For regular readers of our study blog, you will know we have often shared warnings and student feedback about the complexity of CIPS exam questions. In this post, we are able to share some of the recent feedback CIPS has given us about how they write their exam questions and the underlying principles they use when crafting questions of a suitable technical difficulty for the qualification level that you are studying.
Here is what they have told us:
“We understand the importance of clear and accessible communication, and we’re committed to using straight-forward English language throughout our exam development process. We know that exams can be stressful for learners and difficult language can add to that stress. We prioritise clarity and simplicity in everything we do, from developing questions to defining assessment criteria. ”
In recent years, Cordie has given feedback to CIPS about the perceived complexity of the language that is used in their exam questions. We have shared [anonymous] feedback from learners who claim the style of language used has been a barrier for them.
Earlier this week, CIPS told us how they ensure accessibility is at the heart of their exams:
Clear Language Policy: CIPS has a policy for writing exam content in straight-forward English, outlining principles like avoiding jargon, and defining specific terms. The technical terms used in exams will reflect the terms used in the syllabus.
Expert Teams: CIPS exam development teams are trained in language modification to ensure the readability and understandability of every question and instruction.
Accessible Design: CIPS also uses clear formatting to make the exams visually accessible and user-friendly, reducing cognitive load for learners.
Feedback like this from our Awarding Body is extremely helpful and reassuring. They have also gone on to explain to us their universal design principles for exam question writing:
Inclusive assessment population: When assessments are first conceptualised, they are thought of in the context of the entire population of who will be assessed. The CIPS processes include extensive training, checklists, editorial processes and careful mapping to the syllabus to ensure this is achieved.
Precisely defined constructs: CIPS clearly defines what will be assessed and mitigate construct irrelevant variance. Question reviews are undertaken by CIPS and senior standards verifiers for [i.e. to avoid] construct irrelevance and ambiguity.
Accessible, nonbiased items: Questions/assessment tasks are reviewed for content quality, clarity and lack of ambiguity. CIPS also has a robust results determination process and post-exam quality board to ensure no groups of learners are disadvantaged.
Simple, clear, and intuitive instructions and procedures: Assessment instructions and procedures are designed to be easy to understand, regardless of a student's experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level. CIPS operates a review request policy for specific instances, following an examination, that have caused concern. Do please contact Cordie if you would like further information on this.
Maximum readability and comprehensibility: CIPS undertakes several edit processes to ensure sentence structure and use of language achieves maximum readability and comprehensibility.
Cordie supports all of the above principles and we are delighted to hear that CIPS applies these to their exam questions. These go a long way to giving us all the confidence we need in the integrity of the assessments from CIPS.
Of course, this does not mean that every single question you receive during your exam will be perfect. These design principles represent industry best practice, but questions are written by people and they can still be prone to human error. Cordie continues to receive student feedback after each and every exam, and we welcome this.
We continue to advise all CIPS learners on the challenge of understanding and interpreting CIPS exam questions. There is a skill involved, so none of us should assume that CIPS multiple choice questions are easy! They are designed to be technically challenging for the educational level they are pitched at.
If you would like any further advice on how to tackle difficult exam questions, then do please get in touch. We will of course be covering these challenges in our study sessions, so we look forward to you joining us to find out more.