Follow-up investigation into unwanted predictability in Central Bureau for Driving Licences theory exams

RCEC’s earlier conducted research on predictability in the item banks of the theory exams for car, motorbike and moped of the Central Bureau for Driving Licences (CBR) has been followed up. This time, RCEC analysed the texts of thousands of exam questions in the study.

No satisfactory result without knowledge and understanding

The aim of this study was to detect unwanted predictability in the exam questions. Unwanted predictability occurs when candidates are able to predict the correct answer without understanding the question. The study found that undesirable predictability can occur with some text features. However, not all of these findings are meaningful and practical. RCEC’s recommendation to adjust certain exam questions and to create additional exam questions is followed by CBR.

The results say nothing about the exam itself, as candidates are only presented with a selection of questions in the exam. Many predictabilities candidates will not encounter when taking a theory exam, and based on some predictabilities, the theory exams are impossible to pass without knowledge, with a satisfactory result. With this conclusion and results, CBR is very satisfied.

For more information, see the news report on the CBR website.