A statement by Prometric promises all test takers a fair testing environment. However, I do not understand what they mean when they say,”We expect the administration will go well and meet the high standards we set during the final 5 days of the original administration.” Even after the assurance to provide hassle-free testing for all the candidates, CAT authorities are still skeptical if they will be able to administer the test without the problems that they faced in the first phase. The press note says:
While computer-based testing (CBT) provides many advantages over pencil and paper testing (PPT), no approach is perfect. As with PPTs that may be subject to misprints or power outages, a CBT such as the CAT is reliant on third party networks that can be subject to hardware failures or other problems beyond the absolute control of any organization. We do have contingency plans for the second phase of testing, but there is no way to adequately cover every potential occurrence. As a result it is possible that a small percentage of candidates could be affected by difficulties. We do not anticipate difficulties, but should any occur, genuinely affected candidates can rest assured that they will get the opportunity to take the test in the best possible circumstances”.
After reading this, one wonders what exactly is going on in the minds of those conducting the CAT. Are they announcing the problem-free-testing that they have finally been able to master or are they subtly telling candidates that second phase of testing will also be full of glitches?
The full version of the Prometric statement reads as under:
“We have taken every step possible to ensure a successful administration of the retest and we expect the administration will go well and meet the high standards we set during the final 5 days of the original administration; We are following the protocols established in the final 5 days of Phase One and are implementing several additional enhancements to ensure a successful test on January 30 and 31.
One specific action taken during those five days was dispatching senior technicians to centers that were experiencing virus issues. The senior staff at each site were able to troubleshoot issues in real time, and that had a profound impact on the successful administration during the last five days of the original test period.
As result of this work, and despite the difficulties experienced on the first days of testing, more than 2.16 lakh candidates successfully completed the 2009 CAT test. Over the course of 11 days, tests were administered on 17,000 computers in 361 temporary testing labs at 104 centers in 32 cities throughout India. Never have so many candidates successfully completed a computer-based test in such a condensed period of time.
While computer-based testing (CBT) provides many advantages over pencil and paper testing (PPT), no approach is perfect. As with PPTs that may be subject to misprints or power outages, a CBT such as the CAT is reliant on 3 rd party networks that can be subject to hardware failures or other problems beyond the absolute control of any organization. We do have contingency plans for the second phase of testing, but there is no way to adequately cover every potential occurrence. As a result it is possible that a small percentage of candidates could be affected by difficulties. We do not anticipate difficulties, but should any occur, genuinely affected candidates can rest assured that they will get the opportunity to take the test in the best possible circumstances”.