEI, then if the appeal was upheld you would still take the test again but it would be viewed as a first attempt rather than a reassessment. This can be important if there is a limit on the number of times you are allowed to fail.

[GreyhoundG1rl]

Take a photo of the test duration
I imagine op has long since left the building.

[GreyhoundG1rl]

And op has said what the test was for.

[Pogmaasal]

@FTEngineerM you rather have your undies in a twist considering my first post wasn't solely directed at you 🤭

[ListeningQuietly]

I assumed it was the Life in the UK test
which when I took it was shambolic in the extreme
including my demanding a replacement question as one of the options had no correct answers

OP
If the exam said 60 minutes
and you have proof the clock stopped at 55
you have valid cause for complaint

[katiedidnt]

@NameChange2745637 Just wanted to express my sympathy, as so many posters have failed to grasp that there is more to life than GSCEs and A Levels, and different exams are invigilated in different ways...

With my professional exams, I have to time them myself, but if I'm found to go over, I fail the paper, so naturally, I'm stopping a few minutes early, just to be on the safe side. I don't understand why the timing isn't automatic and the software doesn't just close automatically when time is up!

5 minutes can make a huge difference, especially if multiple choice.

If you have to pay for your resit, or if you're only allowed X attempts, I would definitely complain. Otherwise, I'd chalk it up to experience.

[maresedotes]

I would definitely raise a complaint too. You don't know how you would have done having been given the full time.

I'm an invigilator:

1. no-one is allowed to leave before the end of the exam so I'm bemused by that. Unless it was a timed down exam that automatically stops the exam (which I don't think yours was?) but then students are only allowed to leave 10 minutes before the end in some cases - otherwise it's disruptive for those still working.
   
   
2. we give a 5 minute warning. As someone said this is at the discretion of the centre - it certainly helps our students.

[IgiveupallthenamesIwantedareg0]

OP: would you be complaining if you had passed?
In my day doing exams there was always a clock in the exam room by which the examinees and invigilator could monitor exactly what time it was. The invigilator always pointed out the start time and the duration before it started so everyone was on the same time (no watches going slow/fast etc.) The clock could be seen by all participants at all times. Maybe "old fashioned" by today's standards but it worked!

[EverythingRuined]

Yanbu. I would complain.

There are some truly bonkers replies on this thread.😂😂

[Mmn654123]

@UrAWizHarry

"And that would be a dumb strategy anyway - everyone knows you bank the easy point early in any exam."

And yet the point that you are making assumptions about how the OP tackled the exam, that all questions were weighted the same etc seems to still be completely passing you by....

No it isn’t.

If the harder questions were tackled first those will have most points. So even more likely five extra minutes would have made no difference.

Everyone except two people had finished and left early. The invigilator probably knew if the remaining two couldn’t even get through the questions and were taking three minutes to answer each one, they were unlikely to pass.

By all means let them know they finished the exam early but pretending you failed because of that would be a barefaced lie.

[MumW]

Yes, they did away with it because of snowflakes complaining they were distracted no doubt.
Firstly, students are expected to manage their time, as invigilators we are not allowed to say you have had x minutes/have x minutes to go, even if they ask even those that can't read an analogue clock, you can only give the time
Secondly, you can have multiple exams all finishing at different times so that can be a lot of disruption as well as confusing to those sitting the longer papers.

[gavisconismyfriend]

@GreyhoundG1rl the OP said when she logged into her account after the exam she could see the test duration, so perfectly possible for her to take a photo of that

[NameChange2745637]

I don't think you're quite getting what kind of an exam this was. It was advanced word processing. It was all computer based and was done on word. I had to create Macros, create table of contents, add indexs', footnotes and endnotes, advanced searches, mail merge, field notes, document security etc.

Some questions I flew through and others I spent a little bit more time on because there was more to do. The computer also took time to load as I was moving on to my next question.

You don't know what you're taling about.

[NameChange2745637]

That's was to @Mmn654123

[MyOtherProfile]

Definitely report this or it could keep happening. Hope you are able to resit.

[growinggreyer]

Then I don't think 5 more minutes would have made enough difference to pass. I was imagining it was multiple choice like the driving theory test where you could have guessed the last four questions rapidly and crossed your fingers.

[Mmn654123]

@NameChange2745637

That's was to *@Mmn654123*

Everything you have said just confirmed my view. Five extra minutes would have made little or no difference but go ahead and complain. If you only managed a score of 60% the extra five minutes wouldn’t have led to a pass because your error rate was simply too high. You had four unanswered questions and if you had answered them, based on your previous error rate, at least one would have been answered incorrectly and so you still wouldn’t have reached 75%.

But if it makes you feel better to blame the invigilator, go ahead. I agree the exam shouldn’t have ended early. I don’t agree it would have changed the outcome in your case but if either of the other two remaining were closer to 75% than you were at least your compliant might lead to one or both of them passing. Just don’t get your hopes up that 60% will become 75% based on stopping 5 minutes earlier.

[NameChange2745637]

@growinggreyer I have said multiple times that whether I passed or not is irrelevant. I Should have been given 60 minutes. He was also very rude.

[NameChange2745637]

@Mmn654123 I'm re sitting next week so it's not an issue. I should have had 60 minutes. I wasn't going to complain so I could could pass, it was the fact that the invigilator handled things wrong that I didn't like. He was rude about it all.