The Late Arrival at the Listening Desk
You are invigilating the listening section of a CEFR-based Italian exam (level B1) for a group of 14 candidates. The audio for Part 1 is played twice, with a 30-second pause between playings. Candidate 7 arrives 4 minutes after the first playing has begun; she has a documented medical appointment slip but no prior authorization from the exam board. The room clock shows 09:14; Part 1 started at 09:10 and the second playing is due at 09:13:30. Two other candidates glance at the door as she enters. The audio cannot be paused or restarted once it has begun, and the exam regulations state that late arrivals may be admitted only before the first playing of any listening task begins.
1. Should you admit Candidate 7 to Part 1? Justify your decision against both the regulation and fairness to the other 13 candidates.
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Decision: do not admit her to Part 1.
The regulation is explicit: admission is permitted only before the first playing of any listening task begins. Part 1's first playing started at 09:10, so the window closed four minutes ago. The medical slip explains the lateness but does not create an entitlement to hear an audio she has missed; the correct route is a special-consideration application afterward, not on-the-spot discretion.
Fairness matters too. If she enters now, she hears only the second playing while the others have had two exposures - an unequal condition that could advantage or disadvantage her unpredictably. Allowing her in also signals to the other 13 that timing rules are negotiable.
Practical step: seat her outside the room, let her sit Parts 2–4 (which have not started), and log the incident with the time and the medical slip so the board can decide on special consideration.
2. The centre coordinator proposes replaying Part 1 for the whole group at the end so Candidate 7 can catch up. Give two reasons this is a poor solution and state what you would do instead.
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Reason 1 - it changes the task for everyone. A third playing gives the other 13 candidates extra processing time they were not entitled to, which inflates scores and undermines the standardization the exam depends on. Listening tasks are calibrated to a fixed number of playings.
Reason 2 - it leaks content. Candidates who have already answered Part 1 would hear the material again after discussing it during the break; even without collusion, memory contamination is unavoidable and invalidates the section.
What to do instead: keep the original timing, record the incident on the centre report, and submit the medical documentation for special consideration. If the board grants it, Candidate 7 may be offered a separate sitting of the listening paper under controlled conditions - not a replay bolted onto the group session.