Logical (Critical) Reasoning Questions for CLAT | QB Set 88

In a tra­di­tional com­pet­it­ive test, every can­did­ate answers the same set of ques­tions. Test scores are based largely on the num­ber of cor­rect answers. Most coach­ing centres there­fore pri­or­it­ise test­crack­ing tac­tics over con­cep­tual under­stand­ing, or crit­ical think­ing.

Adapt­ive test­ing is a dynamic form of assess­ment which uses the Item Response The­ory (IRT). This means that the ques­tions in the test are not the same for all stu­dents. A ques­tion bank is pre­pared with ques­tions of vary­ing dif­fi­culty cov­er­ing all the items in the syl­labus. The test nor­mally begins with a ques­tion of medium dif­fi­culty. If it is answered cor­rectly, the com­puter selects a more dif­fi­cult ques­tion from the ques­tion bank using the sci­en­tific­ally estab­lished psy­cho­met­ric mod­els. 

If incor­rect, an easier ques­tion is presen­ted. After each answer, the com­puter recal­cu­lates the can­did­ate’s estim­ated abil­ity. The test ends when a pre­defined level of assess­ment is reached or the set num­ber of items as per syl­labus are tested. The goal is to assess the abil­ity of the can­did­ate more pre­cisely by ask­ing fewer but bet­ter­tar­geted ques­tions. The res­ult is that two can­did­ates may see dif­fer­ent ques­tions but are assessed on the same under­ly­ing scale.

Adapt­ive test­ing builds fair­ness into the test design itself rather than cor­rect­ing for vari­ations sub­sequently. Since the next ques­tion depends on the pre­vi­ous answer, a stu­dent who is not con­cep­tu­ally sound can­not answer the pro­gress­ively high­dif­fi­culty ques­tions, which have higher weight­age. Global test­ing agen­cies have been using com­pu­ter­ised adapt­ive test­ing for admis­sions to premier insti­tu­tions for over 25 years.

Are there poten­tial legal chal­lenges?

In the Indian con­sti­tu­tional con­text, ‘equal­ity of oppor­tun­ity’ is often inter­preted as every­one get­ting the same ques­tion paper. There­fore, a move towards adapt­ive test­ing may face Art­icle 14 chal­lenges (Right to Equal­ity) in Indian courts, if the nor­m­al­isa­tion pro­cess is not trans­par­ent. Algorithm opa­city could invite bias suits under equity man­dates. However, this can be mit­ig­ated through dis­clos­ures and equity audits.

In India, where a single rank can make or mar a reward­ing career, it may be dif­fi­cult to con­vince a par­ent how a stu­dent who solved 20 dif­fi­cult ques­tions cor­rectly has scored higher than another stu­dent who solved 50 easy ones. Ensur­ing lag­free tech­nical infra­struc­ture in tier­3 cit­ies is key, as any tech­nical glitch dur­ing the test could be seen as mal­ad­min­is­tra­tion in a court of law. Without clear doc­u­ment­a­tion and griev­ance mech­an­isms, lit­ig­a­tion risks rise. Data centre reli­ab­il­ity, proc­tor­ing invi­gil­a­tion sys­tems, and incid­ent hand­ling must be far stronger than today’s baseline.

How can it be eased in?

Trans­ition­ing from the tra­di­tional lin­ear test to adapt­ive tests requires build­ing large, cal­ib­rated item ques­tion banks, pretest­ing ques­tions without the pos­sib­il­ity of leak­age, and ensur­ing strict syl­labus cov­er­age. There are also trust chal­lenges: can­did­ates must believe that dif­fer­ent ques­tions can still be fair, and test­ing agen­cies must be pre­pared to defend this sci­en­tific­ally and leg­ally. Inter­na­tional exper­i­ence from GRE and GMAT shows that trans­par­ency, tech­nical doc­u­ment­a­tion, and phased rol­louts are essen­tial for accept­ance.

(Source: The Hindu)

Question 1

Which of the following is the primary reason adaptive testing is suggested as a “better and less stressful assessment” compared to traditional competitive tests?

A. It allows students to skip questions they find difficult.
B. It reduces the overall syllabus tested in the examination.
C. It evaluates a candidate’s ability more precisely using fewer, well-targeted questions.
D. It ensures all candidates face questions of identical difficulty levels.

Correct Answer: C

Question 2

The author suggests that adaptive testing may face legal challenges under Article 14 of the Constitution mainly because:

A. Adaptive testing relies on computer-based systems rather than pen-and-paper tests.
B. Coaching centres may not be able to prepare students effectively for such tests.
C. Courts do not recognise scientific assessment models like Item Response Theory.
D. Equality of opportunity is often interpreted as candidates receiving the same question paper.

Correct Answer: D

Question 3

Which of the following assumptions underlies the concern that parents may find adaptive testing difficult to accept?

A. Parents equate fairness with the number of questions answered correctly rather than difficulty level.
B. Parents generally distrust all forms of computer-based examinations.
C. Parents believe that easy questions should always carry equal weight as difficult ones.
D. Parents assume that traditional examinations are free from any form of bias.

Correct Answer: A

Question 4

According to the passage, which of the following would most directly help reduce litigation risks associated with adaptive testing in India?

A. Establishing transparent normalisation processes and robust grievance redressal mechanisms.
B. Increasing the total number of questions attempted by each candidate.
C. Limiting adaptive testing only to urban centres with advanced infrastructure.
D. Conducting adaptive tests only after abolishing rank-based admissions.

Correct Answer: A

Question 5

The reference to GRE and GMAT in the passage primarily serves to:

A. Prove that adaptive testing always produces better academic outcomes.
B. Illustrate that international experience supports phased, transparent implementation of adaptive tests.
C. Argue that Indian testing agencies should fully replicate foreign examination models.
D. Suggest that adaptive testing is suitable only for postgraduate-level examinations.

Correct Answer: B