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Some VEs believe that they would be compromising the system if they opened the package of test materials before Test Day. Actually, the opposite is true! Please don't wait until the last minute to go through the materials. Finding out only then that you have a problem with inadequate quantities or missing materials leaves the ARRL/VEC office no time to correct the problem. Check the supplies at least three days before the exam--then should an emergency arise the ARRL/VEC can hopefully still get correct supplies to you (overnight delivery if necessary) before test day.
How Much To Order Experience will dictate how many of each item you need. The Technician class and General class exams are the most popular. If you require pre-registration and do not allow walk-ins, then you will know exactly how many candidates you will have, although you will still need to estimate the number to provide proper advance notice and request for supplies to the ARRL/VEC. If it turns out you need extra supplies, you can always order them giving ARRL/VEC as much notice as possible. Real Life Experience Box Our VE Team requires pre-registration and we publicize that no walk-ins will be accepted, so we know how many candidates we will have, and can plan accordingly. As a practical matter, however, once our pre-registered examinees are served, we do accommodate walk-ins to the extent we can. We keep this in mind when ordering supplies. Our rule of thumb is to estimate how many candidates we will serve, and then pad the amount of supplies we think we will need. For example, if we expect 10 candidates, then we double that number and order 20 of each exam element, answer sheets, Form 605s, CSCEs et cetera. – K1CE, FPCARC VE TEAM LIAISON.
Photocopying Exams and 605 Forms When You've Run Out Often, it is difficult for teams to estimate the quantities of exam elements that will be needed for an upcoming test session. When teams do run out of test materials, VE Teams may photocopy NCVEC Form 605, written test booklets, answer sheets, etc, to meet the immediate needs of the test session. After the test session, unless the team is field stocked, all used and unused test materials are to be returned to the VEC, including all leftover photocopied test booklets. Remember that only the ARRL/VEC CSCEs may not be copied (because they are a four-part NCR carbon form). Therefore, make sure to order an ample amount of CSCEs for your use.
Making Your Own Exams The ARRL/VEC permits its VEs to make their own examinations if they so choose. To make exam assembly easier, however, the ARRL/VEC provides VEs with computer software that simplifies this task. ExamWin Software is available for download on the ARRL VEC Web at www.arrl.org/arrlvec/examwin/. For additional information see the “Exam Administration Software” section in Chapter 4. Real Life Experience Box Our VE Team has prepared a computer application capable of doing multiple jobs to reduce errors and processing time. We have the Form 605, the Answer Sheet, the Session Roster, the Test Session Report and even the CSCEs (Spanish and English) in our computer. The program we use enables us to automate forms filling and data management and allows us to quickly turn paper forms into digital forms, or to create new digital forms from scratch. The results are excellent, zero errors and it cuts our session administration time in half! We also allow candidates to pre-register via the Internet. We have a preregistration form on our Web page where candidates can reserve a seat at our next ARRL/VEC test session. When a seat is reserved, we prepare all the documents ahead of time and have them ready for the candidate upon arrival. We complete the forms on screen and instantly print them. This helps make our exam process simple and accurate! – KP4PQ, PRARL VE TEAM LIAISON
ARRL VE Manual - 9th Edition