IIT Council Backs Adaptive JEE Advanced Based on Ability

• IIT Council plans to pilot adaptive testing for JEE Advanced to better assess ability and reduce exam stress.
• The move aims to cut coaching dependence and make the exam fairer by focusing on reasoning skills.
• Proposal to appoint counselors, psychologists, and psychiatrists across IITs to provide structured long-term mental health care for students.

The IIT Council has put forward a proposal to engage an expert committee to evaluate the viability of introducing adaptive testing in the JEE Advanced exam, with a view towards improving it and making it less stressful for candidates.

Adaptive testing allows for the generation of test questions in real-time, with the adaptation of questions being based on the candidate's performance and ability at the given time. In addition, the Council has suggested that an optional adaptive test be administered prior to the next JEE Advanced exam to enable the Council to gather performance data.

The findings have prompted the development of a phased roadmap with distinct timelines for gradually moving to adaptive testing, as per the minutes of the IIT Council meeting held on 25th August last year, which were made public on Monday. The Council, which was presided over by the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, encompassed the directors of all IITs and the chairpersons of their respective Boards of Governors.

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Prof. Manindra  Agrawal, the director of IIT Kanpur, voiced his concerns regarding the current JEE Advanced exam format with respect to its heavy reliance on the coaching industry and the level of psychological and financial stress created for students and families.

He believes that JEE Advanced has not been effective in evaluating critical thinking and reasoning skills; therefore, he recommends using an adaptive testing approach, which he believes will allow students to be less dependent on coaching, provide for a more equitable test-taking experience, and enable students to test in secure and flexible environments.

The Council suggested that a panel should be created consisting of members of the JEE Apex Board and IIT Kanpur to develop the necessary operational guidelines and to develop the appropriate testing tools required to develop questions in multiple degrees of difficulty. Additionally, the Council proposed that all students could take free mock exams approximately two months prior to the exam.

In 2022, approximately 1.8 million students took the JEE Advanced Examination, with approximately 54,378 passing.

The Council also addressed the mental health needs of students by recommending newly created official posts for mental health professionals that would include counselors, psychologists, and psychiatrists on all IIT campuses as a sustainable support mechanism for students.