Education approach | How LOEx connects exam boards nationwide

From ECIO, we regularly hear signals about differences in testing facilities and regulations for students with support needs. How are we working within higher education towards more legal equality and alignment between institutions? What is needed to organize joint testing policy properly?

For more insight, we sat down with Liesbeth Zijlstra, chair of the National Consultation on Examination Boards (LOEx), and Noor van Gils, who works one day a week as a legal advisor with the 10voordeleraar program of the Association of Universities of Applied Sciences. They are both involved in the LOEx, which is a network of examination boards within teacher education programs. The LOEx originated around the start of the taking of the national knowledge tests in 2013. Since then, the LOEx has grown into a national platform for coordination, knowledge sharing and joint quality assurance.

In this interview: the methods ofLOEx, the power of commonality and what other networks or educational domains can learn from this approach.

What exactly is LOEx and how did it come about?

Noor: “It all started with the national knowledge tests (LKTs); a political decision to guarantee the quality of the ‘knowledge’ component in entry-level primary and second-grade teacher education nationwide. Instead of having outside agencies develop those tests, the colleges then said, “We’re going to do that ourselves. The great thing is: it really is for and by teacher education programs. There are internal and external content experts from all over the country working together, the 10voordeleraar program office and the test-taking coordinators of the colleges jointly arrange the test-taking.”

Liesbeth: “The LKTs also require national assurance. Examination boards are responsible for this within the institutions, but the law has no national equivalent. That is why LOEx has been established: a body that acts as a sounding board for the individual examination boards at the national level and thus enables them to steer the same course together. There are LOEx regulations and there is, for example, a determination committee; a delegation of LOEx members, which determines the expert-indicated caesura (the boundary pass/fail) of each test.”

“A total of 23 laboratories and 10 colleges with second-degree teacher training programs and now master’s programs are affiliated. In the beginning we focused mainly on the national knowledge tests, but now we cover a broader field: from peer review and flexibility to lateral entry. Everything that touches on the assurance agenda of exam boards is covered.”

What does that collaboration look like?

Liesbeth: “Every program, which participates in a LKT, provides someone for LOEx. Often this is the chairman of the examination board. Within LOEx we share practical experiences, discuss case histories and work on joint frameworks for policy.”

Noor: “There is also an extranet forum where members of LOEx ask questions, share case histories and discuss rulings, for example from the Council of State. This really creates a learning network. We not only want to share best practices, but also the things that are going less well. What gets stuck, what do institutions struggle with? This open exchange is important.”

How do you consider students who need extra support on tests and exams?

Liesbeth: “Within LOEx we have an Effective Review Committee that deals with this specifically. We regularly discuss cases and dilemmas in plenary. A recent example: within the committee we discussed whether we could use an assessment as an effective form of testing for a certain disability. After discussion we concluded: no, that would result in too much loss of quality. Such a discussion does keep you on your toes.”

“There are standard provisions, of course, such as extra time. But as the need becomes more specific, customization is needed.” – Noor

Consider breaks between test sections or a low-stimulus room. This requires good coordination with the test coordinator on site. The possibility of offering customization is not infinite. It is a matter of finding the balance between customization in the form and guaranteeing the quality of the content being tested.”

What makes LOEx so effective?

Noor: “LOEx works well because there is a shared mission. It started with the LKTs, there was a clear need there. The success is also because it is taken seriously. There are chairs, secretaries, agenda committees and there is funding. That prevents people from having to do LOEx on the side ‘in the evenings’. We also discuss a lot of case histories, and you notice that members feel supported when they bring in a complex case.”

“What also helps is that we deliberately keep the network manageable. It’s most fruitful if you don’t make it too big, because then the span of control becomes too great. Our strength lies in that focus and in the common mission.” – Liesbeth

What will it take to set up such a network in other fields as well?

Noor: “Take a shared issue and then work together on solutions. If you have the same bottlenecks, then it’s best to work together nationwide.”

Liesbeth: “Start small. If it succeeds, others will naturally want to join. But the common mission is the driving force.”