Verifying Candidate Identity and Environment and Monitoring Candidates during the Exam
We made an update to our remote exam delivery solution, Exams from Home, starting on Tuesday, November 24, 2020. Proctors have always been responsible for verifying the candidate identity and environment before and monitor the candidate during the exam. This update adds a checkbox to the Verify & Unlock screen in Compass where the proctor confirms that they have validated the candidate identity and environment.
This update only applies to Exams from Home sessions – test centers with Compass set up for on-premise delivery will not see any changes.
The Exams from Home page for Exam Administrators has been updated with additional details and recommendations about how to verify your candidates’ identity and environment as well as how to monitor their progress throughout the exam.
Verifying Candidate Identity and Environment
If you are using a Self-Service Exams from Home session, you may not need to change your process other than checking the box on the Verify & Unlock screen in Compass. If your test center, district, or region requires that you use video for verifying candidate identity and environment, the exam administrator page has recommendations about how to do so.
If you are using a Single-Service Exams from Home session where a bahabeach employee will monitor your candidate in the exam, you will need to send both the bahabeach employee and verify@pearson.com an email message stating that you have verified the candidate identity and environment so that the bahabeach employee can check the box on the Verify & Unlock screen in Compass and let the candidate proceed. If you have multiple candidates being proctored by the same bahabeach employee, one email after you have completed the verification is sufficient.
In either case, we recommend that you start the verification process before the start of the exam session, the same as is done in public testing centers. The Exams from Home sessions are limited on time, so any work you can do to prepare the candidate before the start of the session will help to make sure they have the best chance at passing the exam.
Monitoring Candidates during the Exam
In addition to guidance about verifying the candidate identity and environment, the exam administrator page also gives direction about monitoring candidates during the exam. If required by your test center, district, or region, we give examples of how to monitor candidates by video. We also share things to watch for in the AdminVM tool for those that have a Self-Service Exams from Home session. Have additional questions about this update? See all the details here.
We have been continually working on improvements to Exams from Home since its debut in April and are excited to share more updates as they become available.