The tests done on the 6th March will be invalid and we have to repeat ALL those tests (FIVE in total: L1, CBT and L3) on the 14th May:
https://eu-careers.europa.eu/en/news/set-defect-requires-retesting-multi...
Most of us followed the instructions and marked only one correct answer. If we marked two or more by mistake, we unmarked as necessary so that there would only be one left per question.
Some of us have work or family constraints, cannot ask for holidays to repeat the exam or simply don´t have the energy or the will to repeat FIVE tests.
I can understand some languages have very few candidates and if many made mistakes, they´ll be left without candidates. I also understand it´s very convenient for EPSO to invalidate the tests of 6th March for many reasons, one of them being that they won´t need to answer the myriad of claims.
It should be voluntary for candidates to repeat the tests. For those who can´t or won´t resit the competition, the tests done on the 6th March should be perfectly valid.
Look at the waves this is already causing: https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-commission-parliament-botches-entry-e...
This kind of complaint, to my understanding, should be an administrative complaint: https://eu-careers.europa.eu/en/type-complaint
This is the form for complaints if you have been affected: https://eu-careers.europa.eu/en/contact-us/complaints
https://eu-careers.europa.eu
https://eu-careers.europa.eu/en/news/translators-competitions-epso-ad-41...
'Although candidate instructions stated that only one answer was correct, it was unclear whether candidates had assumed that a second answer would cancel out the first'.
Seriously, we're heading to the world depicted in the film Idiocracy (USA, 2006) where citizens are utterly stupid or considered to be as such.
If one has to mark ONE correct answer, of course anybody in their right mind would consider that marking 0, 2, 3 or 4 answers is INCORRECT.
Every new explanation makes it worse. There is no excuse whatsoever to make us resit this competition.
And yet, it seems we'll have no other choice because there were 3000 candidates marking more than one out of a total of 173+566+3763+1654+2558+1616+2176+346=12852 candidates.
Near 10000 candidates who did ok have to repeat because there were 3000 people making mistakes of different range.
Yes, of course there are 'finantial implications' on the taxpayers' money.
3000 people were supposedly
3000 people were supposedly affected on the 6th March but far more than that have been affected for the decision to resit, 75% of candidates who made no mistake, to be exact. I have claimed against the decision of 10/04/2025 because it's unfair and it has a direct impact on my status as a candidate. If anybody reading this also feels it's unfair, they should let EPSO know as well, in my opinion. Are we, or are we not, more than 3000 affected for this decision? I'm afraid we might be.
I couldn´t sleep tonight, so
I couldn´t sleep tonight, so I read popular sayings in my mother tongue to prepare for the new tests. The Spanish 'refranero' is an incredible source of wisdom, so I´m sharing with you what I learnt.
«Siempre pagan justos por pecadores»
Three quarters of candidates made no mistake thanks to perfectly clear instructions and the possibility to deselect answers if they had marked the wrong ones. Only one quarter of all candidates were 'affected'. But what does 'affected' mean? 'Affected' doesn´t mean that they 'failed'. They have tared us all with the same brush.
«El montañés, por defender una necedad dice tres»
It is insulting to imply that wannabe translators will not understand simple instructions. The statement 'it was unclear whether candidates had assumed that a second answer would cancel out the first' is tantamount to saying all candidates are daft. The instructions were very clear from the very beginning.
«Amar no es solamente querer, es sobre todo comprender»
Nothing indicates they EPSO has investigated enough. EPSO has not conducted surveys on candidates and the Boards do not seem to have assessed carefully the results. With the clarification published three days ago they confirm that the decision is unfounded in facts. They have not even checked who failed. They have simply computed how many candidates marked more than one answer, irrespective of how this affected their overall results. This means that, among those 3000, many could have passed to the next stage if they made very few mistakes, even if they marked more than one answer occasionally.
«Echar por el atajo no siempre ahorra trabajo»
EPSO intends to invalidate all claims received against the tests done on 06/03/2025, it has specifically said so. I believe this might be the main motivation to invalidate those tests and that is why they have not investigated any further. However, the number of claims they might receive for this decision could be even higher: we are more than 3000 affected by this decision.
«A quien no mata puerco, no le dan morcilla»
Many claims they received on the 06/03/2025 might be invalid but people claimed anyway and they will continue claiming. It´s easy and candidates have nothing to lose, right? As a result, EPSO is so overwhelmed with claims, they might be incapable of providing any answers, unfortunately. The easy solution, as we have seen, is invalidating tests so that they won´t need to answer any related claims. This sets a dangerous precedent for the future, and it will encourage candidates to claim in order to have tests invalidated.
This situation is very unfortunate. Thanks for sharing your experiences and feelings.