DESC:FIELD OF INVENTION
[001] The present invention relates to a hybrid assessment for in venue computer based examination ensuring security. Particularly, the present invention relates to a hybrid assessment method and system for ensuring the security of the exam.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[002] Examination or test is an inevitable part of education and various other fields such as competitive exams. Tests are used to determine the ability of a test taker such as a student or prospective practitioner as it pertains to proficiency in a particular subject or skill set.

[003] Generally, the assessment tests are taken in traditional paper pencil mode which is a traditional way of assessment where examinee marks his answers on an OMR based response sheet and then the marked OMR Response sheet is further processed for evaluation. Whereas the latest trend of taking assessment has been shifted to the computer based tests in which the candidates mark their answers on the computer display screen with the help of mouse or keyboard.

[004] Further, at present computer based assessments are conducted on local network and questions as well as candidate answers get shared between candidate machine and local server on local network. Therefore, it has become more crucial than ever to keep an eye on how standardized examinations are given, especially in school or competitive exams, as their use has increased.

[005] In initial phases, the security and fairness of the computer based assessments was implemented using applications which are used to lockdown the candidate machines. Then, it progressed from using lockdown application to custom OS with booting over LAN using PXE support. Most of the security and fairness parameters of exam are dependent on working of lockdown application or custom OS.

[006] As, the IT technologies are changing at very fast pace so there is always a chance of security breaches with Application or custom OS. In existing assessment systems, the exam is conducted on LAN, so there always remain a possibility of illicit data exposure from the candidate’s activity side.

[007] There are several patent applications that discloses a provision for system for computer based assessments.

[008] One such WIPO (PCT) Patent Application WO1995010095A2 discloses an invention that belongs to the field of computer based assessment test and particularly relates to centralized administrative system and method of administering standardized computer based tests to a plurality of examinees. The administrative system is implemented on a central administration workstation and at least one testing workstation is located in different rooms at a test center. The administrative functions are executed from the central administration workstation.

[009] Another US Patent Application US5204813A discloses a computer-controlled testing process and device for administering an examination to an examinee on a portable, comprising of microprocessor-controlled testing device having an information recording medium to store information, a display to permit the display of output information, and an input in the form of a touch screen cooperating with the display to enable the input of predetermined input information.

[010] The centralized administrative system and computer-controlled testing process and method of administering standardized computer based tests as disclosed in the aforementioned cited prior arts exhibits a number of disadvantages such as assessment conduction on local network and questions as well as candidate answers get shared between candidate machine and local server on local network. Although, there is a lot of work that has been already done to ensure the security and fairness of the exam by implementing the security at candidate machine by either locking it down using any application or booting the client machine with custom operating system, however, the system still faces the problems of security breach.

[011] Further, in the existing prior arts, there are still possibilities of hackers getting unauthorized access to the run time of the assessment and attempting illicit acts of tempering with candidate side activities remotely, that further leads to data exposure and data theft.

[012] Therefore, in view of the challenges associated with the above state of art, there is a need for hybrid computer based assessment to incorporate both traditional and latest methods that eliminates the possibilities of data exposure over the local network and maintains the integrity of the exams by isolating the candidate activity from the system entirely to prevent unauthorized access and chances of any illicit act in the exams.

OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION

[013] The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a hybrid assessment for in venue computer based examination ensuring security that incorporates both traditional and latest methods of assessment.
[014] Another objective of the present invention is to provide a hybrid assessment incorporating both pencil paper based and in venue computer based exam.
[015] Another objective of the present invention is to provide a hybrid assessment which aids in maintaining the integrity and security of the exams.
[016] Another objective of the present invention is to aid in maintaining the integrity and security of the exams by eliminating candidate side activities from the local network.
[017] Another objective of the present invention is to prevent data exposure during the assessment and also prevent unauthorized access to the hackers and spammers that affect the integrity and security of the assessment.
[018] Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide an economical, efficient and cost-effective approach.
[019] Other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, the aspects of the present invention are disclosed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[020] The present invention relates to system (100) and method for a hybrid assessment for in venue computer based examination ensuring security which is a combination of both latest and traditional method of assessment strengthening the exam security. The system and method of a hybrid arrangement in-venue computer based approach of taking assessment wherein the plurality of candidates receive the shuffled questions only on the local server through LAN cables and the questions get displayed on the computer screens of the candidates and then the candidates mark their answers on the OMR based response sheets that are further processed and scanned through OMR sheets processor. The hybrid assessment system (100) is capable of eliminating any possibilities of unauthorized access to the candidates’ responses as the system (100) completely removes the network layer from the exam for candidate’s side activities. Therefore, the system (100) provides a compact and reliable means for preventing illicit and unauthorized access to the assessment through local network. Moreover, the present assessment system (100) is economical, efficient and cost-effective method to completely ensure the security and fairness of the exams.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING
[021] The present invention will be better understood after reading the following detailed description of the presently preferred aspects thereof with reference to the appended drawings, in which the features, other aspects and advantages of certain exemplary embodiments of the invention will be more apparent from the accompanying drawing in which:

[022] Figure 1 illustrates a hybrid assessment method and system for evaluating the OMR (Optical Mark Recognition) sheet.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[023] The following description describes various features and functions of the disclosed system with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, similar symbols identify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise. The illustrative aspects described herein are not meant to be limiting. It may be readily understood that certain aspects of the disclosed system can be arranged and combined in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which have not been contemplated herein.

[024] Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope of invention. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness.

[025] Features that are described and/or illustrated with respect to one embodiment may be used in the same way or in a similar way in one or more other embodiments and/or in combination with or instead of the features of the other embodiments.

[026] The terms and words used in the following description are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the invention. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention are provided for illustrative purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the invention.

[027] It is to be understood that the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[028] It should be emphasized that the term “comprises/comprising” when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, components or groups thereof.

[029] The present invention relates to a system (100) and method for Hybrid assessment combining both traditional paper-based and computer-based assessment. Particularly, the present invention relates to a hybrid assessment system (100) for in-venue computer based exams maintaining integrity of the exams. The present computer based assessment is conducted on local network and questions as well as candidate answers are consolidated between candidate machine and local server on local network via LAN cables that lead to data exposure which includes (Candidate System, Question and answers) and hackers get unauthorized run time access to client computer remotely, enabling them to participate in the exam illicitly that results into compromising the system (100) security and integrity of the examination. The hybrid assessment includes the candidate side activity that is isolated from network layer during exam time. The candidate uses OMR sheet to fill the responses and only the questions are available on the computer screen in shuffled manner. The answers of the plurality of candidates are processed using OMR Sheet processing and transferred to server in encrypted format. Hence, there are lesser threats of security breach and possibilities of data exposure to the unauthorized access to the computer based assessment, thereby, maintaining integrity and security to the in-venue computer based assessment tests. Further, the present system (100) is more secure, less complex and cost effective than the existing method of assessments.

[030] In an embodiment, the present invention provides a hybrid assessment method for evaluating the OMR sheet, comprising the steps of:

(a) connecting a plurality of communication units (101) to a local server;
(b) installing a plurality of software modules (103) in the plurality of communication units (101);
(c) connecting a central server (106) with the local server and the OMR sheet processor (105);
(d) displaying a plurality of distinct questions on the plurality of communication units (101) received from the local server;
(e) distributing a plurality of OMR sheets to the plurality of candidates;
(f) marking answers over the OMR sheet via the plurality of candidates accordingly;
(g) scanning and processing the plurality of OMR sheets via an OMR sheet processor (105); and
(h) transferring the scanned answers of the plurality of OMR sheets in an encrypted form to a central server (106);
(i) updating the scanned answers in the central server (106) and analyzing results of the plurality of candidates; and
(j) displaying the results of the plurality of candidates on the plurality of communication units (101).

[031] In another embodiment, the present invention provides a hybrid assessment system (100) for evaluating the OMR sheet comprising a plurality of communication units (101), a local server (102), a plurality of software modules (103), a plurality of OMR sheets, an OMR sheet processor (105) and a central server (106). The local server generates a plurality of distinct questions on the plurality of software modules (103). The plurality of communication units (101) receive the plurality of distinct questions and a plurality of candidates mark answers on a preset OMR sheet that is scanned via the OMR sheet processor (105). The OMR sheet processor (105) transfers the answers of the OMR sheet in an encrypted form to the central server (106) in order to eliminate unauthorized access over the local server. The central server (106) evaluates the answers from the plurality of OMR sheets and displays result on the plurality of communication units (101).

[032] The present invention exhibits a number of advantages:
[033] The hybrid assessment for in venue computer based examination combines the traditional method of paper pen based assessment and recent in-venue computer based assessment together.
[034] The system implements hybrid assessment (100) to maintain security and integrity of the computer based assessment test.
[035] The system (100) eliminates the possibilities of unauthorized access to the candidate’s responses over the local network by isolating the candidate’s side activities from the network layer.
[036] Further, the system (100) also prevents security breach and illicit data exposure during assessments.
[037] While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the scope of the appended claims.
,CLAIMS:WE CLAIM:

1. A hybrid assessment method for in venue computer based examination ensuring security, comprising the steps of:
(a) connecting a plurality of communication units (101) to a local server;
(b) installing a plurality of software modules (103) in the plurality of communication units (101);
(c) connecting a central server (106) with the local server and the OMR sheet processor (105);
(d) displaying a plurality of distinct questions on the plurality of communication units (101) received from the local server;
(e) distributing a plurality of OMR sheets to the plurality of candidates;
(f) marking answers over the OMR sheet via the plurality of candidates accordingly;
(g) scanning and processing the plurality of OMR sheets via an OMR sheet processor (105); and
(h) transferring the scanned answers of the plurality of OMR sheets in an encrypted form to a central server (106); and
(i) updating the scanned answers in the central server (106) and analyzing results of the plurality of candidates.
2. A hybrid assessment system (100) for in venue computer based examination ensuring security as claimed in claim 1, comprising:
• a plurality of communication units (101);
• a local server (102) connected to the plurality of communication units (101) through a network;
• a plurality of software modules (103) installed in the plurality of communication units (101);
• a plurality of OMR sheets;
• an OMR sheet processor (105); and
• a central server (106) connected to the local server and the OMR sheet processor (105);
wherein,
• the local server generates a plurality of distinct questions on the plurality of software modules (103);
• the plurality of communication units (101) receive the plurality of distinct questions and a plurality of candidates mark answers on a preset OMR sheet that is scanned via the OMR sheet processor (105);
• the OMR sheet processor (105) transfers the answers of the OMR sheet in an encrypted form to the central server (106) in order to eliminate unauthorized access over the local server; and
• the central server (106) evaluates the answers from the plurality of OMR sheets and displays result on the plurality of communication units (101).
3. The hybrid assessment system (100) for in venue computer based examination ensuring security as claimed in claim 2, wherein the preset OMR sheets are PDFs that are easily printed and distributed to the plurality of candidates.

4. The hybrid assessment system (100) for in venue computer based examination ensuring security as claimed in claim 2, wherein the system (100) eliminates unauthorized access over the local server.

5. The hybrid assessment system (100) for in venue computer based examination ensuring security as claimed in claim 2, wherein the network is a local area network cable.

6. The hybrid assessment system (100) for in venue computer based examination ensuring security as claimed in claim 2, wherein the system (100) includes both pencil-paper based and in-venue computer based approach.