From outside,
the building in Noida’s Sector 62 looks like one of those all too common
structures jutting into the Delhi-NCR skyline. Inside, the headquarters of the
National Testing Agency (NTA) is a whirl of activity. Rooms are filled with
hawk-eyed specialists glued to screens. “Roll it out,” a person directs someone
on the phone. “Agra centre is slightly behind schedule,” says another. It is
the swiftness of its workforce and use of robust technology among other things
that has catapulted the agency to the league of the world’s biggest competitive
exam testing bodies in a short span of seven months.
Since it
first conducted the UGC NET in December 2018, the agency has examined over 54
lakh candidates in 11 national-level entrance tests for top institutes. In
contrast, its global counterparts like Educational Testing Service which
conducts SAT and GRE in the US had tested 28 lakh candidates for college
admissions in whole of 2018. Set up by the ministry of human resources
development as an autonomous organisation, NTA has been mandated with creating
an exam system which is scientific and at par with international standards. NTA
also has its eyes set on a bigger goal — to make exams smarter and less
stressful for candidates.
Technical know-how and artificial intelligence will play a major part in the
leap forward, according to NTA officials. “The idea is to create a scientific
and secure examination system that measures up to international standards,” R
Subrahmanyam, secretary, higher education, ministry of human resources
development, told TOI.
For this
purpose, NTA has armed itself with sophisticated technology to crack down on
paper leak. For the NEET exam, which was not computerised and held in May this
year, geo-fencing devices for secure delivery of question papers were used. If
any box was opened at a different place and time than the one designated, an
alert would go to the headquarters.
Next on the
agenda is rolling out aptitude testing. “We do not test aptitude which is why
after getting into certain courses, like engineering, students might suddenly
find themselves not interested in the subject any more and drop out,” said
Subrahmanyam.
Another plan
is to introduce computerised adaptive testing or CAT — an exam that adapts to
the
examinee’s ability level and can identify a student’s learning level more
precisely than fixed-question exams. Such tests are also shorter and therefore
less tiring.
An NTA
official explained: “Computerised adaptive test starts at an average difficulty
level, which is determined through existing database. The exam rolls out
questions based on a candidate’s answers. If a student gives a wrong answer,
the computer follows up with an easier question; if the student answers
correctly, the next question will be more difficult. The total score is based
on the number of correct answers provided and the difficulty of the questions
completed. This method is in use in global competitive exams such as GMAT, SAT,
GRE.”
At the core
of NTA’s testing model is computer-based examination which allows greater
flexibility, according to officials. Exams can be held over a span of four to
five days and students can choose the dates. For the first time, JEE (Mains)
was conducted twice this year.
Counsellors
said the option to attempt entrance tests for premier colleges twice a year was
a relief for students.
NTA has now
been entrusted with a total of 13 entrance exams. Speaking on the need for a
professional testing body, Delhi-based educational expert Deekshant Sahrawat
said, “In India, the number of aspirants is always more than the number of
opportunities. Even a small error can make or mar a career. Thus, a
professional, autonomous body for testing like NTA was needed.”
M Jagadesh
Kumar, JNU vice chancellor, said the university opted for candidate testing by
NTA since its methods are at par with international standards.
Source |
Times of India | 11th August 2019
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reflection, the state of the eye is measured. An auto-refractor is
a computerized instrument that shines light into an eye.
By looking through the retinoscope, the doctor can study the light reflex of the pupil. Based on the
ReplyDeletemovement and orientation of this retinal reflection, the state of the eye is measured. An auto-
refractor is a computerized instrument that shines light into an eye.