internal and external examination system in pakistan

1. Presented By: Laraib
(15061701-005)
M.Phil 1st semester
(Evening)
Presented To: Dr Bashir Gondal

2. Internal versus external
examination
 Internal examination: meaning,
nature, merits and demerits
 External examination: meaning,
nature, merits and demerits
 State of the in Pakistan and some
other selected countries

3. INTRODUCTION
 The process of educating and examining the
growing human child is as old as man himself.
Only its form and method have changed from
time to time, the primitive man was taught by
example and tested through confrontation with
the actual life situations. In the early civilized
societies formal instruction was limited to a gifted
and selected few: The sage, the philosopher and
the religious preceptor taught and tested orally by
questioning the disciple.

4. INTRODUCTION
 For purposes of appraisal usually two terms are used,
namely; examination and evaluation. The term
examination aims at ensuring that the matter learnt is
adequately fixed and properly recalled. This is a
narrow significance and usually relates to class room
situations in which emphasis is laid on the learning of
a few facts and skills. But the term evaluation has a
wider connotation.
 It relates to finding out the mental, moral and social
changes that have come about in the personality
pattern of a student and are directly affecting his
behavior. Evaluation has a direct reference to the
goals of education and therefore, must take into
consideration broader implications which have

5. Concept of Examination
 Be sure we shall test you with something of fear
and hunger, some loss in goods or lives or fruits
(of you toil). But give glad tidings to those who
patiently persevere (Al-Quran.ii:155).

6. Examination
 Examination is a measuring instrument intended to verify both a
candidates’ value and value of teaching he has received.
 It is an indicator of the training given and received. It is to
measure what has been accomplished during the period of study
to weigh each candidate’s sum of knowledge and appraise his
ability.
 It looks like target, incentive, motive or stimulant. “It provides
motives for the teacher and a spur for the pupils. Examination
conditions and orientates the entire teaching process” (UNESCO
1961)
 The aim of our examination system is to judge the achievement
of students in different areas such as personality development,
creative thinking, and love for Islamic values examinations are
the only tools for measuring these aspects.
 Examinations are frequently employed in order to keep the
students constantly stimulated to high level of achievement.
Examination system may be internal or external. The success of
which depends on the reliability and the validity of the system.

7. Examination
Page and Thomas (1978) explain the concept of
examination as
“(1) Assessment of ability, achievement or present
performance in a subject
(2) instrument of assessment can be log essay or
mixed form of assessment may be used for
qualifying for entrance to professions and higher
education.”

8. VIEWS OF NATIONAL EXPERTS
ABOUT EXAMINATION
 Examination system has been one of the burning
issues with the large number of Committees,
Commissions and Conferences. The
recommendations of these were reviewed under
the following headings to suggest ways and
means to improve the system of examination.

9. Schedule of Examination
 All Boards, by regulation should fix the dates of
their respective examination and announce them
soon after the commencement of the new
academic year. In the case of natural calamities
and other extraordinary circumstances, special
examination be held for them in prevented from
taking regular examination (Govt. of Pakistan,
1966, 1978).
 The grouping of subject in the date sheets should
be so revised as to reduce the number of
examination days (Govt. of Pakistan, 1973).

10. Conduct of Examination
 Supervisory staff should be carefully selected in
consultation with or on the recommendation of the
employing agencies (Govt. of West Pakistan, 1969.
Govt. of Pakistan, 1973)
 Only these centers, where necessary facilities are
provided should be approved the Board for holding
examination (Govt. of West Pakistan, 1969, Govt. of
Pakistan, 1971).
 Heads of institutions where examination centers are
located should be the principal supervisors of the
centers. They may be allowed recruit invigilation staff
from amongst trusted teachers and should be solely
responsible for proper conduct of examination (Govt.
of Pakistan, 1971, 1978).
 To ensure effective invigilation, the number of
invigilators should be increased to maintain a ratio of
1:20 (Govt. of Pakistan, 1971).

11. Conduct of Examination
 Examination agencies should compensate the
supervisory staff for any damages they might suffer in
performing their examination duties. In view of the
personal danger to invigilators in the honest discharge
of their function, the Board should consider framing
rules, which would enable them to take action on the
basis of confidential reports from invigilators (Govt. of
Pakistan, 1971).
 Action should be prescribed against persons who
create disturbance in or outside the examination hall
(Govt. of Pakistan, 1971).
 Instead of paying D.A. to the supervisory staff, the
rate of their remuneration be increased by 50% and
they should be paid only T.A (Govt. of Pakistan,
1971).

12. Conduct of Examination
 Examination should be held during holidays from the
2nd week of March to 2nd week of April every year
(Govt. of Pakistan, 1978).
 Cases of unfair means should be dealt with seriously.
If any teacher is found to be assisting in the use of
unfair means, he should be proceeded against for
removal from services and declared unqualified to act
as a teacher in any institution (Govt. of West Pakistan,
1969)
 The conduct of examination at centers where
conditions for holding examinations are not conducive
may be entrusted to a senior administrative officer
who should be given adequate authority and power to
deal with the situation properly (Govt. of Pakistan,
1971, 1988).

13. Internal Examination / External
Examination
 To make the completion of the main secondary school
courses, examination should be conducted by
teachers themselves who know the pupils and
conditions of work Certificates should be issued under
the authority of the school. These schools should give
a full and comprehensive picture of pupils’
achievements in various phases of school life (Govt.
of Pakistan, 1959).
 The system of examination should be reorganized
and the award of certificates be bases on the
performance of the students in the public examination
conducted by the Universities/ Board of Secondary
Education (seventy five percent of the total marks)
and school records, including the results of periodic
test and also appraisal of his habits and general
behavior (twenty five percent) (Govt. of Pakistan,

14. Internal Examination / External
Examination
 The teacher on the notice board as well as in the
pupils, progress report, should record result of
periodic tests in the school (Govt. of Pakistan,
1959).
 The importance of public examination at the
secondary stage should reduce. But to abolish
these examinations at the secondary stage of our
educational history will not serve the purpose
(Govt. of West Pakistan, 1969).
 Boards’ of secondary education may consider the
desirability of permitting some selected school to
hold their own examination and these be
recognized of corticated issued by the Boards
(Govt. of Pakistan, 1971).

15. Disadvantages of Internal
Assessment
 The teachers within the school may give hints to
students about internal assessment so it is not
learners are not challenged by the internal
assessments. Learners need to be challenged by
the assessments.... but as for external
assessments students are expected to know
everything because there is no hint..it requires
students to compete...

16. Internal Examination / External
Examination
 The sessional or internal evaluation marks should
not be taken into account in a public examination
(Govt. of Pakistan, 1966).
 The Secondary School Certificate and Higher
Secondary School Certificate Examination should
be combination of internal evaluation and public
examination. The scores obtained in both should
be recorded side by side on the certificate (Govt.
of Pakistan, 1971).

17. Process of External Assessment
Conduct
 Selection of paper setters and reviewers.
 Setting and moderation of question papers.
 Printing and packing of question
papers confidential nature of printing work.
 Selection of examination centers
 Appointment of superintendents and invigilators
and staff for the fair conduct of examination at
centers.
 Supply of stationary to centers.
 Distribution of question papers to examinees
under the supervision of the centre
superintendent.

18. Process of External Assessment
Conduct
 Posting of police personnel at the centers.
 Packing of answer scripts and sending them to
Board’s office or examining body’s office.
 Deployment of special squads for checking unfair
means.
 Assignment of fake of fictitious or secret roll
numbers to answer books at the Board’s office.
 On the spot evaluation at some specified centers
where head examiner and examiners mark the
scripts.

19. Importance & Objectives of
External Assessment
 To award the students with Degree/Certificate
 To maintain standard of education
 To place the students in merit.
 For Comparison of student’s abilities
 To evaluate the progress of Institution
 Selection for Higher education
 To get employment
 Popularity/Standard of educational institution.
 Selection of intelligent students.
 Evaluation of teacher’s performance
 Evaluation of objectives and curriculum.
 Creation of good habits in students
 Satisfaction and happiness of parents

20. Advantages of External
Assessment
 External assessment helps in developing competent
person from practicing.
 It justifies the decision as to whether they should
move up to the next class or be awarded a degree or
diploma.
 External assessment is useful in determining the
abilities of a student before developing a plan.
 External assessment is designed to detect and locate
faults and problems which often are overseen by
internal systems
 The vital advantage of an external assessment is that
it makes easier to compare diverse situation and
conditions and articulate their judgments about the
equality of measures.
 It also assists in following positive values.

21. Advantages of External
Assessment
 A team of experienced assessors leads you through
the structured review of how well students are doing,
bringing fresh perspective and objectivity to the
exercise.
 Performance in educational institutes is increasingly
judged on the basis of effective learning outcomes.
 External assessment provides Information which is
critical to know whether the School system is
delivering good performance and to providing
feedback for improvement in student outcomes.
 External assessment is the best way to evaluate and
revaluate the course of studies.
 It can be used as a good device for motivating
students.
 It brings about a change in the attitude, interests and
appreciation of students and teachers towards school
programmes.

22. Disadvantages of External
Assessment
 Much narrower range of assessment opportunities:
less diverse assessment; one exam per year.
 Removes assessment entirely from teaching and
learning; stressful conditions may lead to students not
demonstrating real capacities.
 Limits validity by limiting scope of assessment, e.g.
difficult to assess interaction skills in exam
environment.
 Even with double marking, examiner’s judgments can
be affected by various factors (task difficulty, topic,
interest level, tiredness, etc); little opportunity for
assessor reflection / review.
 Fairness can only be achieved by treating everyone
the same, i.e. setting the same task at the same time

23. Disadvantages of External
Assessment
 The only feedback is usually a grade at the end of the
course; no opportunities for interaction with assessor;
no chance to ask how to improve.
 Examination is purely summative, and does not serve
any teaching-related purpose; effects on teaching and
learning may even be negative; may encourage
teaching to the test and a focus on exam technique,
rather than outcomes.
 Teachers play little to no role in assessment of their
students and have no opportunity to share their
expertise or knowledge of their students; students
treated as numbers.
 Teachers have no opportunity to build their
assessment skills; get little or no feedback on how to
improve as teachers.

24. Suggestions for Improvement of
external assessment
 Comprehensive Evaluation
 Employees of examining bodies to be controlled
 Invigilating staff
 Secrecy sections should be fool proof
 Appointment of Examiners
 Change in examination point of view, It should not
be objective, It should be mean to achieve
objectives
 Reform in question papers

25. Suggestions for Improvement of
external assessment
 Marking of Answer Scripts
 Ban on helping books and guess papers
 Amalgamation of Internal and External exam
 Oral test should be taken
 Amalgamation of subjective and objective type
test
 Record of students
 Question paper should be based on curriculum
rather than text book

26. Establishment of Bureau of
Examination
 All Pakistan Commission be appointed to survey
the prevailing practices of examinations at
various levels and its recommendations should
be implemented. The Central Govt. set up the
Bureau of Examination. This Bureau should have
a branch in each province (Govt. of West
Pakistan, 1969, Govt. of Pakistan, 1975).

27. Evaluation of the examination
system
1.The credibility of examination results has been
grossly eroded due to large scale, unhampered
cheating.
2. The basic purpose of most students to pass the
examination is to obtain high marks by fair or foul
means.
3. The current system defeats basic targets of
education which are acquisition of understanding
and application of knowledge.
4. The pattern of question papers with wide range
of choice encourages and facilitates selective
study and rote reading rather than understanding
and application.

28. Evaluation of the examination system
5. The type of question papers develop unhealthy
practices such as proliferation of guide books,
made easies, guess papers and tuition work.
6. Malpractices, cheating and even terrorization can
be indulged in without adequate accountability.
7. There is little protection provided to the
personnel concerned with various stages of
examinations.

29. SOLO TAXONOMY AND
EXAMINATIONS
To achieve the better quality of examinations, SOLO Taxonomy
is being used in various countries. In Australia, it is successful
Characteristics of SOLO Taxonomy
SOLO TAXONOMY discourages rote learned response.
In SOLO, in every new task the student has to progress through
each level.
SOLO assists in identifying steps towards understanding of
learning objects.
It facilitates marking of open ended questions and provides
advice on instructional activity for the students and classes.
It provides a framework for constructing scope and sequence of
curriculum.
It provides a framework for establishing content validity for tests
and examinations.
In SOLO, the analysis can clearly describe the competencies of

30. Punjab Education Commission
The Government of the Punjab has established Punjab Education
Commission so that they may improve the examination process at
elementary level. The objectives of the whole process for improving the
examination system are as under:
Improvement in teaching and learning with respect to each of the
examination subject
Making clear that at different class level, the students have grasped a
comprehension of the concepts
Monitoring the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery.
Facilitating the bench marking of students’ achievement
Monitoring equity of student outcomes with reference to rural/urban and
male/females
Evaluating the existing curricula and textbooks
Monitoring the whole education programme
Providing information regarding the selection of the students to proceed to
the next class
Providing ability to monitor students’ progress over time
Facilitating judgments about the quality of examination papers and
examination process (UNICEF, 2005a).