Opinion: The Cambridge exams conundrum has no easy solution By Saturday May 01, 2021 Last year’s handling of the IGCSE and O/A-Level exams by Cambridge Assessment International Examinations (CAIE) had to be MacGyvered at the last moment. Schools had to assemble student portfolios in a rush, predict grades and rank students. CAIE then ran a normalisation algorithm to produce a grade. This initial approach produced such problematic results that it had to be shelved a week after the initial release of grades, and students were assigned their schools’ predicted grades. As the pandemic dragged on and schools remained closed, there was a possibility exams would not be held in 2021 either. The responsible thing to do was to remain prepared and build student portfolios from the start.