On-screen tests

OCR offers on-screen, on-demand assessment for Functional Skills at Levels 1 and 2 for ICT. Please refer to the Functional Skills qualification pages for more information on the structure and contents of qualifications.

This page explains how to prepare for and run these on-screen tests, including running practice tests.

To offer OCR on-screen tests, you need to be approved and set up to use the on-screen test system, Surpass.

1. To become an approved centre, complete the vocational qualification approval form.
2. To confirm you can use the on-screen test system, check your computers meet the minimum system requirements for running Surpass. For Functional Skills, the requirements for the Surpass Platform apply to the administration site and the requirements for Web Delivery apply to test delivery.
   
3. We’ll set up your centre in Surpass and you’ll receive a link to activate your account
4. To log in and get started, you’ll need to set up your account.

Once your centre is approved and set up in Surpass you can create your candidates within the on-screen test system. You do not need to make entries in Interchange. Make sure you associate your candidates with all the HTML subjects they will be taking when they are created.

To sit a test, each candidate must be scheduled in Surpass.

The Functional Skills live tests are available in fortnightly windows and candidates must be scheduled within a window and not across windows. Point 9 in the FAQs document explains how to recognise if you have scheduled across windows. 

You can schedule tests using the schedule test wizard. 

For every schedule created, one or more records are added to the Schedule screen. These will be locked 24 hours before the start date. Once locked, a keycode is created for each scheduled candidate. You can view keycodes in the Invigilate screen. The candidates need to enter their keycodes to start their test and a PIN may optionally be used.

Before any test sitting the room should be set up and the equipment prepared taking the OCR instructions for conducting exams (OCR ICE) into account.

During the test sitting, the invigilator can monitor the candidate’s progress from the Invigilate screen in Surpass from where it is possible to: 

• Set or remove a PIN
• Modify the test duration (up to 25% extra) for candidates requiring reasonable adjustments
  
• Print an invigilation pack and keycode slips
  
• View the status (Ready, Downloaded, In Progress, Finished) of tests and ensure no tests are left in Awaiting Upload status
  
• Pause and resume tests in an emergency. 

Practice tests allow you to become familiar with the assessments and give candidates an idea of the type of questions they may face in a live test. 

The practice tests can be delivered in two ways for Functional Skills:

• Anonymously in a browser from the following links – The test can only be used by the candidate to familiarise themselves with the type of questions they may face in a live test. The file upload functionality cannot be used, and the tests cannot be marked or provide feedback:
  • Level 1 ICT practice test 
  • Level 2 ICT practice test
• Scheduled within Surpass – The practice test is scheduled for a candidate and sat in a browser in the same way as a live test. A candidate can sit the test in preparation for their live test and their responses can be marked by a teacher to generate a result. After this, the teacher can view the result reports to see how well a student has performed in each area.

For Functional Skills, the new tests use HTML web delivery and are sat in a browser. As such an Internet connection is required throughout the test. 

The Enter Keycode screen can be accessed in any of the following ways: 

• Browse to the Launch Test screen, select English (UK) from the Choose language list and select Launch. 
• Browse to the HTML Delivery screen. 
• Browse to the Take a Test screen. 

With the Enter Keycode screen open the candidate enters their keycode and confirms their details. They can read the instructions and then start the test.

The candidate navigates through the test, accessing any linked source material, data files, and uploading worked files as required by the test. The time remaining is displayed at the top of the screen and warnings pop up at five and 15 minutes remaining. 

The candidate can finish the test before the time expires or it will finish automatically when the time expires.

The tests show with a finished status in the Invigilate screen. Any practice tests sat will be available in the Mark screen for a teacher to mark. Any live tests sat will be available for an examiner to mark.

The results of all live and practice Functional Skills tests that are marked by a teacher are available to view in the Results screen in Surpass. Results will not be available for practice tests that are not marked by a teacher. 

The live tests sat in each fortnightly window go through an awarding process to set the appropriate grade boundaries. As such, the results will take between 17 and 27 days to release.

Several reports including unofficial result slips for all tests and detailed feedback can be generated in the Results screen. 

All achievements and candidate marks (which are not available within Surpass) can be viewed in Interchange.

The frequently asked questions document has been updated for the new ICT tests using HTML web delivery.