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2018 Algeria shut down internet during school exam season. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/21/algeria-shuts-internet-prevent-cheating-school-exams h

by mtmail 3y ago

2018 Algeria shut down internet during school exam season. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/21/algeria-shuts-internet-prevent-cheating-school-exams https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/21/algeria-shuts-... "Algeria is not, however, the only country to take such radical steps during exam season: Syria, Iraq, Mauritania, Uzbekistan and several Indian states reportedly block access to the internet. Ethiopia shuts down social media."

lacy_tinpot 3y ago
How do you study then?
- vorticalbox 3y ago
  with a book? Or notes from class? Asking someone educated on the topic?
- srameshc 3y ago
  Text books are still used in many parts of the world and all the course material are covered by those prescribed text books.
- jessriedel 3y ago
  At least in Algeria, they only did it during 2-3 hours of the day when the tests were taken. > It published a timetable of the shutdown schedule: three one-hour blackouts, coinciding with the first hour of each baccalaureate exam, on Wednesday, and two each on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
- 1270018080 3y ago
  How to study during an exam? I think you'd be taking it, not studying.
- rangerelf 3y ago
  You're not serious, are you? Books? Notebooks? Even downloading to your reading device? Screenshots if everything else fails?
  - CatWChainsaw 3y ago
    You forgot that papers and pens ceased to work the second laptops showed up because that's how technology works. Some people on this site are just idiots and need note-taking apps for a "productivity boost", whereas I can go to the store with a written list of everything I need. They think everyone should be hamstrung the same way they are.
Off 3y ago
Algerian here, they do it almost every year when the Bac exams starts.
andrewinardeer 3y ago
South Korea shuts down air travel during the nation wide university entrance examination.
- devoutsalsa 3y ago
  I was curious, so I googled… - “The government grounds aircraft or reroutes flights to keep students from getting distracted during the biggest test of their lives.” - “ On the streets Thursday morning, you could hear more sirens than usual, because anyone running late to the competitive exam can call for a free police escort to rush them straight to the test site.” - “Success is defined narrowly. Get a high score on the Suneung to get into a high-ranked school. Go to a good school to get hired at a South Korean chaebol — the term for a mighty mega-conglomerate, like Samsung. They power the Korean economy.” Source: https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/11/12/455708201/even-the-planes-stop-flying-for-south-koreas-national-exam-day https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/11/12/455708201/...
  - ken47 3y ago
    This test seems to control your trajectory in Korean society to a very high degree, which seems like overkill in my view, because a test can only be so reflective of real-life skills. I have a family member who did very well on the test and got into Seoul National University, which is reputed to be the best university in Korea. According to them, their IQ is "only" 120-130, but they have very good memory, and are able to study endlessly without tiring. Are those useful skills? Yes, for many things, but not for everything.
    - jdewerd 3y ago
      Standardized testing does not aim to be a perfect evaluation, it aims to be a good enough evaluation that can be made highly resistant to corruption/bribery relative to its qualitative alternatives.
      - standardUser 3y ago
apapapa 3y ago
It's still crazy but more reasonable to shut it down for exams than elections
- tmpz22 3y ago
  I wonder if exam season is just a convenient excuse to test the system in case it needs to be deployed for civic unrest.
  - londons_explore 3y ago
    I wonder how long exam season is... If it's a 3 hour period it's quite different than a 3 month period.
    - apapapa 3y ago
      One of the many issues with censorship
    - vuln 3y ago
      People can just sleep off 3 hours. If it were three months people would be finding another way within the first 7 days most likely less.
  - bluish29 3y ago
    Maybe, but in all these countries it happens that this happens with specific exams that are national and are very core to student's future. This does not have an equivalent in most of the western countries (probably all?). I wonder if these exams were in the western countries, what would their approach to prevent mass cheating on national scale?
brailsafe 3y ago
That's a whole lot of value being attributed to exams.

by mtmail 3y ago

lacy_tinpot 3y ago

How do you study then?

vorticalbox 3y ago
with a book? Or notes from class? Asking someone educated on the topic?
srameshc 3y ago
Text books are still used in many parts of the world and all the course material are covered by those prescribed text books.
jessriedel 3y ago
At least in Algeria, they only did it during 2-3 hours of the day when the tests were taken. > It published a timetable of the shutdown schedule: three one-hour blackouts, coinciding with the first hour of each baccalaureate exam, on Wednesday, and two each on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
1270018080 3y ago
How to study during an exam? I think you'd be taking it, not studying.
rangerelf 3y ago
You're not serious, are you? Books? Notebooks? Even downloading to your reading device? Screenshots if everything else fails?
- CatWChainsaw 3y ago
  You forgot that papers and pens ceased to work the second laptops showed up because that's how technology works. Some people on this site are just idiots and need note-taking apps for a "productivity boost", whereas I can go to the store with a written list of everything I need. They think everyone should be hamstrung the same way they are.

Off 3y ago

Algerian here, they do it almost every year when the Bac exams starts.

andrewinardeer 3y ago

South Korea shuts down air travel during the nation wide university entrance examination.

devoutsalsa 3y ago
I was curious, so I googled… - “The government grounds aircraft or reroutes flights to keep students from getting distracted during the biggest test of their lives.” - “ On the streets Thursday morning, you could hear more sirens than usual, because anyone running late to the competitive exam can call for a free police escort to rush them straight to the test site.” - “Success is defined narrowly. Get a high score on the Suneung to get into a high-ranked school. Go to a good school to get hired at a South Korean chaebol — the term for a mighty mega-conglomerate, like Samsung. They power the Korean economy.” Source: https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/11/12/455708201/even-the-planes-stop-flying-for-south-koreas-national-exam-day https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/11/12/455708201/...
- ken47 3y ago
  This test seems to control your trajectory in Korean society to a very high degree, which seems like overkill in my view, because a test can only be so reflective of real-life skills. I have a family member who did very well on the test and got into Seoul National University, which is reputed to be the best university in Korea. According to them, their IQ is "only" 120-130, but they have very good memory, and are able to study endlessly without tiring. Are those useful skills? Yes, for many things, but not for everything.
  - jdewerd 3y ago
    Standardized testing does not aim to be a perfect evaluation, it aims to be a good enough evaluation that can be made highly resistant to corruption/bribery relative to its qualitative alternatives.
    - standardUser 3y ago

apapapa 3y ago

It's still crazy but more reasonable to shut it down for exams than elections

tmpz22 3y ago
I wonder if exam season is just a convenient excuse to test the system in case it needs to be deployed for civic unrest.
- londons_explore 3y ago
  I wonder how long exam season is... If it's a 3 hour period it's quite different than a 3 month period.
  - apapapa 3y ago
    One of the many issues with censorship
  - vuln 3y ago
    People can just sleep off 3 hours. If it were three months people would be finding another way within the first 7 days most likely less.
- bluish29 3y ago
  Maybe, but in all these countries it happens that this happens with specific exams that are national and are very core to student's future. This does not have an equivalent in most of the western countries (probably all?). I wonder if these exams were in the western countries, what would their approach to prevent mass cheating on national scale?

brailsafe 3y ago

That's a whole lot of value being attributed to exams.