What happens when a fire alarm goes off during exams?

[Lord of the Pickles]

Someone told me this about IB exams, and I'm just really curious since it sounds really really silly. When you're writing your IB exams and a fire alarm goes off, do you have to hold a rope and stay in line like kindergarteners?? The rope was described as having knots 2 metres apart from each other, and each student must hold a knot or else they get an automatic zero on the exam. I was also told that if you talk you also get a zero. This sounds so weird I have been giggling about it and secretly hoping it would happen just to see if it's true. I have a bit of a hard time believing it, but does anyone know for sure?

[Vioh]

Haha lol, the rope story sounds quite silly, I wonder if that was true. In any case, IBO doesn't give specific rules regarding fire alarms during the exams. So it's up to the your coordinator to decide what the students must do. By the way, on the file uploaded by @kw0573 (see here https://www.ibsurvival.com/files/file/3500-the-conduct-of-ibdp-examinations/), it says the following:

Quote

18.7 In an emergency (for example, a fire alarm, bomb alert or natural disaster), it may be necessary to evacuate the examination room. The action taken will depend on the circumstances and is therefore left to the discretion of the coordinator. However, the following procedure is advised.

• Instruct the candidates not to communicate and then ask them to turn their scripts over so they cannot be read. Record the time when the examination was stopped.
• Evacuate the room and remind the candidates not to communicate with each other.
• If candidates return, record the time when the examination recommenced and allow the full time for the examination.

18.8 If there are a small number of candidates and the circumstances allow, the coordinator may take the examination material to an alternative location and continue the examination. Candidates must be instructed not to communicate with each other during this time.

18.9 If very little of the examination has been completed, and it is not possible to continue with the examination, reschedule the examination for the earliest possible time and date and then inform IB Answers that you have done so. You will be required to send a report to the IB Assessment Centre about the circumstances of the rescheduling, indicating the time and date when the examination was taken.

18.10 If a substantial part of the examination has been completed or the candidates are not able to return, after the evacuation collect the candidates’ scripts and all other examination material. Using the form "Candidate(s) affected by adverse circumstances", email a full report to the IB Assessment Centre immediately after the examination using the Adverse circumstances email link under "Contact us" on IBIS.

 

[Lord of the Pickles]

Thanks, cool to know that it's a possibility