Thursday, May 04, 2006
Guidelines on the use of Scientific Calculators in GCE Examinations
The following guidelines are to be adhered to where the use of scientific calculators is
allowed in examinations. Candidates must be informed in advance that:
(a) the calculator must be silent, with a visual display only
(b) the working condition of the calculator (including the power supply) is the responsibility
of the candidates and a fault in a calculator will not normally be considered as
justifying the giving of special consideration to the user
(c) calculator cases, instruction leaflets or instructions and formulae printed on the lid or
cover of a calculator or similar materials must not be in the possession of candidates
during the examination (where the instructions cannot be removed they should be
securely covered)
(d) external storage media, e.g. card, tape, and plug-in modules must not be in the
possession of candidates during the examination
(e) calculators must not be borrowed from other candidates in the course of the
examination for any reason
(f) standard scientific calculators with features such as Fraction calculations;
Permutation; Combination; Statistical calculations such as mean, standard deviation
and factorials; Regression analysis; Complex number calculations and
Polar/Rectangular coordinate conversions are acceptable
(g) programmable calculators and those with permanent features of a programmed kind
such as numerical integration; symbolic differentiation; symbolic integration and
symbolic algebraic manipulation are prohibited
(h) calculators which are able to display graphical representation of functions or data, e.g.
calculators with data banks or graphic displays, are prohibited
(i) calculators with the capability of remote communication with other machines, e.g.
infra-red communication capability, are prohibited
Written by 4E @ 4:18 PM;