Azernews.Az

by Alimat Aliyeva

The UK regulator Ofqual has fined Cambridge English £875,000 (around $1.1 million) for issuing incorrect results in international English language tests to more than 60,000 candidates worldwide. The inaccurate scores were caused by a malfunction in the automated assessment system, AzerNEWS reports.

In total, out of 7.7 million IELTS (International English Language Testing System) exams taken between August 2023 and September 2025, the system incorrectly marked more than 93,000 tests. In about one-third of these cases, the error did not affect the final overall score, but for 62,794 candidates the results were significantly inaccurate.

The issue was only discovered in September 2025 during an update of the error-monitoring system. Cambridge English immediately informed Ofqual after identifying the problem. As a result, more than 21,700 final scores were reviewed and adjusted, with most candidates actually receiving higher marks than originally recorded.

Among those affected were over a thousand candidates who took the SELT (Secure English Language Test), which is required for UK visa and immigration applications. Many others relied on their results for university admissions, making the impact particularly serious.

Interestingly, despite the scale of the incident, Cambridge English has already spent more than £6 million on system fixes, compensation, and related costs. The regulator took these corrective actions into account as a mitigating factor when issuing the fine. Experts note that this case is one of the largest known failures in automated language testing systems and may lead to stricter oversight of AI and algorithm-based exam grading in the future.