National Center for Assessment in Higher Education
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- Khalid Al Angari, Chairman
- Faisal Abdullah Al Meshari, Director
| المركز الوطني للقياس والتقويم في التعليم العالي | |
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Saudi Arabia |
| Headquarters | Riyadh 24°43′44″N 46°35′49″E / 24.72889°N 46.59694°E |
| Agency executives |
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| Website | https://e-services.qiyas.sa/ |
On 19 August 2000, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques ordered the establishment of “The National Center for Assessment in higher Education” to perform standardized tests to measure student achievements applying for undergraduate study.
After the establishment, the center set the mission, vision and goals, to determine its plan and path, which based itself on preparing scientific and professional standards where equity and efficiency are present, and at the same time, to achieve global leadership in the formulation tests and standards in the educational and professional fields.
The center includes a number of functional, linguistic, and professional departments entrusted with the preparation of tests and assessments, as well as other supportive departments. The Centre has also developed an organizational structure that explains the process of decision making and how it moves from the top of the pyramid of management to the rest of the departments.
Since its establishment, the center has made outstanding accomplishments in the preparation and formulation of standardized testing in various educational and professional fields that has been published in annual reports, which is part of the center's strategy of clarity, transparency and communication with various segments of society.
On the 19th of Jumada al-awwal 1421 AH which corresponds to the 19th of August 2000, a royal decree numbered 471/8 affirming the Higher Education Council's along with the Council of Ministers Decision, which includes:
- The requirements of college admission should include exams where its results are used as a standard along with the high school diploma results, those tests could be performed according to the following:
- Exams to test the student’s abilities and skills.
- Exams to test the student’s educational attainment, and those tests should be unified when it comes to majors which are the same.
- The student is allowed to take the Exam more than one time in a year.
- Establishing a managerially and financially independent center to be named “ The National Center for Assessment in Higher Education.”
- To receive a fee, which is Commensurate with the costs of preparing these exams, to cover the costs of running the center and its development, and to organize the appropriate research in order to achieve this.
Mission, vision, and goals
Mission
To provide educational and professional assessments that contributes in achieving equity and to elevate the efficiency of the institutions of our society, and to provide specialized studies and consultations in the field of educational assessment.[1]
Vision
To achieve global leadership in the formulation of tests and standards in the educational and professional fields.
Goals
- To develop means of educational assessment for all levels of education.
- The preparation and the management of the standards of the professional licensing tests.
- To assess educational achievements in order to elevate the efficiency of educational institutions.
- To help in finding students with extraordinary abilities, skills, and creativity.
- To attract and to sponsor experienced individuals in the area of assessment.
- Provide professional and education consultation services in the area of assessment.
- To perform specialized studies and research, and to spread the awareness on the importance of assessment in both the educational and the social fields.
Tests and assessments
Educational tests presented by the center, are considered the most important test that are being developed, and it consists of two sections : The verbal and the quantitative. These test forces on student's analytical and deductive skills, in order to help them assess their learning capacity.
Linguistic tests, are the second type of tests provided by the center, it includes: English language efficiency test, and the Arabic language test for non-native speakers. The center also presents an assessment test for talented and creative students, as well as vocational tests, the most important of which: Vocational Standards Test for Teachers.
The test developing process goes through a number of steps, which includes theoretical and practical aspect. After the tests are formulated, they are subjected to examinations and testing through a specialized arbitrary committee, and prior to the final approval, the test are revised by a specialized committee, that consists of four experts.
Stages of test and question construction
Test construction is based upon practical and scientific rules that are applied before, during and after each item until it finally becomes a part of the test. The following are the stages of constructing a test as followed by the Center.
Preparation
Each year the Center attracts a number of competent specialists in testing and educationalists to receive training in workshops that deal with the theoretical and applied aspects of the test. The theoretical aspects include:
- the concepts on which a test is constructed
- the goals and objectives of the test.
- the general components, parts and sections of a test
- the theoretical and technical foundations of test building.
Applied training includes:
- discussing different types of test items. This aims at putting theoretical and technical concepts into practice.
- collective training on writing items for various parts of the test
- constructing items on individual basis (outside workshops) which is intended as peer teaching.
Test writing
- Each test writer is charged with making questions that are relevant to his/her specialty.
- Each test writer is given a code number that carries his/her personal data for confidentiality.
- Each item is given a code number that is kept intact. Each item is in the question bank even if it is not to be used in the test.
Arbitration
Various items of the test are arbitrated by a 3-member committee:
- a specialist in the content area.
- a specialist in measurement
- an experienced educator.
Each item is either:
- accepted as is, or
- accepted after modifications, or
- rejected as invalid.
Based on a set questionnaire the committee judge each item from various dimensions including the nature of the item, item difficulty, item conformity to the content controls, item bias, and item quality. Justifications have to be provided if an item is deemed invalid. All data is entered into the Center's computer.
Item entry
All items are entered into the computer marked with the relevant arbitration judgment except those deemed invalid or incorrigible.
Review
All the computerized items are reviewed by four testing experts to verify:
- strict implementation of arbitration committee comments.
- accuracy of numbers and graphs.
- no grammatical, spelling errors or misprints.
- full compliance of items to the test pre-set standards and regulations.
- answer key is provided for all test items.
- screening out the items that seem too complicated or might take too much time to answer.
Item trial (pilot testing)
Trial items are included in the actual test and they go through the same stages of test preparation above, but they do not calculate towards the final score.
Item analysis
Items are statistically analyzed so that the valid ones are selected for the test, while the invalid ones are rejected.
Test construction
Test is constructed in its final form. Items are randomly selected from those deposited in the question bank in a manner that adequately represents that various parts of test dimensions.
Test production
The test is finally produced. Trial questions are included and various versions of the test are prepared to avoid cheating. The test is printed in booklets that include test instructions and test items.
Equivalence of various test versions
The Center produces multiple versions of the same test. However, the Center has been cautious about discrepancies between various versions of the test in terms of difficulty, discrimination or content. An equivalence check is run during test construction based on scientific criteria to ensure test discrimination and differential capacity. Although it is more accurate to run equivalence test during construction stage, equivalence criterion is applied during and after the test.
