Procedures for Operating and Ordering and Securely Handling Paper Based GED® Test Materials
1. GED Testing Service Forms and Editions
The secure forms of all editions of the GED® tests (English, Spanish, Braille and large print) are copyrighted by and are the sole property of the GED Testing Service. The tests are available only for administration at official GED® testing centers under the supervision of a GED Chief Examiner™ or GED Examiner™ and can be administered only to eligible persons who are to be tested in accordance with policies and procedures of the GED Testing Service and the jurisdictional agency.
2. Scheduling a Testing Event and Ordering GED Tests
GED paper test booklets and answer sheets are produced uniquely for each Test-taker. To create and order for these GED paper tests, the Test Administrator must create a testing event in GED Manager. All Test-takers need to be entered into GED Manager one (1) week prior to the scheduled test dates. Tests will be produced and shipped to the Testing Center four (4) business days prior to the scheduled tests dates. Sites will have two (2) weeks to complete testing at the Testing Center and return all completed and non-completed tests to GED Testing Service.
3. Receipt and Storage of Secure Testing Materials
GED Testing Service requires that the GED Chief Examiner™ of each official GED® testing center prepare and maintain a plan for receiving and storing secure GED® testing materials. This plan should outline the process from the point at which the GED Chief Examiner™ is notified of a shipment date of secure testing materials through receipt and storage of materials.
4. Shipments, Receipt, and Verification of Secure GED® Testing Materials
The GED Chief Examiner™ or GED Examiner™ shall thoroughly inventory secure testing materials.
GED Testing Service will notify by e-mail each GED Chief Examiner™ at each GED® testing center of the shipment date with a UPS tracking number for all shipped materials.
The GED Chief Examiner™ shall ensure that the shipment is tracked and shall contact GED Testing Service and the Administrator of any concerns about the shipment or any unusual delays.
Unless otherwise addressed in the receiving plan, the GED Chief Examiner™ or GED Examiner™ shall complete the following within one business day after receipt of secure testing materials:
· Inventory all materials.
· Check the shipment against the picking plan.
· Check the condition of the materials page by page
If the GED Chief Examiner™ finds errors or discrepancies in the shipment, he or she shall contact the GED Administrator™ and GED Testing Service LLC’s Director of Operations within one business day of checking the shipment. GED® testing centers that fail to report discrepancies in a timely manner may be closed at GED Testing Service’s discretion.
Once all materials have been reconciled, the GED Chief Examiner™ shall store secure testing materials in permanent, dedicated, secure storage. A permanent dedicated storage file may not contain items other than secure GED® testing materials. Access to secure materials must be limited to only the GED Chief Examiner™ or GED Examiners™. Staff members may not have access to the areas where secure testing materials are stored without the direct supervision of the GED Chief Examiner™ or GED Examiner™. The dedicated permanent storage container must be located in an area away from the testing room and out of sight of GED® candidates at all times. GED® testing materials must be shipped in secure mailing containers.
5. Storage of Secure GED® Testing Materials
The GED Chief Examiner™ and GED Examiners™ are directly responsible for safeguarding all secure testing materials at each GED® testing center. The GED Chief Examiner™ and GED
Examiners™ must follow procedures that protect the security of the GED® tests, the scored or partially used answer sheet, and the score report forms. Any partially completed or fully completed answer sheets must be treated as secure testing materials.
The institution sponsoring the GED® testing center must provide permanent dedicated secure storage for all secure GED® testing materials.
All secure GED® testing materials must be safeguarded in the following manner:
· The GED Chief Examiner™ and GED Examiners™ shall be the only persons to inspect, administer, or have access to the GED® test.
· Secure testing materials shall not be removed from the GED® testing center except for:
· Return to GED Testing Service at the close of the contract year, or
· As authorized by a valid addendum to the contract.
Secure testing materials must be stored in a sturdy, locked storage unit. The center’s GED Chief Examiner™ and GED Examiners™ must be the only person(s) with access to the keys or the combination to the lock. The storage unit, which must be for the storage of GED® secure materials only, must be a dedicated safe, a fireproof file cabinet, or a file cabinet that has an external steel bar lock which, when bolted to the cabinet, slides into place over the cabinet drawers and locks with a heavy-duty padlock or combination lock. Under no circumstances may the secure materials be stored in any location that is accessible to unauthorized staff members. Inventory of testing materials:
· The GED Chief Examiner™ or GED Examiner™ must inventory all GED® testing materials within one business day of receipt.
· The GED Chief Examiner™ or GED Examiner™ must inventory all GED® testing materials stocked at the center once a month.
· The GED Chief Examiner™ or GED Examiner™ must inventory all GED® testing materials removed from storage at a GED® testing center before and immediately after each test administration.
All inventories must be in writing and include:
· The date of inventory.
· A list of individual items.
· The signature of the GED Chief Examiner™ or GED Examiner™ who conducted the inventory.
When GED® tests are transported to an approved addendum test site, arrangements must be made for secure temporary locked storage for as long as the secure materials are away from the GED® testing center. All GED® tests must be inventoried both before and after transport to the addendum site. Off-site storage of secure testing materials overnight must have written approval of GED Testing Service and the GED Administrator™.
No secure testing materials may be destroyed at the GED® testing center or by the jurisdiction without prior approval of GED Testing Service. All testing materials must be returned to GED Testing Service within two (2) weeks of the scheduled test event date. This includes damaged or unused materials.
Once a GED® candidate has marked on an answer sheet, that sheet is considered confidential and must be treated as secure testing material. Used answer sheets must be stored securely with GED® test batteries and prior to being returned to GED Testing Service.
Because completed answer sheets are secure testing materials, answer sheets must be transported to the GED Testing Service scoring site under controlled conditions such as a secure electronic system or by a shipping system that uses tracking numbers and tracking procedures. Test Event packages include return packaging materials and labels that meet this criteria.
6. Return of Secure GED® Testing Materials to GED Testing Service
The GED Chief Examiner™ must inventory all secure testing materials (test batteries and topic cards) and return them to GED Testing Service within fourteen (14) days after the scheduled test event.
To ensure the security of the GED® test through the process of returning them to GED Testing Service, the GED Chief Examiner™ shall follow these steps:
1. Thoroughly inspect and inventory all materials before packing to ensure that all materials are included. Pack tests in the order they are listed on the Batch Cover Sheet.
2. Include the completed Batch Cover Sheet.
3. Pack all testing materials in the pre-labeled return packaging provided in the original shipment.
4. Enter the tracking number into GED Manager upon shipping the return package.
5. A copy of the Batch Cover Sheet and Tracking Number must be maintained in the Official GED® testing center’s files.
7. Scoring Tests and Managing Test Documents
All paper-based testing is scored at GED Testing Service designated scoring site.
Until these items are delivered, they must be stored in a secure manner similar to the GED® tests. Shipping of the tests and answer sheets must be in the Tyvek-type shipping containers and sent via the FedEx or UPS shipping service providers noted on the return packaging label. Test booklets and answer sheets cannot be scanned, copied or duplicated by the Testing Center under any circumstances.
8. Emergency Plan for Each Center
Each GED® testing center must have an emergency plan accessible to all GED Examiners™ at the test center and all addendum sites. A copy of the emergency plan must also be sent to the jurisdiction’s GED Administrator™. This emergency plan shall include written procedures and identify the personnel responsible for managing any contingency. GED Testing Service must be notified of the emergency event within seventy-two (72) hours.
GED® testing centers that do not normally use more than one GED Chief Examiner™ or GED Examiner™ per test administration must identify a qualified GED Examiner™ to be available to take over test administration in case of an unexpected event, such as sudden illness, fire alarm, or testing irregularity. If the unexpected event requires the GED Chief Examiner™ or GED Examiner™ to leave the GED® testing center, the one-hour rule may be invoked. A GED Chief Examiner™ or GED Examiner™ is permitted to suspend testing after the GED Chief Examiner™ or GED Examiner™ secures all testing materials, in order to attend to an emergency. The time at which the test is stopped must be noted. If the situation is handled within an hour or less, testing may be resumed using the same test form and the remaining time. A qualified person must monitor the testing room until the identified emergency GED Examiner™ arrives.
9. Additional Personnel for an Unexpected Event
Each official GED® testing center shall have available, on standby status, at least one additional, qualified examiner who can assist in case of a sudden illness, emergency, or test compromise.
Official GED® testing centers and addendum sites that do not normally use more than one GED Chief Examiner™ or GED Examiner™ per test administration must identify a qualified examiner available to take over test administration in case of an unexpected event. If the emergency event requires the GED Chief Examiner™ or GED Examiner™ to leave the official GED® testing center or addendum site, the one-hour rule goes into effect. A chief examiner or examiner is permitted to suspend testing and secure all testing materials, in order to attend to an emergency. If testing is suspended, a qualified person approved by the GED Chief Examiner™ or GED Examiner™ must monitor the testing room until the back-up GED Examiner™ arrives.
If the unexpected event is handled within an hour or less, testing may be resumed using the same test form and the remaining test time. Examiners should assess the situation and judge whether testing should resume based upon the nature of the incident and its effect on the candidates. If the decision is made to reschedule testing, candidates should not receive the same form as the uncompleted individual test they had been taking at the time of the unexpected event’s occurrence.*
*In order to maintain complete records, all partial tests should be scored.
10. Checklist for Evaluating an Emergency Plan for an Official GED® Testing Center
The emergency plan must list:
· Names and contact information for GED® testing center personnel.
· Back-up examiners, including contact information.
· Other key school personnel, such as security staff, principal, etc.
· GED® testing center address, including room number.
· Items in the first aid kit.
· Other emergency supplies and equipment in the test room.
· The emergency plan must include:
· Official GED® testing center and approved addendum sites.
· Consideration of the following issues concerning the transportation of the tests:
· How will the secure test materials be transported?
· Who will transport the secure test materials?
· Instructions on who will notify GED Testing Service of the emergency and how to contact them at
· Has written approval for overnight storage been received from GED Testing Service?
· Where will the secure test materials be stored?
· The emergency plan must list detailed plans as to how the following emergencies will be handled:
o Violence (upset candidate).
o Natural disasters (e.g., power outage, earthquake, weather, or fire).
o Illness (candidate or examiner).
o Hazardous waste.
o Bomb threat.
· The emergency plan must contain detailed plans as to how outside assistance will be accessed.
· Medical assistance.
· Security assistance.
· The emergency plan must have a detailed plan for incident documentation which considers the following issues:
· Who writes the report?
o Details to be included in the report.
o Whether the plan has been properly approved by the agency responsible for overseeing the GED® testing program.
o If the one-hour rule