Access to the EODA is included within your centre membership to The Exams Office although you will need to register on the EODA site to access the accreditation from 2023 onwards.
The EODA also forms a key part of the proposed Exams Officer Professional Standards (Standards) which the National Association of Examinations Officers (NAEO) is launching in 2023. The NAEO has formally endorsed the EODA by the inclusion of its logo within the online certificate and as the formal measurement of one of the key elements of the Standards – confirmation of an exams officer’s knowledge and understanding of exam regulations.
By successfully completing the EODA on an annual basis you will be confirming to senior leaders within your centre, and key stakeholders such as the JCQ and its member awarding bodies, that you possess a strong knowledge and understanding of the key regulations associated with the management, administration and conducting of examinations. This is a key element of qualifying an individual to undertake the role of exams officer within a centre.
There are also aspects of the role which are centre specific and cannot be covered by an online assessment. Therefore, the use of the term 'accreditation' rather than 'qualification' is more appropriate, as this assessment will:
Recognise an individual as being qualified to perform the functions relating to the exams officer role as defined by the JCQ, the awarding bodies and Ofqual.
Raise the status of the role within the education sector.
Support heads of centre in ensuring that the integrity and security of examinations is maintained within their centres.
As the EODA is updated on an academic year basis to reflect any regulation changes/updates to JCQ publications, exams officers should complete the accreditation on an annual basis to confirm an up-to-date knowledge of current regulations.
The total number of questions to be answered is 100 in a maximum time period of 1 hour as follows:
10 questions, maximum time allocation 6 minutes
24 questions, maximum time allocation 13 minutes
10 questions, maximum time allocation 6 minutes
8 questions, maximum time allocation 5 minutes
8 questions, maximum time allocation 5 minutes
8 questions, maximum time allocation 5 minutes
8 questions, maximum time allocation 5 minutes
8 questions, maximum time allocation 5 minutes
8 questions, maximum time allocation 5 minutes
8 questions, maximum time allocation 5 minutes
Questions are selected randomly from a bank of questions.
To support the ‘open book’ approach, a reference is provided within each question which signposts to the relevant JCQ publication, or section of the publication, available within the Exams Office area of the JCQ website.
Some users may find they complete a section in less time than allocated. A user may choose to revisit questions/responses (by selecting < Back) or exit by selecting Finish Test.
On exit, a user is asked to confirm finish test messages then given close browser instruction. The Action column shows as ‘In Progress’ until the result is issued. If successful, the Status column shows COMPLETED. If unsuccessful, this shows as INCOMPLETE and the test will have to be scheduled and taken again, when the user is ready.
Where a user may not complete a section within the allocated time period, a Time Expired message will be displayed. The test will have to be scheduled and taken again when the user is ready.
Tests can be taken as many times as required, and at the user’s own pace, until a Pass (full marks) is achieved.
The EODA can only be certificated when a Pass (full marks) has been achieved across all ten sections.
Note: Completion of the current EODA must take place by the end of July.
The accreditation is deactivated during August to allow review and update in accordance with JCQ publications for the new academic year. The EODA is re-launched early in each new academic year (subject to the issue of all relevant updated JCQ publications).