Abstract:

As a creator of the Placement Exam for admission at the School of Architecture and Built Environment – German Jordanian University, I will present the aspects to tackle that made the admission to our programs reliable and transparent process for evaluating the abilities of the applicants. First the exam was conducted by a Committee of Admissions at the school of Architecture and Built Environment. Second, we made the exam mandatory for admission to B. Arch and B. Design. Third, the exam was a new requirement addressing the need to ensure quality and competitive students are admitted to our school at Jordan level. Finally, the exam scores are used by the committee at the School of Architecture and Built Environment to provide comparative and competitive measures for comparing the qualifications of applicants.

The exam measures an applicant's fitness for architecture or design in areas of aesthetic sensitivity and critical thinking. Originally, the exam was designed to have two-parts: a paper-based test for 40 minutes and a computer-based test for 40 minutes. Then decision was taken to make it all paper-based for 70 minutes.

The exam included four parts:
(1) Drawing test which tests the fitness of a candidate's sense of perspective and ability to make it visually appealing includes a pencil sketch of objects and themes from daily experience;
(2) Logic test which test reasoning, and mental abilities;
(3) Aesthetic sensitivity test measures perception, imagination and observation, and creativity and communication;
(4) Architectural awareness. At the end of the exam an interview for 20 minutes is to be conducted with each candidate.

Students were instructed about how to write and report the answers, and were instructed about the duration of the exam. The placement exam design was composed of five areas; each has its assigned marks proportional to its assigned time:
Part I – Aesthetic Sensitivity;
Part II – Drawing Ability;
Part III - Logic and General Information;
Part IV - Architectural Awareness;
Part V – Personal Background.

Keywords:

Higher, Education, Architecture, Placement, Exam, Reliability.