Programme overview
Introduction:
Examination and student assessment management, covering test design, item banks and standardisation, is the subject of this 5-day course for assessment centre staff, examination officers and education authority assessment teams, ending with an Examination Programme Plan. Many exam units release results that cannot be defended because papers were built without specifications, markers drifted apart and security gaps went unrecorded. Nominees already prepare, administer or mark examinations, and teaching is by case study on specifications, item statistics and marker data. Core Concept delivers this examination management course.
Course Objectives:
- Build test specification grids that link content domain, cognitive level and mark weight for each examination paper
- Write and review selected-response and constructed-response items and store them in a tagged item bank with usage history
- Organise standardised administration, examiner standardisation, double marking and moderation sampling with defined tolerance limits
- Run a standard setting session and justify pass marks with judge ratings and candidate performance evidence
- Interpret item difficulty, discrimination, reliability and equating output to retain, revise or retire items and compare forms
- Design exam security controls and an irregularity procedure, then produce an Examination Programme Plan for a case organisation
Target Audience:
- Assessment centre managers responsible for the examination cycle from specification to results release
- Examination officers accountable for paper custody, administration and candidate records
- Item development leads who commission, review and maintain question banks
- Education authority assessment teams that set common standards across several schools or colleges
- Chief examiners and moderation coordinators who oversee marker agreement and grade boundaries
Course Outline:
Day 1: Examination System Foundations and Current-State Review
- Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing Mapped to Examination Cycle Stages
- Norm-Referenced Versus Criterion-Referenced Score Interpretation Decision Table
- Examination Cycle Map from Specification to Results Release
- Validity, Reliability and Fairness Evidence Checklist for Existing Papers
- Current-State Audit of Examination Unit Roles and Paper Files
Day 2: Test Specifications, Item Writing and Item Banks
- Test Specification Grid Linking Content Domain, Cognitive Level and Mark Weight
- Selected-Response Item Writing Rules and Distractor Plausibility Review
- Constructed-Response Task Writing with Model Answers and Mark Allocation
- Item Bank Metadata Schema with Tags, Status and Usage History
- Item Review Panel Protocol with Sensitivity and Bias Screening Forms
Day 3: Administration, Marking, Moderation and Standard Setting
- Standardised Administration Manual and Invigilator Briefing Script
- Marking Scheme Trial with Benchmark Scripts and Examiner Standardisation Meeting
- Double Marking and Moderation Sampling Plan with Tolerance Limits
- Angoff Standard Setting Session Using Judge Rating Sheets
- Reasonable Adjustments Request Log for Candidates with Additional Needs
Day 4: Psychometrics, Equating, Exam Security and Results Analysis
- Classical Item Analysis with Difficulty, Discrimination and Distractor Tables
- Cronbach Alpha and Standard Error of Measurement Interpretation Worksheet
- Item Response Theory Parameters and Common-Item Equating of Successive Forms
- Exam Security Risk Register Covering Paper Custody, Leaks and Impersonation
- Irregularity Investigation Procedure and Results Anomaly Flagging Rules
Day 5: Case Study Work on an Examination Programme Plan
- Case Brief for an Assessment Centre Serving Several Schools and Subjects
- Case Build of Test Specification Grid and Item Bank Structure
- Case Analysis of Item Statistics and Marker Agreement Data
- Case Security Risk Register and Results Release Checklist
- Examination Programme Plan Completion and Peer Panel Critique
Skills You Will Gain:
- Test Specification Design
- Item Bank Management
- Examiner Standardisation
- Moderation Sampling
- Standard Setting Facilitation
- Basic Psychometric Interpretation
- Exam Security Risk Control
- Results Anomaly Review
Why Attend This Course:
- Deliver an Examination Programme Plan to the assessment centre head, chief examiner and quality committee for adoption
- Decide whether a weak item should be revised, rested or retired using difficulty and discrimination evidence
- Avoid disputed results, leaked papers and unexplained grade shifts by fixing controls before the next session
- Coach item writers, markers and invigilators with shared forms, benchmark scripts and review protocols
Conclusion:
Back at work, the participant presents the Examination Programme Plan to the head of the assessment centre, the chief examiner and the authority quality committee, who use it to approve test specifications, item bank rules, moderation sampling and security controls. Operations teams use its risk register and release checklist to prevent leaks and disputed results. After the first full examination session under the plan, the unit should review item statistics, marker agreement and irregularity logs against it, then revise specifications and bank entries accordingly.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
What should participants know before an examination and student assessment management course?
Participants should already prepare, administer or mark examinations and read simple tables of percentages and averages. Bringing a sample paper, a marking scheme or a set of results from their own unit makes the case work more useful.
How does an examination and student assessment management course differ from a classroom teaching course?
It concentrates on the examination system: specifications, item banks, marker agreement, standard setting, security and results analysis for many candidates. A classroom teaching course focuses on lesson planning, behaviour and everyday grading by one teacher.
Why does examination and student assessment management need an item bank?
An item bank records each question's content, difficulty and usage history, so new papers can be built to the same specification and compared fairly. Without it, papers repeat items, drift in difficulty and cannot be defended.
What do participants take back from the examination and student assessment management course?
Participants take back an Examination Programme Plan, plus a specification grid, an item bank schema, a moderation sampling plan, a security risk register and a results review checklist adaptable to their own unit.