Special consideration is a post-exam adjustment made to a candidate's mark, by an awarding body, to make allowances for some adverse circumstances, for example illness, bereavement, temporary injury or disruption to an exam.
You can submit applications for:
- present but disadvantaged candidates
- candidates absent from a component for acceptable reasons
- coursework-related special consideration not related to the published component adjustments for November 2020, March 2021 or June 2021
- permission to use the published adjustment to a component for November 2020 or June 2021.
Candidate absent from a component for acceptable reasons
If a candidate is absent from a component for an acceptable reason we may calculate and award an assessed mark for the missing component. In this case the minimum requirements for calculating an assessed mark are that the candidate should:
- have covered the whole course
- have completed 50 per cent of the total assessment by component weighting in the relevant exam series. Carry-forward marks do not count towards this. If the candidate has completed less than 50 per cent of the total assessment by component weighting in the relevant exam series, you should still apply for special consideration absent from a component for an acceptable reason, and we will consider whether there is sufficient evidence from the syllabus to calculate an assessed mark.
We cannot calculate an assessed mark for Cambridge International A Levels where a candidate has not completed any A Level components in the exam series.
How to apply for special consideration
The following instructions should be used for these categories of special consideration application:
- Present but disadvantaged candidates
- Candidates absent from a component for acceptable reasons. Please submit this once the timetabled exam has happened.
- Coursework-related special consideration not related to the published component adjustments for November 2020, March 2021 or June 2021.
For information on applying for special consideration for permission to use the published adjustment to a component for November 2020 or June 2021, please see the relevant section of this page.
To apply, go to the 'Special consideration' area of Cambridge International Direct (Direct). Alternatively you can complete the relevant forms, which are available from the 'Support Materials' section of Direct.
Associate Centres should apply for special consideration using the relevant form rather than Direct. They should download the relevant form from the ‘Support Materials’ section of Direct and send it to their Cambridge Associate. The Cambridge Associate should check the form and email it to us within seven days of the last exam of the syllabus affected.
- Special Consideration: Exam Day – Form 7
- Special Consideration (Shortfall in Coursework): Coursework and moderation – Form 2.
- Special Consideration (Lost Coursework): Coursework and moderation – Form 3 You need to submit all applications for special consideration within seven days of the last exam of the syllabus affected
If you need help you can refer to section 5.5 of the Cambridge Handbook.
Permission to use the published adjustment to components for November 2020 or June 2021
To apply for permission to use the published adjustment to components November 2020 or June 2021 complete ‘Special Consideration: Component Adjustment – Form 20 (PDF, 563KB)’ for the November 2020 series, and complete ‘Special Consideration: Component Adjustment – Form 20 (PDF, 551KB) for the June 2021 series. Send this form to info@cambridgeinternational.org, putting ‘Component adjustment November 2020’ or ‘Component adjustment June 2021’ in the email subject line.
You must submit the form to us by 21 September 2020 for the November 2020 series and by 17 April 2021 for the June 2021 series.
We will process your request as soon as possible and send you the outcome via email. You must send us all the work of each candidate for whom you have applied for this permission for moderation or marking. You must include a copy of the completed form in your packet of scripts that you send to us for marking or moderation.
Special consideration supplement
We know many of you have questions about special consideration and we have created a supplement to support you with this and help answer your queries:
Special consideration in the November 2020 exam series: a guide for exams officers (PDF, 732KB)