The Learned Leader: Technology and Testing Make a Strong Partner
While the integrity of the testing process for license exams and assessments is of critical importance in any market—public or private sector—the stakes rise a notch or two when it comes to compromised results at a military organization or other sensitive government testing site.
To remain one step ahead of the increasingly sophisticated tactics employed by individuals looking to compromise the testing system, and to ensure that those leveraging exam results for higher positions of responsibility and access are doing so credibly, organizations have the option of turning to a host of emerging technologies. A few technology tools and solutions are being increasingly utilized in the testing industry today to tighten the testing process and preserve the integrity of tests, thereby helping to maintain the value of certification.
PERFORMANCE-BASED TESTING
Today, most testing programs are built on the use of multiple choice or knowledge-based items; they remain a cost-effective and efficient way to test and measure knowledge. Incorporating performance-based items, which require candidates to physically perform job-related tasks that demonstrate practical, real-world skills, is a good way to complement multiple choice exams by ensuring that those taking the exam have practical knowledge.
Assessing a candidate’s ability to actually perform specific tasks or activities can be an important supplement to traditional knowledge-based multiple choice items. In recent years this has been accomplished through simulations of real-world activities. More recently the concept of emulation-based testing, in which candidates interact with the actual software applications used “on the job,” has generated a great deal of interest. Internet technology and server virtualization is making this emerging concept viable for today’s testing programs, although multiple choice exams remain a useful and efficient means of validating a candidate’s knowledge and skill.
LINEAR-ON-THE-FLY TESTING (LOFT)
This solution is a dynamic forms generation model that utilizes “Item Response Theory” statistics to produce an individually assembled exam for each candidate. LOFT generates a virtually unique testing experience for each and every exam candidate, making the memorization of significant portions of the overall exam extremely difficult. LOFT also dynamically adjusts the item (question) selection routine to prevent individual items from becoming over-exposed; it also more effectively utilizes all of the available items in a bank. Assembling an exam form “on the fly” at the beginning of the test ensures that each candidate receives a unique exam, making it tough for any one candidate to pass on information about exam questions or answers to any other candidate.
BIOMETRICS
According to ABI Research, public and private spending on biometrics technologies—defined as authentication techniques that rely on an individual’s physical characteristics—will increase from $3 billion in 2008 to $7.3 billion by 2013. Biometrics, which can include facial recognition, fingerprint analysis, retina scan and voice identification, among others, are becoming increasingly prevalent as an identity management tool at testing facilities utilized by government or military personnel. By storing a test candidate’s information to his or her testing profile, organizations can identify suspicious patterns and thwart illegal activity. At the same time, test center administrators cannot be overlooked when it comes to identity verification in order to safeguard the security and integrity of the entire testing center.
For the organization administering a test, the benefits of a biometric identity management system include:
• Improved candidate check-in efficiency
• Improved candidate identity validation
• Increased security during checkin and breaks
• Additional protection of intellectual property
While there are various biometric technologies available for identity verification (retinal scans, iris scans, facial recognition), digital fingerprinting offers several distinct advantages: the technology is familiar to many candidates and therefore more likely to be widely accepted; it is easy for test center administrators and candidates to perform properly; and it is highly accurate, with minimal false positives and false negatives.
More broadly, a consistent ID validation process reduces variability and applies a higher standard that can be uniformly measured across the entire candidate base. By requiring candidates to use a fingerprint scan to begin and end all breaks during the test, a system-generated time stamp is created that removes ambiguity associated with manual sign-in logs. As a result, administrating organizations can retrieve electronic data to better understand the timed progression from check-in, examination start time, breaks and end of examination.
Additionally, intellectual property is more secure because a fingerprint detects potential proxy testers, people who take the test illegally on behalf of someone else. Biometric identity management also benefits candidates through reduced check-in times, especially for repeat test-takers. Returning candidates simply need to provide an ID and fingerprint instead of repeating the initial check-in process.
When one thinks about the importance of utilizing technologies such as biometrics at the test facility, it must circle back to the consequences of failing to keep pace with dangerous intentions of those looking to exploit the system. Individuals who attain undeserved levels of exam certification or skill are potentially placed in highly sensitive positions with the military and government positions that afford them access to information, networks and power. Failing to identify wrongdoing puts the security of people and information at risk, while undermining the integrity of the entire testing process. ♦
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Colleen Caulfield is vice president, federal segment at Prometric, a leading global provider of comprehensive testing and assessment services.