A study titled ‘Improving India’s exam standards: Challenges facing test owners’, conducted by Pearson VUE in partnership with IMRB, found out that almost half (43 per cent) reported challenges in developing new assessment content, and four in ten (38 per cent) expressed difficulty in maintaining the relevancy of their assessment. The challenges of knowing whether an exam accurately measures relevant competency, with nearly four in ten test owners (38 per cent) finding the restrictions of the exam format itself a challenge which may in part have an impact on the ability to fulfill the test purpose.
It was also found that almost half of those surveyed (46 per cent) are concerned that candidates are cheating in exams, and a third are concerned with candidate impersonation. There is also concern about test paper leakage (39 per cent), which is a problem associated with pen-and-paper rather than computer-based testing (CBT). The report also reveals a potential trend of test owners moving from pen-and-paper to CBT delivery in India. Of the 47 percent who currently use pen-and-paper over a third (33 per cent) saying they are likely to move to CBT in the near future. The vast majority of all test owners (81 per cent) stated that there is no alternative to CBT that is more reliable.
Divyalok Sharma, director of client development at computer-based testing company Pearson VUE, said: “Focusing on that assessment content is key to the success of an exam programme, along with finding ways to make exams more relevant not only in terms of legislation and up-to-date processes. But also making sure it is relevant to the professional role that person will eventually hold. It is equally important for test owners in India to review their current test development practices and standards and follow international best practices in testing.”