SBA or Paper 032? Your Guide to the May–June Exams

If you're doing the SBA

What you need for your SBA

Here are the key CXC AI requirements to check before submitting. If you did not use AI, CXC does not require an AI Disclosure Form or AI Originality Report. Other SBA submission requirements still apply. CXC doesn't require your original draft with AI-edited work, but your school may still ask for drafts.

• Your AI levelThere are different AI levels. Level 1 means no AI. Levels 2 and 3 allow different kinds of AI help. Level 4 is not allowed. Don't assume you're allowed Level 3. Check with your teacher which level applies to your task. What the levels mean
• AI platforms you can useCopilot, Gemini, ChatGPT, Incus, WizdomCRM. Nothing else.
• CheckerRun your SBA through Winston AI, Originality.ai, GPTzero, Grammarly or TurnItIn, and attach the originality report. CXC says free originality checkers are available. Check which approved option you can access and whether it gives you a report you can submit.
• CitationsIn your text: (Copilot, 2025). In your Appendix: platform (year), your full name, the exact prompt, and the day and month. Say what you used AI for.
• PromptsEvery prompt you used, saved in your Appendix.
• Disclosure FormThe CXC SBA AI Disclosure Form, included in your SBA submission together with your Originality Report. Follow your school's submission instructions. You complete and sign Sections A and B. Your teacher verifies and signs Section C, confirming you understand your own work. Get the form from CXC
• DeclarationIf your teacher asks: "I/We certify that this project is a true reflection of my/the group's own work. I/We have cited all sources of information."

The AI levels

CXC sorts AI use into four levels.

• Level 1No AI at all. Applies to all written exams, including Paper 032.
• Level 2Ideas and planning only. AI can help you brainstorm and structure, but no AI content goes in your final work. Any AI content in a Level 2 task means no marks for that task. Applies to essay tasks that assess summary writing and related skills.
• Level 3Editing your own work. AI can improve the clarity of what you wrote, and make cited images or videos. It can't create new content. Applies to other essay and research tasks.
• Level 4AI does part of the task. Not allowed.

Not sure which level applies to you? That's what the AI & Compliance Check is for.

If you get it wrong

• Using AI beyond your allowed level: you lose half your mark. 50/60 becomes 25/60.
• Any AI content in a Level 2 task (essay tasks that assess summary writing and related skills): no marks for that task.
• Submitting work done fully by AI: 0 marks.
• Misuse can also mean disqualification or cancelled grades.
• CXC runs its own originality checks on submitted SBAs, separate from your school's.
• Moderators can question you about your work. If you can't explain it, that's a problem.

A checker score alone doesn't decide the outcome. CXC uses human review and evidence, and you have the right to appeal.

About the 20%

CXC's FAQ sets the acceptable similarity score at 20%. Above that, your teacher should explain why on the Disclosure Form, and you can still be penalised.

A score under 20% doesn't automatically mean your work meets CXC's rules. You also have to use AI within your permitted level, produce your own work, and follow the disclosure steps.

For parents

CXC names parents, alongside teachers, as responsible for making sure SBAs follow the rules.

• Ask your child to explain their SBA in their own words: why they chose the topic and what their findings mean.
• If AI was used, their teacher has to confirm on the Disclosure Form that your child understands their own work.
• If AI was used, check that it's cited and that the form and originality report are done.

What's changed since CXC's AI rules came out in 2025

• The 20% guideline. CXC's FAQ set 20% as the acceptable similarity score, with a teacher explanation needed above it.
• Checkers alone don't decide. In March 2026, and again in May, CXC said no decision will rest on an AI checker alone.
• A new AI Disclosure Form. In use from the 2026 exam cycle, signed by both you and your teacher.
• More approved tools. WizdomCRM and TurnItIn were added to CXC's approved list.
• The SBA reform. In July 2026, CXC announced which subjects keep the SBA and which move to Paper 032. Your result at the top of this page reflects it.
• Paper 032 by subject. In October 2026, CXC set out when each subject's Paper 032 topics come out and what notes you can bring. It also moved the CSEC Information Technology change to 2029 and added an AI rule for CAPE Art and Design.

If you're sitting Paper 032

Your Paper 032

What all Paper 032 candidates should know

• Unless your subject's rules above say otherwise, your notes can be handwritten or printed in advance. No textbooks, and no notes on a phone or laptop.
• No AI in the exam room. Paper 032 is sat under exam conditions.
• Where Paper 032 has replaced the SBA, CXC encourages doing the SBA anyway as a practice project to prepare for the paper.
• Syllabuses include specimen papers, with answer keys and mark schemes, including a specimen Paper 032 where applicable. Download them free from CXC
• You can reuse a Paper 032 score for two years. A May-June 2027 score can be reused in 2028, 2029 or both. For CAPE, whether you can transfer a score between units depends on your subject, so check your syllabus.
• CXC can change these requirements when it revises a syllabus, so check the latest syllabus for your subject.