Local startup has platform to help students ace exams, leveraging AI to do so

Nobody likes exams. Every single one of us has interests, some niche, that we would be excited to dig deep into. In the right format, of course. However, being tested on whether we understood what we learnt is enjoyed by only a few.

Exams are a part of life though. So, whatever makes it easy to prepare for them is something we can all appreciate. For exam candidates, there is a service you might want to try out – eExam.

eExam says “We cover Grade 7, O Level, and A-Level Zimsec & Cambridge Examinations, South Africa Matric Grade 12, Highway Code Examination, And Professional Courses Certification Examination Preparation.”

Exam prep

Everyone has their system for preparing for exams. Some methods have been proven effective whilst others have not, even though people swear by them.

eExam is not reinventing the wheel here. Their idea is really simple – provide the learner with data and they will be able to focus on their weak areas.

I have found that simple ideas, executed well, make for the best services. If you think it sounds obvious when you hear it and yet you can’t think of anyone doing it well in the market, it bodes well.

eExam

What is eExam?

It is an AI-powered platform that helps students to prepare for, master and ace their exams, leveraging the smart use of AI to hand out accurate marking, score grading, course suggestions and career suggestions based on detailed performance analytics.

That won’t clear it up for most. Luckily, we got to sit down with the eExam team and they expounded on the idea. So, we can get into what it is in English.

eExam is targeted at both students and their teachers and parents. Let’s start with the solution for students.

For students

The problem is that for many Zimbabwean students, getting access to exam material is a challenge. This is more so in smaller towns and it’s even worse in the rural areas. While some students get to take on past exam papers and practice, most are not so lucky.

Students can take on many tests and exams on the eExam platform. eExam has actual Cambridge past exam papers “from 2010 to date, of various syllabi codes to cater for the different users.”

eExam engaged Zimsec on housing their past exam papers but they didn’t come to an agreement. They have plans to reengage them soon.

Aside from the Cambridge exam papers, users can upload their own notes and have the platform create tests for them. AI helps with that. This is a great way to see if you understood the notes dictated to you while you were half asleep in class.

For already typed and printed text, users can just take a picture of the text they want to be tested on and upload it. They don’t have to type it all out. The platform will extract the text from the image.

The data

The above is good but not great on its own. The great thing about eExam is the data you get.

When a student takes tests, the platform will of course mark the tests, and this includes essay-type questions.

That on its own would have been great for me. I stumbled upon past exam papers sometimes but not the answers and it was a whole other problem trying to take on those tests and find someone to check how well I was doing.

If a student gets on stuck on eExam, they can ask professionals and other students on a discussion forum. I know some people prefer group discussions and they should be covered.

eExam will also analyse the test results and show you your problem areas. Not only will it help you focus your energy on those concepts you are struggling with, but it can also create notes for you on just those particular topics.

This is why eExam says they can offer career guidance. The platform knows your strengths and weaknesses and so would know which fields you would excel in.

Of course, the final decision will be the child’s, in consultation with their parents and/or counsellors. What eExam provides is data on which fields the child excels in.

All the features available

• Discussions
• Practice Quiz
• Points and Badges
• Progress Tracking and Analytics
• Practice Exam
• Exam Answers
• Exam Simulations
• Grading System
• Course Recommendations
• Digital Interactive Past Exam Papers

For schools, teachers and parents

We already mentioned how eExam will help in future career decisions.

There are plenty of benefits for teachers as well. The first of course is that eExam will mark tests for them. Freeing their time to focus on scheming and other duties.

eExam will have helped come up with those tests in the first place. Teachers can upload their notes and have the platform create tests. Teachers can then tweak the tests, add questions, rephrase some or remove some, before letting kids take the test.

After students take a test, their scores are immediately available to the teacher. This allows the teacher to see which areas students are struggling with and provide targeted help. The teacher can spend less time grading tests and more time helping individual students succeed.

The other problem that eExam will help solve is the black box problem when kids switch schools. With test data and more on eExam, teachers at the new school can see where exactly a new kid is.

This solution for schools is still in testing and a few schools like Gateway are trialling it out. It will officially launch in August.

eExam already operating

The platform went live in June 2022 and soft-launched in July. They have been testing it out in the wild and tweaking the platform along the way and are ready to open the doors for everyone to join.

To join, visit their website here.

The platform has had a total of 2,007 students use it to date, and currently has 434 active users. Of those active users, 31 are paying customers.

Yes, there is a free tier and a paid tier. The paid tier costs $10 per month and unlocks everything whilst the free tier has access to a limited number of features.

eExam says that the $10 price will be revised down when they launch the solution for schools in August.

Tell us what you think about eExam. Do you think it will (or would have been) a game changer for you? If not, what would it need to add or remove to help you ace that test?

Also read:

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