Preparing for your exam
Pre-exam support
This page provides practical information and guidance to help you feel prepared and confident going into your exam. Familiarise yourself with our digital test platform below and find out how to apply for access arrangements or to sit your exam remotely by selecting the relevant menu tab.
Can’t find what you’re looking for? Our team is on hand to help.
Information about your exams
Kaplan Professional Awards (KPA) qualifications are assessed in a number of ways; you may need to complete a written project, or sit a computer-based examination (CBE), for example. You can find out how the unit you are currently studying is assessed by visiting the relevant Qualification page and downloading the full specification.
What will your computer-based exams look like?
For computer-based examinations, KPA designs and administers examinations using RM's Assessment Master digital test platform. This intuitive, cloud-based platform allows us to provide:
- Assistive technologies to improve the accessibility of your exam, such as changes to background and font size
- Quality-assured marking, combining human expertise and technically enabled computer marking
- Better data security as exam papers, candidate details and results are digitally stored with access restricted to the appropriate people
Take a look at the images below to familiarise yourself with the look and feel of the KPA test platform before sitting your exam.
Where will I sit my exam?
You can sit your exam at any approved KPA test centre. If you are self-studying, you can find your local test centre and contact us to book your examination. If you are studying with a training centre, you may be able to sit your exam here, and should speak to your tutor in the first instance.
If you would like to sit your exam remotely, you can request to do so via your training centre or by contacting us. In order to sit your exams remotely, your home set-up must meet our system requirements.
Fees
You can view the assessment fee for your chosen qualification on the relevant qualification page.
If you have any queries about what this fee covers, contact us at: kpaenquiries@kaplan.co.uk
Accessibility
We are committed to ensuring that our exams are accessible to all learners. Our developers design KPA qualifications and assessments with this in mind, incorporating clean layouts and clear language within a flexible digital test platform.
In addition, if you have any disabilities or temporary injuries, you can apply for specific access arrangements to support you during your exam. Learn more about access arrangements, or view our full policy.
Access arrangements
It is important to us that all candidates are able to access their KPA exams. Our access arrangements policy aims to remove any barriers to assessment that might prevent a candidate from demonstrating their competence.
You can learn more about access arrangements below, including how to make an application.
What are access arrangements?
Access arrangements are pre-exam arrangements made on behalf of a candidate with particular needs, for example the use of a scribe, supervised rest breaks or extra time.
The intention behind an access arrangement is to meet the particular needs of an individual candidate without affecting the integrity and demand of the assessment.
Examples of special needs can include, but are not limited to, having a specific learning difficulty (SpLD), short-term or long-term impairment, disability or health condition, being pregnant, breastfeeding or needing to observe daily prayers.
Am I entitled to access arrangements?
If you have any disabilities, injuries or commitments that might impact upon your daily activities, for example temporary or long-term health conditions, pregnancy, breastfeeding or daily prayer, then you may be entitled to reasonable adjustments for your exam, and you can apply for access arrangements.
The Equality Act 2010 definition of disability is a physical or mental impairment that has a 'substantial' and 'long-term' negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities. Examples include persistent and significant difficulty in reading, understanding written material in your native language, concentrating or following simple verbal instructions. These impairments are considered ‘long-term’ if they have existed for at least twelve months, or are likely to do so.
How can I apply for access arrangements?
Requests for access arrangements can be made by logging into MyKPA portal or by emailing kpaenquiries@kaplan.co.uk no later than the closing date for entry on to the respective exam session. When applying for access arrangements please include the following information with your request:
- A covering letter explaining why you are applying for access arrangements
- In the case of SpLD (specific learning difference), a formal diagnostic report relating to your SpLD (please see section 3 in our policy for a full list of report requirements)
- A completed medical statement for access arrangements, to include:
- Your name, date of the assessment
- A description of your condition(s) and its effects on your physical and/or mental functioning
- Access arrangement recommendations for the exam (for example, extra time, use of a reader, scribe or personal assistant)
- Period of time or exam session that the recommendations cover
- Date of the statement, doctor’s name, address and stamp
- Any additional supporting evidence that will help us consider your application, for example from your employer or tuition provider
What happens next?
If your application for access arrangements is successful, then you will be entitled to have ‘reasonable adjustments’ made to ensure that your exam is fully accessible to you.
Once your application is completed and approved, a member of our team will make the necessary arrangements with your test centre and contact you to confirm the details and answer any questions you may have. This will happen at least five working days before your exam date.
Where a reasonable adjustment has been put in place, you will be required to confirm that you agree with the adjustment and by sitting your exam you indicate that you have accepted the adjustments made. We always aim to fully meet the needs of our candidates, but where we are not able to provide an adjustment in line with your request for access, you will be informed of our decision and presented with options to continue, defer or withdraw from the exam.
Kaplan Assessments is a proud member of Cognassist Neuro-inclusion Charter.
