UK Company DRS shares expertise in the use of new technologies at Umalusi 2012 Conference

Earlier this month DRS Data Services Director of e-Assessment, Graham Hudson, was one of the key speakers at the Umalusi 2012 Conference focusing on Standards in Education and Training : The Challenge. His presentation shared his expertise surrounding the use of new technologies to support standards and highlighted how national assessment bodies worldwide are making use of electronic marking of candidates’ examination scripts to create a positive shift in the reliability of marking outcomes.

DRS specialises in examination and assessment processing and electronic marking.The company’s e-Marker® technology is successfully utilised by the UK's leading examination awarding bodies and provides greater accuracy of marking and quality control.For examining and assessment bodies in Africa it is potentially a valuable tool to achieve greater consistency.

During his presentation, Graham Hudson explained how more countries worldwide are realising the gains that can be made from implementing this technology.In addition to improved marking accuracy and automated quality control, he highlighted other tangible benefits including greater administration efficiencies such as data management and post examination data analysis.

Earlier this year DRS effectively and successfully demonstrated the merits of electronic mark processing in Ethiopia, where e-Marker® was utilised to slash by two-thirds the time required to run a major examination programme.The Addis Ababa Education Bureau (AAEB) used the DRS solution to process exams for over 65,000 students. Formerly a three month manual process, the new system registered students, scanned and marked examination answer sheets and generated qualification certificates and reports results and statistics in less than a month.

DRS has also recently been awarded a contract to process multiple choice answer sheets for the National Examination Council of Tanzania’s (NECTA) Primary School Leaving Examination. NECTA’s decision was based on evidence from similar examinations in other African countries, demonstrating that introducing DRS scanning technology and scannable forms to automate the marking process is practical, efficient and enables candidates to receive their results promptly.

Graham Hudson commented; “DRS has almost four decades experience in managing complex educational data capture projects and I was delighted to have the opportunity, on behalf of DRS, to share best practice and offer proven solutions, at the Umalusi Conference.DRS is working with awarding, assessment and professional bodies across Africa, giving them the opportunity to experience specific benefits with real value, long term.”

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