ACCA (the Associationof Chartered Certified Accountants) is delighted to announce a new agreementwith Pearson VUE for the provision of computer based testing (CBT) acrossACCA’s Fundamentals Skills Level (F5-F9) exams.
 
　　F5-F9exams will start their transition to CBT towards the end of 2016, with studentsinitially having the choice of CBT or paper exams. ACCA has agreed withlearning providers and employers that any changes being introduced across theACCA Qualification will be phased, ensuring they, and students, have time toadapt to the changes.
 
　　PearsonVUE’s experience in delivering CBT is renowned worldwide and is therefore theideal partner for ACCA in terms of providing a secure and robust exam offering.Additionally the agreement enables ACCA to customise its computer based exams(CBEs) to ensure the continued rigour for which ACCA is known. The F5-F9 examswill continue to have the longer questions in exams that test a student’sability to apply their knowledge. For these question types there will continueto be expert human-marking.
 
　　HelenBrand OBE, chief executive of ACCA, said: 'ACCA first introduced CBT for theFundamental Knowledge exams in 1998 and this agreement with Pearson VUErepresents the next stage in ACCA’s transition, ensuring the ACCA Qualificationremains relevant to today’s business environment.'
 
　　BobWhelan, managing director of Pearson VUE, said: 'This exciting new partnershipwill allow ACCA to realise its global digital ambitions and deliver assessmentswhich reflect the real-life experience of modern day accounting professionals.'
 
　　Aspart of the new assessments for F5-F9, ACCA will be able to test students’knowledge and skills in a way that more accurately reflects real-life workplacescenarios and activities. ACCA has an established approach to exam development,assessing students on both their knowledge and the application of thatknowledge. This approach to exam development and the continued focus on rigourand application makes ACCA a first choice qualification for employersworldwide.
 
　　ACCAselected Pearson VUE to deliver its CBT exam programme because it offers acomplete solution including test development tools, a registration andscheduling platform, test centre management tools and a full reporting service.Pearson VUE is providing its ExamDeveloper software to enable ACCA to write newcontent for the exams. This includes the authoring of advanced question typesthat test higher order skills and abilities and are more relevant to the accountancysector.
 
　　PearsonVUE is also providing its test centre management applications to allow ACCA tomanage the delivery of tests through its own network of test centres. Thisincludes Pearson VUE’s Athena test driver where test papers are fully encryptedup to the point of delivery, improving security.
 
　　F5-F9exams will be available during scheduled windows in March, June, September andDecember. Practice tests will also be offered to students, providing studentswith detailed contextual feedback to provide the best preparation for theexams.