Best Practice in Administering Tests

Our online accounting, tax and bookkeeping tests are designed to be easily and flexibly administered.

You do not need to be qualified in test administration to use our tests, but following the simple guidelines below will ensure users get the most from every candidate every time:

  

Supervised or Unsupervised Testing?

As an Accountests client, you will have purchased login details for your candidates to access the appropriate test. You now have the option to either require your candidates to attend a supervised testing session, or send them the login details to complete the test elsewhere.

Busy schedules of both candidate and clients, coupled with many candidates being remote makes the option of sending the link for candidates to complete tests in their own time very appealing, but it does come with the risk that you cannot verify whether the person you are assessing is the same person who completes the test, or if they compete the test with assistance from others.

To manage that risk, it is recommended that supervised testing is used wherever possible.

Where candidates are remote we have Guidelines for adding supervision to the testing process.

 

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Best Practice Testing Environments

Applying the basic principles for effective interviewing will ensure candidates and clients get the most from testing:

• A quiet room free of risk of disturbance for the duration of the test and pre-test instructions, which typically takes 45 minutes
• Ensuring the computer in the room has internet access
• Making sure there is a working calculator, pen and paper for each candidate
• Allowing the candidate to work through the instructions and example questions in their own time to get themselves as comfortable as possible before starting the actual test
• Giving each candidate a glass of water and ensuring they don’t need to use the bathroom before starting their tests also helps to get them prepared
• After the testing session is complete, advise candidates on what happens next in the selection process and when/how they will receive feedback

The points above are part of the introduction and instruction screens to all candidates, which assists in consistency when unsupervised testing is chosen.

 

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Test Score Feedback

Best practice in testing and assessment is to give all candidates a copy of their test report as part of the feedback process regardless of whether they are successful or not.

Most clients give feedback, but wait until the hiring process is complete before releasing feedback to candidates (usually by email).

Contact Us with any questions.