2nd July: Paper, Pixels & Trust - Rethinking High-Stakes Exams in Pakistan

In this week's episode, Tim Burnett chats with Munira Mohammad, who leads a team of psychometricians, statisticians and academic experts at the Aga Khan University Examination Board (AKU-EB) — Pakistan's first private national board for secondary and higher secondary certificates. They discuss: Why digitising a high-stakes paper exam isn't simply an efficiency win — and how changing the modality risks changing the very thing you're trying to measure How AKU-EB closes the feedback loop with absolute marking, question-wise school performance reports, and a culture where students are never penalised for errors in the assessment tool Why the challenges facing the global North and South are far more alike than different, and what makes the IAEA conference such a valuable place to bounce ideas around Munira offers a grounded, refreshingly honest look at digital transformation in assessment — one where efficiency and the chance to curb exam-paper leakage are weighed against fairness, the digital divide, and the trust that underpins every qualification. With unstable electricity and patchy internet still a reality even in big cities, she explains why a full switch from paper isn't on the table, and why the smarter question is whether to rethink the exam altogether rather than simply replicate it on screen. Tim shares the OECD's findings on the hidden burden of continuous assessment, and the two look ahead to meeting at the IAEA conference in Toronto this September. Connect with Munira Mohammad on LinkedIn:   / munira-mohammad-64879190   Connect with Tim Burnett on LinkedIn:   / tburnett   If you would like to join Tim on a future episode or sponsor the Test Community Network then get in touch with Tim to schedule a call: https://calendly.com/educationtech/15... Events: https://www.testcommunity.network/upc... Podcasts: https://www.testcommunity.network/pod... Marketplace: https://www.testcommunity.network/mar... Subscribe to the Test Community Network here: https://www.testcommunity.network 🎙️ New to streaming or looking to level up? Check out StreamYard and get $10 discount! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/57805973...