An Expert System for Evaluating Exams

Abstract

In order to simplify the formal evaluation procedures for matriculation examination forms proposed by high school teachers in Israel, an expert system was constructed. The system serves both the examination authors and the evaluators. Consequently, both sides are familiar with the tradeoffs involved in using the expert system without having to resort to lengthy explanations or complex guidebooks. Because many evaluators were involved in the process, conventional knowledge-engineering methods were found to be inadequate. Instead, a learning-by-example paradigm called the Ordinal Learning Model was utilized. Responses from the system’s users during a two-year beta test has been very encouraging.

Keywords:

• decision making
• expert systems
• testing