The Value of an Exam Question

August 5, 2026

This week, we hand-delivered thousands of personalised exam papers in preparation for a major international exam due to take place next month. 

It got us thinking about the hidden (and often underestimated) value of an exam question, and the importance of protecting its integrity.


A well-written exam question is one of the most valuable assets an awarding organisation possesses. It represents expertise, research, quality assurance and significant time and financial investment.


For major awarding organisations, hundreds of hours of expert time may contribute to producing a complete examination paper. Each review adds value, but also adds cost.


A question writer must consider whether:

  • the question aligns with the specification or curriculum
  • it assesses the intended learning outcome
  • the wording is clear and unambiguous
  • there is only one defensible correct answer (particularly in MCQ!)
  • candidates from different backgrounds can interpret it fairly
  • it differentiates effectively between different levels of ability4



Why Original Questions Matter


Developing original questions is essential. If questions are copied, reproduced or closely imitated, several risks emerge:

  • The integrity of examinations is weakened
  • Candidates may gain unfair advantages
  • Public confidence in qualifications may decline
  • Organisations lose the return on their investment
  • Legal disputes over copyright and intellectual property may arise
  • A compromised question is often permanently unusable. Once its content becomes widely known, its assessment value can disappear overnight



The Cost of Losing a Question

Imagine investing hundreds (or even thousands!) of pounds in developing, reviewing and validating a question, only for it to be leaked online or incorporated into a competitor's materials.

The financial loss extends beyond the original development cost.


Organisations may need to replace entire examination papers, commission emergency question writing, investigate security breaches, and even defend intellectual property through legal action. The true cost can far exceed the price of creating the original question.



Protecting Assessment Integrity

For these reasons, examination questions should be treated with the same care as any other valuable intellectual property.


Strong governance, secure storage, confidentiality agreements, controlled access and copyright enforcement are not administrative formalities—they are essential safeguards for protecting years of investment and preserving trust in the examination system.


Over the last 17 years, MurrayData Ltd has become the global experts in capturing data, providing invaluable reports to awarding bodies and universities to give insight into the performance and understanding of exam questions.



Request a sample report here.

Paper vs digital MCQ exams

Why do Universities still use paper MCQ exams?

July 8, 2026
Paper MCQ exams are reliable and cost-effective, with quick modern scanning and accurate reports available

Recent OSCE Processing For FFLM

By Ken Rafferty • March 26, 2018
Having completed a Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) assessment for the Faculty of Forensic & Legal Medicine (FFLM) in Oct 2017, they were keen to retain our services for their OSCE's in Mar 2018. We worked with them to create a brand new OSCE answer sheet, part of which is shown above, and had it lithographically printed in Madrid. Our print partner in Madrid then personalised 14 sheets for every candidate taking the OSCE : 1 sheet for every station they would be assessed on. Once the OSCE's were completed, we scanned the sheets, captured the raw data, then exported it as an Excel file. At this point, our work was only just beginning, as we manipulated the Excel sheets for Angoff scores, weightings, pass marks, standard deviation, min, max, average and a multitude of charts. Within one week of receiving all the completed forms, we had given the results back to FFLM. Jay Barton-Costa, the Examinations Manager at FFLM, was so pleased with our efforts and service that he congratulated us in an email, saying we had done a 'brilliant job'. We look forward to helping FFLM with their assessments going forward. Do you think David Bowie once did OSCE exams, then wrote the song 'Station To Station' ....? :-)

New Financial Year begins today ...

By Ken Rafferty • February 1, 2018
Having been incorporated on 7 Oct 2009, we are now entering our 10th full year of being in business. Our new financial year begins today (1st Feb 2018) and we have certainly seen a lot of technological, commercial and operational changes over the last 9 years. We have been involved in numerous projects during this time, here in the UK, but also Ireland, France, Switzerland, Ghana and Nigeria. However, we consider stability and dependability to be at the very heart of our business ethos. Hopefully we have demonstrated that in the many systems we have sold, and in the services we have provided to our customers in this time. When customers are fully reliant on your OMR scanners, software and forms to fulfil critical functions, then you must ensure it works each and every time. Maybe we will have a 10th anniversary party in October. Here's to the next 10 years after that ...!

My First Blog Post

By paul keat • September 11, 2017
I have finally decided to take the plunge and add a blog to my site. I always wanted an easy way to share information with visitors and I'm super excited to start this journey. Keep coming back to my site and check for updates right here on the blog.

10 Reasons You Should Love Blogging

By paul keat • September 11, 2017
Anyone can make one: For better or worse, anyone can write a blog post about anything they want. Everyone has a voice and the best voices will rise to the top. The writer can show their personality: In blog posts, the writer has more leeway to add in their voice and personality than other types of writing. Blogs are a great form of mass communication: You can help people, learn new things, entertain your audience-the possibilities are endless and amazing. Blogging opens up all of these to a very wide audience. You can make money: Get the right blog going and you can make a lot of money through advertising and sponsored posts. It allows people to craft better thoughts: Instead of reading haphazard, uneducated Facebook statuses, it's much better to see people's thought process in a well-written blog post. You can establish a community: Blogging allows you to connect with other individuals who share the same interests. Sharing ideas and opinions within your community helps establish yourself as a thought leader. Good for SEO: Keeping content on your site fresh and relevant, you can use your blog to boost the search engine ranking (SEO) of your site and your business. It brings people back to your site: If your blog is strong enough and updated regularly, people will come back looking for more and bring traffic back to your site as well. It's free: It costs you a grand total of zero dollars to post to the blog, so if you have something to say, there's nothing to stop you. You can establish yourself as a thought leader: A blog is a great place for your original thoughts, and it can be a wonderful way to show off your individuality. If people like your ideas, you can become a thought leader in your industry! What else do you love about blogs? Let me know!