Cambridge English Reviews 16

430 swiss francs for english c2 exam is unacceptable. Scam

I completely echo the other one star reviews. I have been trying for almost two weeks now to get a straightforward answer to a straightforward question. Which Cambridge exam would a student sitting the UKiset 13+ take? I've been directed to various (different) tests where the material is clearly inappropriate for a 13 year old. For example, "You're sitting at a bar..." or "You've been stood up on a date"... I've already spent money on one book that is clearly not the right one. No one seems to know! No one answers the phone. No one responds to voicemails. Moreover, when I raise a ticket to (hopefully) get my request to the right person, they just reply with a list of courses available!

I fully support the negative reviews from exam candidates on here, having worked as Invigilator and Supervisor for Cambridge English Qualifications for the past 9 years.

There's two sides to the problem, really. On the one hand, there's the ridiculous number of regulations that now need to be followed when administering the test: what used to be a difficult-yet-manageable task when I started in 2015 has recently become nearly impossible to get completely right. Some regulations are worded amiguously, there is lots of conflicting information in the training materials, and many colleagues now fear the strict and condescending Centre Inspectors showing up for compliance checks unannounced every 1-2 years. Being rated "excellent" during such a compliance check has become exceedingly difficult.

On the other hand, however, there is also a large number of colleagues who are just grossly incompetent, but who have so far avoided being monitored by a Centre Inspector. I have no doubt that the review about an invigilator mistiming a component and not giving clear instructions is accurate, as I have witnessed similar incidents myself on numerous occasions.

Speaking Examiners are also becoming increasingly hit-and-miss, thanks to unsatisfactory quality control mechanisms in certain regions. In just the past 1.5 years, I've witnessed Speaking Examiners in my local area mishandling test materials, failing to fill in mark sheets correctly (leading to missing marks and thus unreliable exam results), and on one occasion even attempting to administer THE WRONG EXAM to candidates. None of these incidents resulted in genuine repercussions for the examiners in question, as apparently length of service is mistaken for competence when it comes to Speaking Examiners.

Writing Examiners appear to be heading in the same direction, as I'm told that some examining work has now been offshored to India and training of those overseas Writing Examiners has been rather poor.

To sum up, if you need a language test result, do stay away from Cambridge English Qualifications. They are becoming increasingly poor value for money, and there's better exam providers out there. I decided to stop running these exams recently, to focus on more pleasant and worthwhile professional ventures.

Rip-off and very bad test! Not recommended at all!!!

Congrats to Cambridge for creating the most expensive and awful english exams, they are not only long but also disorganized due to the lack of communication between Cambridge and english academies.
I recently took the C2 exam which costed me over 200 euros and more than 5 hours, having passed a previous C2 practice exam at my school, I was very surprised to be given a 199 marks (for a C2 200 marks are needed).
I was not informed of when the results would be up so I had to wait for my diploma, which took a long time and after seeing the grades I tried to ask for a revision, it was not allowed due to having to be made one month after the grades are up in a website that was not provided to me.
Thank you Cambridge for your lack of touch, dedication and professionalism.
By the way Oxford is better.

I was accused of malpractice however I am innocent ! I report this situation multiple times but the centre and their superiors refuse to help me, instead, the centre where I took the exam ask for a fee if I want them to reconsider my result . I am profoundly disappointed in their services !

I am not a candidate but I am a speaking examiner. I am perplexed because what I read does not match with my or my students' experience. Firstly, Cambridge sends certificates to ALL exams centers and, as long as candidates have registered at the time they receive their exam details, every candidate gets their individual statement of results. I would look for responsibilities with the preparation centers and not Cambridge as an organization. Exams, especially the higher levels, ARE long so candidates should be prepared to cope. If the invigilators, not examiners, do not give warning of the time, again it's the center's responsibility and you should complain with Cambridge. It is difficult for me to believe certificates never arrive. The course expenses gave NOTHING to do with Cambridge, only the registration fee does. Again, I would file a formal complaint with Cambridge for situations like these. As regards name changes, I feel for the person who had this problem and I too think it's not acceptable nowadays. I was wondering though, maybe it's a legal matter and does not depend on Cambridge? That said, I assure you that Cambridge Exams are serious and our team leader, Exams center, speaking examiners, invigilators, and Cambridge responsible in the area where I work are very serious and strictly observe the rules. I strongly recommend you contact Cambridge if rules are not observed and they will promptly intervene to fix things. Thank you all, Maria

Regards CEA C1 English test. This is cruelty to people and a mockery. The exam lasts from 8:30 to 14:00, which is more than 5 hours. After three hours of constant concentration, terrible headaches begin.
Terrible disorganization, they cannot provide the schedule of exams on time, have to remind them to send it. You need to wait more than two months for the results. You cannot even carry a mechanical watch, which makes it difficult to keep track of time and breaks.
I’d like to express my dissatisfaction with the way the exam was administered.
On the official examination sheet, it was written that the start time of the first part of the exam is 09:00 and until 10:30. There was a large clock on the wall in the classroom, by which I checked the time. When the examiner said that "The exam has begun", I raised my head and looked at the clock on the wall and the time was 08:59:50 and I assumed that the start time for the exam was 09:00. Unfortunately, we were not given clear instructions that the exam starts at 8:58:48. Since I kept track of the time by the clock on the wall, I was short exactly 1 minute and 12 seconds to transfer all my answers to the answer sheet. The exam start time 8:58:48 was handwritten on the whiteboard with the small font at the bottom of the board and was not underlined, highlighted or pointed out by the examiner at that particular time. This is a clear sign of miscommunication by the examiner. I have a question why the examiner did not warn us that there was one minute left until the end, for example, there is a 1-minute warning during the Listening part of the exam.
After I complained to the administrator, they rewrote the start time on the board in large print and underlined it, added the end time of the test as well, which had not been done before. It shocked me and severely undermined my emotional state, my hands and voice began to shake and a headache instantly appeared. I could no longer fully continue the exam and focus on completing the tasks.

I would not recommend.

I recently changed my name to a completely new one based on my request and their policies do not allow changing names on the certificate. The reason is that it has to reflect the name I had at the point of the examination which is ridiculous in the year of 2017.