Concerns over new computerised IT exam for Tawjihi students

AMMAN — Some 28,000 General Secondary Education Certificate Examination (Tawjihi) students from the scientific and literary streams will undergo a computerised exam for their high school IT module as of Sunday, an official announced, drawing some concerns among educators.

"This is the first time the ministry conducts such an exam, which is the first step of a long-term and gradual plan to shift to computerised exams," Nawwaf Ajarmah, examinations and tests management director at the Ministry of Education told The Jordan Times on Monday.

Ajarmah said that the exam will be conducted at the schools' labs over five days with several one-hour-long sessions between 10am and 2pm, noting that the ministry has commissioned professional experts from the exams directorate to prepare 20 different exam models in the form of multiple choices.

He stressed that the computerised exam will give flexibility for students compared to the "rigid" paper tests, which entail all students from all schools to sit for the examination at the same time.

"Students can now join any of the available sessions whenever they are ready to take the test," the official said.

However, a Tawjihi IT teacher expressed concerns over the "new vision". "The computerised tests may not be a fair evaluation for students as they will be evaluated on their final answer only, while the steps of solving the questions will be neglected," he said.

"The IT curriculum has both theoretical and practical parts, which makes it illogical to have all questions in the form of multiple choices," the teacher told The Jordan Times.

He highlighted that students may have "more chances for easier cheating" as they might circulate the exam questions among each other and create their own "test bank" to memorise the answers.

For Ajarmah, who clarified that the questions are "different but equal in difficulty level" in all models, "there is no way that the same question would be repeated".

Mamoun Al Qrtouty, another teacher, praised the idea of digital transformation as a whole but stressed the need for "prior training" for both students and exam supervisors.

"Some students were lost in today's session and the supervisors, who are not IT teachers, were not experienced enough to deal with the systems and equipment," he explained.

The teacher also referred to the latest ministry decision which makes IT skills an optional subject for the Tawjihi students. "How is it possible that we have a plan for shifting to computerised exams while students are not even obliged to study IT skills and learn how to deal with them," he asked.

Another IT teacher, who proffered to remain anonymous, said: "Such steps require a solid and high quality infrastructure that includes a strong Internet connection and advanced computer devices, which is not the case in many public schools."

Ajarmah stressed: "This is an empirical test which seeks to prepare teachers for the next generation of students and to increase the coordination between the ministry's tests management and the network department in Queen Rania Al Abdullah Centre for Educational and Informational Technology so as to provide a suitable environment for the exams including supplying schools with computer devices."

The teachers agreed that the computerised exams will facilitate and fasten the announcement of results as the correction process will be carried out automatically.