Helpdesk Training Article
Are pretests administered in the same way as live exams?
You should administer pretesting as you would a live exam. All candidates sitting a particular version of an exam should sit it at the same time.
Is pretesting free of charge?
Yes, all pretests are free of charge and centres are advised not to charge their candidates. For paper-based pretests, we supply a DHL number that charges all despatch costs to us. We do not reimburse any invigilator or other staffing costs, but pretests can be taken as a classroom activity, under exam conditions.
Is there a minimum or maximum number of candidates?
We recommend a minimum of five candidates. The maximum number of candidates per component per session for a centre is 150. Please contact the Pretesting Team if you would like to offer pretests for a larger or smaller number of candidates.
Are pretests the same length and format as a live exam?
The length of a pretest may vary slightly because we may include a large number of potential questions, from which the best examples are carried forward. You should allow the same time as indicated at the start of the pretest or on the front cover for paper-based. You should also allow approx. 5 minutes for some candidate information questions at the start. In some cases, C1 Advanced Writing may contain one task rather than two, but digital will usually be two.
Will every request be fulfilled?
Although we are looking for more pretesting candidates world-wide, we are not always able to fulfil every request. This is because we sometimes have a lot of requests for certain exams or components and not enough pretests to allocate to every centre. If this is the case, we will let you know as soon as the deadline for requests has passed.
What is an anchor test?
For some paper-based pretests and digital young learners exams, candidates are required to do an anchor test in addition to the pretest. Anchor tests are a vital part of our collection of data about the level of difficulty of our exams, and without this information we are unable to analyse the data from candidates. Allow extra time (approx. 20 minutes) for the anchor test for each component. CEQs Digital pretests do not have an anchor test or require extra time.
What results do candidates get and how long do they take?
The pretests are marked in Cambridge. For paper-based Reading, Use of English and Listening and TKT exams, students are given an overall score, and a performance indicator. For CEQs Digital, candidates receive results for each part and an overall score, and a performance indicator. For digital exams, results are received two days after we have received your completed electronic register, after the week-long pretesting window ends, and for paper-based exams, results are returned to centres within three weeks of receipt of papers in Cambridge. For Advanced Writing, they are marked by Cambridge Writing Examiners, and candidates receive feedback about how well they performed in the Writing test. Writing scores for C1 Advanced digital pretests are sent within two weeks of the end of the weekly session window and for paper-based tests within four weeks. For digital young learners exams, results are sent four weeks after we receive the paper-based anchors. For IELTS Writing, candidates receive Band scores rather than feedback. If pretest papers are sent back late, the marking may be delayed.
Can the same exam be done more than once in the weekly window for digital pretests?
Digital pretests are available in weekly windows, which run from 00:00 on Monday to 23:59 on Sunday (UK time). If you want to run the same exam more than once in the same week, please request two (or more) different versions or run sessions back-to-back and ensure the candidates are kept apart.
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