Exams officials are planning to develop the Ordinary National Education Test (Onet) to better assess how students apply their knowledge to real-life situations.
The National Institute of Educational Testing Service (Niets) is working to improve the exam using a framework based on the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa).
Niets assesses the academic performance of students in Prathom 6, Mathayom 3 and Mathayom 6 every year.
Pisa rates the abilities of 15-year-old students in 65 countries every three years. It attempts to evaluate students on reading, maths and scientific literacy, as well as testing how they apply that knowledge to creative problem solving.
Niets director Samphan Phanphruk said the development of the Pisa-based Onet test will start next year. The new tests should be ready for introduction by February 2016.
"The Pisa Onet test will still include content-based assessment, but it will also evaluate our students' ability to think critically and check how they draw on their knowledge in tackling real-life problems with 21st century skills," he said.
"This will equip our students with the knowledge they need to survive," Mr Samphan said in a seminar marking the ninth anniversary of Niets.
The changes will mean that teachers must make sure students actually understand subjects and think critically, rather than simply memorising information, he said. This could help ease the problem of large numbers of students attending tutorial classes to cram for tests, he added.
Kamol Rodklai, secretary-general of the Office of the Basic Education Commission (Obec), vowed to overhaul teaching practices in preparation for the new Onet tests.
Privy Councillor Kasem Wattanachai called for national tests to not only assess academic knowledge but morality. He said the country is in urgent need of an educational system that nurtures students with knowledge, morals and public consciousness.
Mr Kasem said that too many education policies have damaged academic standards, suggesting that a national curriculum bureau be established to oversee what is taught in schools.
"I agree that the current basic curriculum needs to be improved, but we can't just let anyone be in charge of that," he said.
