Requirements of Multiple-Choice Question Assessments
Posted on 10th June 2022
Safety Training Awards (STA) would like to remind all Approved Training Centres (ATC) and Tutors of the requirements when conducting Multiple Choice Question Assessments (MCQs).
ATCs must maintain the confidentiality of assessment materials throughout the entire course process. It is their responsibility to ensure all procedures are followed and the assessment is undertaken in accordance with the assessment strategy. The MCQs will be sent by STA in a sealed envelope two weeks prior to the course start date to either the course venue, centre co-ordinator or course tutor.
The assessment materials still within the sealed envelope must be stored in a safe secure location until the start of the assessment. Therefore, it is paramount that the correct despatch location is selected when registering a course.
The envelope must not be opened until the assessment is ready to begin and must be done in front of the learners. All MCQ assessment must be completed in examination conditions with all resource manual, notebooks, information technology including mobile phones etc removed from the tables / surrounding areas. Learners should be equally spaced out around the assessment room and the MCQ assessment must be completed independently by the learner.
Communication of any kind between learners is strictly forbidden. Any learner who is suspected of any form of unfair practice, such as speaking to another learner or copying from unauthorised notes, will at once be reported to the centre co-ordinator and Safety Training Awards. Under no circumstances should assessment papers be issued to learners to complete at home / in their own time or assessment papers permitted to leave the assessment room.
On completion of the assessment, all MCQ assessment papers must be securely destroyed or returned to STA. ATCs must not keep old MCQs assessment papers / assessment materials.
In order to support ATCs and Tutors with the procedures please see the qualification assessment strategies and STA Multiple-Choice Question Assessment Paper Guidance document which are available on STA Online. An MCQ assessment training video is also available here.
If these procedures are not followed or confidentiality of assessment materials are not maintained, STA will void the assessment as it will not be a valid assessment and sanctions will be applied to the ATC.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.