Candidate instructions for STEP on the Mercer Mettl platform - June 2020

This document gives each candidate an outline of sitting STEP on the Mercer Mettl Platform. Every candidate must read these instructions prior to sitting STEP.

Any wording highlighted and underlined signifies an update to the candidate instructions from the demo version.

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Contents

What you will need to sit the test ............................................................................................................................. 3

Technical requirements ........................................................................................................................................... 3

Technical assistance ............................................................................................................................................... 4

Test information ....................................................................................................................................................... 4

Test timings ............................................................................................................................................................. 5

Accessing the test ................................................................................................................................................... 5

ID verification ........................................................................................................................................................... 5

Starting the test ....................................................................................................................................................... 6

Writing your answers on paper ............................................................................................................................... 7

Finishing the test ..................................................................................................................................................... 8

Uploading your answers .......................................................................................................................................... 8

Accessing your results .......................................................................................................................................... 11

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What you will need to sit the test

Before the test:

Valid photographic ID document. Acceptable IDs include, but are not limited to, passports, national identity cards, driving licences and school/college IDs. IDs must be original (not photocopies), must have a photograph and must not have expired.

Your STEP candidate number (letter S followed by 5 digits) Computer or Laptop with a webcam that meets the technical requirements below. This device

must have a microphone enabled. Plain or lined paper Black or blue pen and pencil for sketches.

Once the test has finished:

Camera, phone or scanner with a suitable connection to the internet. Alternatively, the device must have the ability to connect via USB cable to the computer you are completing the test on.

Technical requirements

Mercer Mettl Proctored Assessments are not supported on Mobile devices (e.g. Mobile phones, smartwatches, pads, tablets). The platform is supported on computer systems equipped with Windows OS (Version 7 & above) or IOS on Mac systems. Before starting the test, make sure that you have:

An internet connectivity of at least 512 kbps. An updated version of a Supported Browser installed on the system. Disabled the pop-up blocker in your browser. (Disable Pop Up Blocker) Uninstalled any third party software for the webcam. Checked the webcam is working before the test, and that you can be clearly visible during the test. Turned off chat applications (e.g. Google Talk, Yahoo Messenger, Skype, etc.), antivirus software,

auto updates, and other notifications. Browser for taking the test We would recommend the following browsers:

Browser For (Proctored test)

Chrome version Latest Version

Firefox version Latest Version

Mercer Mettl proctored assessments are not supported on Edge browsers.

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Technical assistance

For technical assistance please contact Mercer Mettl at: Email: support@mettl.com or Phone: +91 – 8287803040 Further technical guidance can be located here: https://support.mettl.com/support/solutions/articles/4000008895-candidate-s-guide-for-webcam-proctored-tests

It is recommended that you save and share screenshots of the errors that you receive, in case of any issues.

Test information

There are 12 questions in each STEP paper. Each question is marked out of 20. There is no restriction of choice. All questions attempted will be marked. Your final mark will be based on the six questions for which you gain the highest marks. You are advised to concentrate on no more than six questions. Little credit will be given for fragmentary answers. Please make sure that you scroll down to the bottom of each question to ensure that you do not miss anything. There is NO Mathematical Formulae Booklet. Calculators are not permitted. It is acceptable for you to have a mobile phone and a printed off copy of the candidate instructions easily accessible for you to upload your answers at the end of the test. This can be in the same room. Please note your mobile phone should be on SILENT and you should not touch it during the test or refer to the candidate instructions. If you do it will be considered a violation of the test procedure and this may be treated as malpractice. Water is permitted in a clear bottle with labels removed.

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Test timings

You have a total of 3 hours 45 minutes to complete the test and submit your answers and workings. (Unless you have been granted additional time.) You have 3 hours to answer the test questions (unless you have been granted additional time). You must allow 45 minutes at the end of the test to upload your answers and workings. Please be aware that working beyond 3 hours (unless you have been granted additional time) will be flagged as malpractice. Candidates are responsible for managing their own time. However, the remote proctor will remind you to check the time to ensure you stop writing at the correct time and start to upload your answers. After 3 hours 45 minutes the test session will close (unless you have been granted additional time). You will not be allowed to access the test to upload answers or workings after this time.

Accessing the test

You should receive an email from admin@mettl.com for participation in the test. Please do check your spam and junk folders if you are not able to locate the email from admin@mettl.com in your inbox.

You must click on the “Start Test” button available in the email to start the test. On clicking the link, you may be asked to install the extension “Mettl Tests: Enable Screen Sharing”. Please install the extension. You will also be asked to allow access to your microphone and camera. Please allow this access as the test will not be allowed to start otherwise.

The e-mail sent also has a “Check System Compatibility” link, to ensure that the system/network being used for the test meets the basic criteria to start the test on the Mercer Mettl platform.

ID verification

During the set-up process, Mercer Mettl will need to carry out an identity authorisation process.

You will be directed to a page where you will need to provide a snapshot of your face and ID document one by one. In step 1 of this process you must capture a snapshot of your face. In step 2, you must capture a snapshot of your photographic identity document.

Once you have submitted your face and ID snapshot you will be held in a queue whilst your details are authorised. This could take up to approximately 15 minutes.

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Starting the test

Once authorised, you will be shown a pop-up stating that the test session will be monitored. You will need to give your approval for this. To start the test you should click “Proceed to Test”. The designated proctor will monitor your progress of the test and the activities on your laptop screen in real-time. In the event that the proctor believes that you have done some suspicious activity, the proctor may issue a warning and pause your exam. They will then ask you to provide additional information such as a 360 degree view of the exam surroundings. If you receive more than two warnings from the live proctor, it will be deemed that you have resorted to unfair practices and it will be reported to Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing. Please be aware of the following points to avoid such warnings from the proctor. 1. There should be no one around you or no one talking to you while you are taking the test. 2. Please ensure that there are no loud noises or disturbances of any kind. 3. You will not be allowed to browse the internet or use any electronic devices (e.g. mobile phones,

tablets) during the test. You will be allowed to use your mobile phone for answer upload. 4. Do not read the questions aloud. 5. This is a closed book test; you cannot refer to any study/reference material. 6. Keep a check on your proctor chat window. Proctors try to reach you only for important messages. 7. Do not press the “F5” key while taking the test as this will make the test end suddenly and you will

not be able to continue the test. 8. Please ensure all notifications and pop-ups are disabled before you start the test to avoid the

computer screen navigating away from the online test window. 9. Please make sure there is enough light on your face and you do not move away from the test

screen. Your face must not be covered or blocked by any object, including a mug or your hands while taking the test. If these instances were to occur, they will be recorded as a red flag for “face not visible”.

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Writing your answers on paper

You will see all of the STEP questions on your screen. Answers will need to be written by hand on paper and uploaded to the Mercer Mettl platform at the end of the test. You must include the following information on your papers:

At the top of each page you should write clearly your STEP candidate number (letter S followed by 5 digits), the question number, and the page number for that question.

For example: S##### Q1 P1, S##### Q1 P2, etc.

S##### Q5 P1, S##### Q5 P2, etc.

You must NOT include any personal details, such as your name, on your answers.

Write your answers on one side of the paper only.

You should cross out all rough work but this should be submitted.

Crossed out work will not be assessed. If you cross out work and subsequently decide you wish to have it marked, you must indicate this clearly by writing “please mark this work”.

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Finishing the test

Once the countdown timer hits 45 minutes, you must stop answering questions and start uploading your answers as per the instructions below. Important: You MUST NOT click “Finish Test” until you have uploaded all of your answers. Only at this point can you click “Finish Test”.

Uploading your answers

You will have 45 minutes to upload your answers and workings. The simplest way to upload your answer for each of the questions is to do the following:

1. Take photos of the pages of your answers You will need to take a picture of each page of answers and upload it to the relevant question. This can be done using a camera, phone or scanner. Documents can be uploaded using the below file types:

It might be that you need to email these photos from your phone to the PC/laptop. Alternatively, you can connect your phone via a USB cable to enable you to access the photos and move them to the folder you have created.

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2. Save the photos according to the below guidelines The images of your STEP answers must be named using the following convention: “STEP candidate number_question number_image number” e.g. S12345_Q1_1 S12345_Q1_2 If your answer to a question is just 1 page, name it using the above convention (e.g. S12345_Q1_1) and then upload straight to the system. There is no need to create a folder. If you have multiple pages for an answer, these must be saved in a folder. Name that folder using the following convention: “STEP candidate number_question number” e.g. S12345_Q1 The folder must then be zipped before uploading to the Mettl platform. Example of accepted scan:

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3. Convert folder to a zip file You should be able to right click on your folder and select the send to compressed zipped folder option as outlined below in the photo: This should create a STEP Questions 1 zip file that can then be uploaded or dragged and dropped into the relevant answer box.

On a Mac it might look this this instead:

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4. Upload the zip file into the answer box on the right hand side for the relevant question

Accessing your results

The results release day is Thursday 13th August 2020.

You can access your results by logging into Metritests. This is the account you set up during part 2 of the registration process.

Please note, there are no results enquiries or appeals this year only.

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