Test Administration Procedures and Irregularities
This domain tests session delivery and irregularity handling: scripts, timing, breaks, seating, accommodations, technical failures, and the decision rules that keep a disrupted session fair and defensible.
Core rules
- Read the required script and start only after all candidates are admitted and the room is secure.
- Protect time: record actual start, stop, breaks, and any pause. Do not grant extra time informally; apply the sponsor's time-loss rule.
- Seat candidates to reduce visibility of screens and notes; enforce break rules, including no phones or notes in break areas.
- Accommodations must be pre-authorized and delivered as written-extra time, separate room, reader, or breaks. Do not improvise.
- Classify the event: candidate misconduct, technical failure, environmental disruption, or administrative error. Each has its own report and remedy.
Worked example
A workstation loses power 20 minutes into the test. The proctor restarts the machine, tells the candidate to “hurry,” and resumes without noting the time. The review finding: the session may be invalid because time loss and restart authorization are undocumented. Correct handling is to stop, record the exact interruption, follow the vendor restart procedure, apply the sponsor's remedy, and report.
Traps that cost marks
- Letting candidates talk or use phones during an outage.
- Granting “a few extra minutes” without approval.
- Recording only the outcome, not the interruption time.
- Treating a technical failure as candidate misconduct.