Digital testing: innovation in a traditional world In this dynamic world, professional growth and development are increasingly important. Global developments are accelerating. Not only in technology, but also in laws and regulations. As an organisation, how do you ensure that employees continue to develop in that constantly changing landscape? As a partner in digital testing, Optimum Assessment has a clear view on this. There is always room for professional development and personal growth. No matter where you are in your career. Managing director Martin van den Berge outlines the world of testing, digitisation and examination to us. “We notice that, especially in the business market, there is a strong need for review around legislation. Companies need to comply with more and more directives and also be able to demonstrate that they are actively working on them,” Van den Berge points out. “The AVG is a good example, this legislation changes quite a lot in the way personal data may be handled. For instance, you are only allowed to keep CVs after an application round for a certain period of time. But are the employees involved aware of this? Organisations must be able to prove this. Testing is a great tool for this. It gives insight into the level of knowledge and at the same time you show that you actively keep everyone informed.” From paper to digital “Our field, the world of testing and examination, is generally quite traditional and wait-and-see. We see that traditional component in public education, for example. There, many tests are still simply administered with pen and paper. While now and in the future entire generations are growing up with phones and ipads, schools lag behind in this. There are logical reasons for this, it now takes a lot of time to build a digital test. It also takes time to learn how to work with such a solution. And teachers already have an incredibly high workload. But in the end, digital testing saves a lot of time and improves the quality of the exams. Incidentally, the Netherlands is leading the way in this field. In Germany, for example, almost everything is still done on paper, so it's an interesting growth market.” “Private education has already adopted digitalisation a lot more. Besides having more resources available there, they also deal more with short-term courses that often take place at a distance. Therefore, digitisation of tests is a much more logical step for that sector.” Photo: Martin van den Berge Innovation “We believe in the power of innovation. But to implement those innovative solutions, there has to be a good breeding ground first. That is why we work with focus groups. There, we discuss new developments with our customers and gauge where their needs lie. We also use these focus groups to run pilots of new products. Based on these pilots and the information we get back from our customers, we can improve the product so that we can launch a thoroughly tested product on the market. This is also how we fly the roll-out of our completely revamped premium platform Optimum Assessment. Several exam institutions are already working with this innovative system.” “A great example of an innovative solution in the testing world is the use of artificial intelligence to prevent exam fraud. For example, we recognise candidates based on their biometrics. The supervisor receives a notification when the use of the keyboard is recognised and thus someone has apparently taken the exam once before. The system recognises that person A took the test before and that he is therefore not person B, who he claims to be. This makes it more difficult to take a test in someone else's name.” Future-proof “The possibility of uninterrupted takings is another great example of innovation. We still often hear that a digital test is interrupted because the internet connection is not working properly. This is not only frustrating for the exam candidate, it can also mean that exams have to be rescheduled. To avoid this, we have a solution where exams can continue as normal, even if the connection is down. This is especially interesting for areas where the internet is not yet as stable as here in the Netherlands. A great tool to fulfil our international ambitions.” “The world is digitising at a rapid pace. We find that more and more organisations are making the transition from paper to digital make. With good advice, expert guidance and a future-proof testing platform, it is possible to continue testing in a responsible, safe way. It is only a matter of time before the testing world is completely digital.”
