Assessing the Quality of Examination System; Aseessment Techniques Employed at Higher Education Level in Pakistan

Abstract

Examination system in any institution is the main source to judge the academic level of that institution. On the other side, we can say that the quality of any institution depends upon the quality of examination system. Therefore, a survey type study was conducted to see the effectiveness of different types of assessment techniques employed in higher education institutions. A questionnaire at five point rating scale was developed and administered by personal visits of the researchers and by post of the questionnaires to collect data from students. On the other side a semi-structured interview scale was developed to collect data from teachers. These both scales are the two ends of a continuum of quantitative and qualitative aspects because questionnaires are the most structured tools while interviews are the least structured tools (Gillham, 2000). The response rate remained almost 80%. Data collected from students was analyzed by using SPSS Software while the responses of teachers were analyzed manually through crystallization. T-test was used to see the comparison of different types of assessment techniques. Major findings were: nearly all the teachers have the point of view that quality is an essential component of every education system particularly at higher education level. They were of the view that budget for education should be more for better performance. While discussing the quality in assessment as well as in education they also recommended that there should be a quality assurance wing in each department of the university.