Does India Need to Reform its Public Test Structure?

Every test period is accompanied by a deluge of reports of exam errors, paper leaks, and pledges to take stringent action to stop such instances in the future. However, despite those norms, several scandals have marred the recent months. According to legislation that Uttarakhand passed last month, anyone found cheating in state recruitment tests will face a minimum of 10 years in jail. A few days later, the Gujarat legislature overwhelmingly voted to penalise those guilty of halting paper breaches with ten years in prison and a $1 million fine. On the same day, although internet services had been stopped to guard against such a possibility, papers for Rajasthan's Teacher Eligibility Test (REET) were leaked on the first day of the test. The repetitive leaks of Class 10 test papers have also caused a political scandal in Assam over the past week.

What is the answer to these issues?

The true answer to these issues, while harsh, punitive steps may be temporary needs, is a change in our exams. By doing this, we can evaluate applicants for the skills required in the upcoming years while reducing copying and breaches.

According to research, since the 1970s, the percentage of non-routine interpersonal and analytical skills required by the job market has drastically grown at the expense of thinking and physical skills that are more regular. This is evident in the virtual disappearance of occupations that represent repetitive physical or cognitive tasks, such as the typical office assistant or stenographer and the human bank teller. Artificial intelligence (AI) tool development is increasing, confirming that job seekers will need to fight on a higher skill level. However, most examinations in India today tend to measure regular cognitive abilities, which is why the questions are vulnerable to breaches and duplication.

To solve this, four separate but related actions can be taken. They are:-

1. First, move to computer-based examinations, which offer many benefits, such as enabling candidates to get various papers, making copying more difficult. As the total number of queries increases and the printing and transporting stages are drastically decreased or removed, leaks also become less of a problem. Modern statistical methods also make it possible to assess comparison performance across articles quickly and precisely. Such tests enable applicants to be assigned tasks (such as changing a word in a text or plotting a location on a graph or map) that assess higher-level skills but can still be computer-corrected. It should be mentioned that many of the most prominent and esteemed Indian examinations are conducted in English.
2. Second, give more open-book examinations, allowing candidates to bring particular materials to the exam room. These could be booklets holding essential information and equations, removing the easily copyable portions. Candidates applying their expertise to higher-order, real-world issues will perform better.
3. Third, ask more queries that demand thoughtful responses and aren't just a memory exam. The questions should assess skills based on comprehension and application rather than simply recollection, as is the case today, even if laptops or open-book examinations are not used. By modifying queries in this manner, the process of getting at solutions is no longer mechanical.
4. Four, launch public awareness efforts about exams. A national and state public education effort on different examination-related topics is one of the easiest ways to better the exam process. Exam reform is frequently resisted by applicants and their families, who view change as unwelcome and detrimental. A portion of the campaign will be devoted to outlining these new exams' or questions' contents and advantages.