AI to check Higher Secondary answer sheets this year

It will be the first time that Artificial Intelligence will be used for the evaluation of the answare papers in the Higher Secondary examination. From the coming academic session, the Higher Secondary examination has been introduced in the semester system. The first semester, also termed the third semester considering the Higher Secondary Education Council, which had exams for the last two semesters in Class XI, has already been over prior to the Durga Puja festival. The final semester examination will begin in February.

What would the process for-scripts verification consist of?

In this year itself, there have been a few complaints regarding the exams held using the OMR cards. The Council has warned the students, guardians, and teachers to strictly adhere to the guidelines provided in the OMR cards because the cards are processed in computers. In case there is any mistake in the exam, like marking two spots for a single answer, water splashing or any other liquid pouring on the paper, or folding the OMR card, the processing will not be possible in the computer, and the whole answer sheet or the OMR card might have to be cancelled.

Artificial intelligence in evaluation

Despites the warning not to do this, there are certain issues that have been mentioned to have already emerged that could lead to problems in the process of evaluating the OMR. In this particular situation, the Council has already concluded that they will take advantage of what AI has to offer. According to a quotation attributed to the President of the Council, Chiranjib Bhattacharjee, an AI has been created to meet the particular areas they need assistance in.

The Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology is embedded within the AI system. Optical Character Recognition is a type of technology that possesses the capability to read images, whether they are handwritten or printed, to move them into a form that a computer can read. The characters in an image can be recognized through Optical Character Recognition technology.

Will multiple markings have any effect on the cancellation of the answer sheets?

In OMR, the student is supposed to write their roll numbers and registration numbers by hand in two separate places and also mark their numbers by coloring over the respective numbers in the circles. This method involves a procedure where, in case of any irregularity and mistake, the answer sheet would be canceled. However, with this new technology, once implemented, the answer sheet won’t be canceled as long as there isn’t any mistake in writing as well as circling numbers.

Many times, while selecting the proper answer to be marked, the student unconsciously marks two answers. Normally, this would not be accepted by the computer. However, in this regard, the student would be assisted by AI technology, says Bhattacharya. 

“The computer would compute probabilities. It would compute which one of the two answers has been marked in heavier characters. One would be taken as the intended answer,” he explained. Many a time, a student may have casually checked the wrong answer and later checked the correct answer correctly. The AI will isolate the correct answer. Also, apart from all these, if there are any other bugs, there will be a human operator available for attending to it accordingly. 

As regards the concerns about ‘the possible reduction of teachers’ roles’ due to increased usage of AI in assessment, ‘the Council cannot accept this argument.’ As regards ‘the possible reduction of teachers’ roles’ due to increased usage of AI in assessment, ‘the Council cannot accept this argument.’ In regard to ‘the reduction of teachers’ roles’ due to ‘increased usage of AI in assessment,’ ‘the Council cannot accept this argument.’ As regards ‘the possible reduction of teachers’ roles,’ ‘the Council cannot accept this argument.’ As regards ‘the possible reduction of teachers’ roles’ due to increased usage of AI in assessment, ‘the Council cannot accept this argument.’ As regards ‘the reduction of teachers’ roles’ due to ‘increased usage of AI