3. Consistency is key

Consistency across your exam paper suite is essential. Most candidates will take more than one exam from the same organisation; therefore, having the same layout and formatting will reduce the stress and chance of error.

As well as looking at the consistency of exam papers and learning resources within your organisation, SCD would encourage AO's to embrace a more collaborative culture. By setting aside any concerns of losing a competitive edge, we can work collectively to improve the experience for all learners.

Learners in schools and colleges may sit exams set by different organisations. The user experience can be vastly different for all learners. Therefore a collaborative project or even regular discussions involving all stakeholders and experts should be seen as an opportunity for all parties to make positive steps in the right direction.

If an industry-wide initiative seems too much at this stage, it's certainly worth taking small internal steps.

4. Get to know your audience

Central to any user experience project is getting to know your audience, their needs and their challenges. There are many reasons a candidate might need a modified exam paper. It's worth researching these needs and building a complete picture.

Undertaking a research exercise will help you better understand how you need to modify your exam papers to improve the user experience. You will likely uncover many variables, but to make this manageable, you can use personas.

Grouping learners into personas makes the process more manageable, gives your learners a personality and a voice, and helps you appreciate the positive difference you are making. These personas can then be used to test out the options you make available for modified papers.

Any work like this requires careful questioning. Often, the real root of the problem will be masked by a perceived solution, either from your team, centre staff or even the learner. We sometimes focus our minds on a solution only we know to be possible. A trick for uncovering the truth is to politely ask 'Why' at least three times when interviewing a user. This will help you go deeper into the root cause and may result in a cheaper and more effective solution.

5. Consider the booklet design and paper selection

Modifications to an exam paper are not always about the presentation of the text on the paper. Often overlooked is the choice of paper stock and the overall design of the booklet. For example, one of the most distracting features of some exam papers is when the text from the other side of a page shows through. This can be overcome by using a heavier paper weight, but this can sometimes have a broader impact on the costs of distribution and it may even reduce your modification options. For instance, sometimes it can be difficult to source all paper weights in every colour and size. The best option would be to resolve this by layout and design rather than thicker paper. Of course, it's also worth avoiding printing on the back of a test paper, as this can be a security issue. Still, we'll talk about that further in a future article.