Posted 12/04/2017

NCTA Drafts Letter to Congress Regarding Test Security in Online Courses

The Governing Council, along with several NCTA members, has completed the work of drafting a petition to the United States Congress’ Committee on Education and the Workforce as well as the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions to alter the current wording of the Higher Education Act (HEA) specifically as it pertains to test security in online courses.  We have asked that the committees revise the requirements for test taker identification in online courses.  Currently, the law allows for a username and password to be one of the allowable methods institutions can use to verify the identity of a test taker.  As all of you are aware, usernames and passwords can be easily shared and are not a guarantee of test taker identity.  The NCTA is part of a larger group of organizations within the testing industry, including the Association of Test Publishers and several testing companies, which are committed to improving alignment with industry-developed best practices and improving the security of assessment within online courses.  The NCTA remains a committed advocate for the testing industry and will continue to keep the membership apprised as the situation evolves.

Actual Letter >>