https://prepai.in/blog/avoid-errors-in-question-paper-setting-process/ Setting a concise, thorough, and fair question paper for any exam is a daunting task. Not only does the paper setter has to adhere to the weightage and syllabus guidelines, but they also have to make sure that there are no errors, whatsoever. They have to create the question paper such that there is no repetition of questions in every exam session. Once the paper is set, the moderators check the question papers, and then the final draft is sent for printing. Even with so many people involved, there have been various occasions where the errors in question papers have not only led to unfair evaluation but also have generated a ruckus. The recent CBSE question paper controversy is one such example. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is one of the most reputed education offices in the nation and has millions of educational institutions affiliated with it. With a mammoth workforce and unparalleled resources, the Board has certainly no dearth of moderators and paper evaluation resources. Still, the recent controversy regarding Class X and XII question papers has raised quite a few eyebrows in the world of education. The Class XII question paper had a question – “The unprecedented scale and spread of anti-Muslim violence in Gujarat in 2002 took place under which government?” And, the Class X English question paper had a comprehension passage that received flak because of being “retrograde” and offensive in nature to women. Both these question paper controversies highlight some of the core pain points of the traditional question paper setting process – human errors, cognitive bias, and improper moderation and review. However, these are not the only pain points of the traditional question paper setting process. It is tedious, time and effort consuming, and strenuous for the educators as well. Here, we discuss some of the best solutions to avoid errors in the question paper setting process and how using smart and innovative technologies can change the exam paper setting process altogether.

1. 6 Tips to Avoid
Errors in
Question Paper
Setting Process

2. Question Paper Setting
Process
PAIN POINTS AND THEIR EFFECTS

3. The traditional question paper setting process is tedious and time-consuming. It relies
entirely on the potential of the paper setters and their diligence in following the by-
laws while setting a new paper in every exam session.
While the paper setters are generally experts with a rich experience in education, they
tend to become biased towards specific topics. They might also end up choosing
similar or identical questions multiple times because of the mundane nature of the
paper-setting process. They might also end up missing the questions that have a high
level of complexity but at the same time might contribute to factual knowledge of the
students.
Finally, the lack of readiness, diligence, and the required understanding of the
sociological and holistic effect of certain questions related to sensitive topics is also
another area of concern with far-reaching consequences.

4. So, we can all agree that the traditional paper setting process is no longer relevant
in its entirety and needs revamping. Also, it needs to utilize the emerging trends in
education and EdTech to stay futuristic.
But, before we examine the solutions, it is important to understand the impact of errors
in the question paper on the other stakeholders of the education industry – the
students.
The students get demotivated and might also get carried away during an exam when
they encounter a wrong question or any controversial question.
This can affect their exam performance as well.
Likewise, when the exam controller or governing body, like CBSE, opts for awarding full
marks for a controversial or wrong question, the move affects the overall grading,
leading to unfair results.

5. There are many scenarios where the marks obtained by a candidate in specific exams
are of extreme importance and are counted for the next step in academics. For
example, the board marks are considered for calculating the final merit of entrance
exams, like JEE.
In such cases, everybody getting extra credit just because a paper moderator was
unable to do their job properly, becomes a consequential event for the other
candidates.
So, how to tackle these pain points, and what is the most effortless and seamless
solution for ensuring error-free and bias-free paper setting?

6. Tips to Avoid Errors in
Question Paper Setting
Process?

7. 1. Third-Party Review Committee
Most exam bodies, such as CBSE, have a specific moderator or group of
moderators to ensure the integrity, fairness, correctness, and the overall
adherence of a question paper to the paper setting by-laws.
But, the errors can creep in without much ado, as evident from the recent
controversy.
Now you might ask – “Why third-party?”, and the answer is simple:
Third-party review committees are bias-free, more aware of the job
responsibilities, and review the paper without any specific organizational
interest.
Hence, the papers are always reviewed with a fair perspective and a thorough
understanding of the by-laws.

8. 2. Creating a Pool of Questions and Answers and
Then Compiling the Question Paper
The traditional paper setting process calls for the paper setters to compile the entire
paper keeping the syllabus, topics, weightage of specific units, and organizational
by-laws in mind.
However, this suffers from a severe flaw – the paper comes out as what the
teacher wants it to be!
And, this can make the papers redundant as the paper setters have to simply rely on
their memory and overall understanding of the subject.
A perfect resolution for this problematic issue is to ask every paper setter for
questions instead of an entire paper. They can formulate questions and indicate
weightage against them.
So, the moderators can have a pool of questions to choose from and then compile
the paper with the correct and apt questions.

9. 3. Using Open Educational Sources
The open educational sources such as Google and Open Educational Resources (OER)
from UNESCO will allow the paper setters to find new and relevant academic content
that is not controversial, and regressive or demeaning to any human.
Using these sources for compiling papers will also allow them to keep the student
evaluation standards high and relevant to the emerging trends in employment and
education.
Apart from helping the paper setters in enhancing their skills and knowledge, the open
resources of education and academic content also prepare students with a more global
understanding of various events, perceptions, and educational content.

10. 4. Keeping the Exam Scope and Recent
Societal Trends in Mind
While setting a question paper, it is important to ensure that the scope of the question paper
and syllabus is strictly followed. For instance, CBSE could have easily avoided the recent
controversy, if the by-laws strictly prohibited the use of sensitive political and ethnic topics or
mentioned them as “out of the exam scope”.
Also, it is important to keep the recent societal trends in mind while drafting a question paper.
It is a must to steer clear of all the topics that are regressive and offensive in nature to women.
It is alright for all of us to have our own perceptions and understanding of racial or ethnic or
religious groups. But, subjecting the students to our perceptions, especially when they are
fighting for every single mark, is not at all advisable.

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question-paper-setting-process/