But after Ignou’s first online test turned into a flop show on October 31 this year — test takers were able to answer only two questions before their computer screens went blank — the pressure is on the Common Admission Test (CAT).
While there has been little word on what transpired during Ignou’s Engineering Aptitude Test (IGNEAT), leading to the ‘technical snag’, the CAT committee has entrusted Prometric with conducting its test to avoid similar embarrassment. Prometric, which has been conducting the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) globally, says that since the computer-based CAT is not going to be conducted over the internet, concerns about cyber security do not apply.
Ramesh Nava, Prometric vice president and general manager (Asia Pacific, Japan and Africa), says: ‘‘The CAT test centres were evaluated to ensure they meet all our standards. That they are accessible and convenient for test takers to get to, that they are large enough, that all hardware and software is working okay, that they have uninterrupted power supply, and adequate security.”
He adds, “All test centres where the CAT is conducted will employ Prometric’s biometric identity management solution, digital image capture of all candidates and digital video recording of all testing activity.’’ According to the CAT committee convenor Satish Deodhar, who is headquartered this year at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, ‘‘Over 2.42 lakh aspirants have registered for the test and the CAT will be of international standards within an Indian environment. There will be no compromise onstandards or security.’’
BITS Pilani has been using a computer-based online test, the BITS Admission Test or the BITSAT, successfully, for the last five years. While 1.17 lakh applicants registered for BITSAT 2008, of which 80,000 appeared for the test, that number increased to 1.24 lakh this year, of which 93,000 took the exam. Guru Narayana, who is in charge of BITSAT 2009, says: ‘‘There will be concerns, but a oneoff incident should not create a panic situation. Globally, online exams have gradually been perfected and have successfully been implemented. For the BITSAT, we have ensured complete safeguards, and we have been conducting the exam since 2005, without any trouble.”
Sarvesh Shrivastav, Asia Pacific managing director of Pearson VUE, which conducts the GMAT, says, ‘‘The GMAT exam is a computer-based test, it is not conducted over the internet.” He adds, “Pearson VUE has invested in technology like palm vein recognition to reduce the threat of somebody else taking your test. All GMAT sites worldwide are fully equipped with hi-tech biometrics to make certain the correct test taker is taking the correct exam.’’
Nava says a computer-based test is inherently more secure than paper-and-pencil testing. All sensitive data (candidate demographics, test content, and test results) are heavily encrypted and individual test questions can only be accessed during authorised appointment in a designated testing location.
Nava adds: ‘‘Since introducing the first global network of computer-based testing centres in the early 1990s, Prometric has implemented hundreds of testing programmes. One of the core competencies that we developed from that experience was the concept of test centre readiness, which entails the design, activation and validation of each new testing location. For CAT 2009, every reasonable effort is being made to ensure that the infrastructure meets required standards.’’ That, we will find out on Saturday.
source: TOI