How we certify
Version 1.0 · 7 October 2026 · Issued by ASTRA Ready
An ASTRA Ready credential is only worth what the people reading it can trust. This page sets out, in plain terms, how our examinations are built, who decides the pass mark, how a sitting is supervised, what a credential attests and how anyone can check one. It will be updated whenever any part changes, with the version and date shown above.
1. What a credential attests
A credential attests that the holder passed an ASTRA Ready examination of commercial judgement about cloud, security and AI solutions at the named level. It does not certify technical engineering or security skills, performance in a specific job, or accreditation by an external body. We do not promise employment, income or sales results.
2. Separation of learning and certification
The programme (lessons, practice sets, simulations and the mock examination) and the certification examination are built, stored and operated separately. Programme content is disclosed and explained; examination papers are confidential and never shown in learning materials. No learner is required to buy the programme to sit the examination.
3. Published objectives and blueprint
Every examination question is written to a published objective. The objectives, domain weights, question counts, case counts and time limits for each credential are on the certification pages and in the Candidate Handbook:
- ASTRA Tech Sales Associate: 48 questions across 8 cases, 120 minutes.
- ASTRA Tech Sales Advisor: 56 questions across 8 cases, 120 minutes.
- ASTRA Cybersecurity Sales Specialist: 40 questions across 7 cases, 100 minutes.
Question types are single choice, select exactly the stated number, match each row, put steps in order, and enter a number. Each question is worth one point; there is no negative marking.
4. How questions are written
Each examination has at least three complete papers so that no candidate sits the same paper twice. Every paper is built to the same blueprint: the same number of questions per domain, the same mix of question types, and at least one staged case that releases evidence in stages. All organisations, people and figures in cases are fictional; names are checked against a register so none repeats across lessons, practice, mocks or papers. Before a paper is approved it passes a written audit for objective coverage, blueprint match, key accuracy and answer-option balance, and the audit record is kept.
5. How the pass mark is set
The pass mark is not a fixed percentage. It is set for each paper using a modified Angoff method: a panel of at least three people, including two reviewers independent of ASTRA Ready's content authors, defines the "just-qualified candidate", rates every question blind, reviews beta evidence (percentage correct, discrimination and timing per question), re-rates, and records the resulting cut score. Any question that beta evidence shows to be faulty is removed from scoring for every candidate on that paper before the cut score is set. Each paper has its own cut score so that a harder paper has a lower pass mark and candidates are treated equally. The decision record is signed and retained. Pass marks are reviewed every six months or after 100 sittings, whichever comes first.
6. The beta
Before any credential is issued, each examination runs as a beta with invited candidates who sit free of charge. Beta results are held until the pass mark is set; beta candidates who pass at the final pass mark receive the credential free. Beta data is used only in anonymised form for standard setting and question review.
7. Supervision
Examinations are sat from home with privacy-first AI-assisted supervision. Checks run on the candidate's own computer. Continuous video is not uploaded; a short clip and a screenshot are saved only when a check is triggered, with a low-resolution still about once a minute. Every flagged sitting is reviewed by a trained person; a random sample of unflagged sittings is also reviewed. The software never fails or penalises anyone on its own: a person always decides. Candidates see any flags on their sitting and can explain or appeal them. Images and clips are deleted after 90 days or when any review or appeal closes.
8. Identity and conduct
Candidates show photo ID and take a live photo before starting, share their full screen, and complete a short calibration and room scan. The examination is closed book. Breaches may lead to a withheld or cancelled result, a revoked credential, and a ban from future examinations. The rules are in the Candidate Handbook, section 4.
9. Results, retakes and appeals
Candidates see Pass or Not yet passed and their overall score. Each voucher includes one free retake after a 14-day wait, with a different paper where available; at most three attempts per examination in any rolling 12 months. A result review (14 days), an item challenge (7 days) and an appeal against a misconduct decision (14 days) are available; the Appeals and complaints policy sets out the steps and who decides. If a challenged question is found faulty, it is removed from scoring for everyone who sat that paper and results are recalculated.
10. Credentials and verification
Each credential carries a short ID (for example ASC-2026-XXXXXX), is valid for three years, and has a public record showing the holder's name, the credential, the issue date, the valid-until date and the status: Valid, Expired, Replaced or Revoked. Anyone can check a credential at astraready.com/verify with the ID and the holder's surname. A reissued credential keeps its history: the old ID shows Replaced and points to the new one. Renewal is by passing the current examination; there is no continuing-education route.
11. Independent review
ASTRA Ready is establishing a Certification Advisory Board of practitioners and assessment specialists, independent of the content authors, to review the blueprint, the standard-setting method and outcomes, and the framework cross-references. Members are named on the Advisory Board page once confirmed. Members do not write examination content and do not sell ASTRA Ready programmes.
12. Transparency commitments
- From the first standard-setting round: an annual Examination and Standards Report covering candidate counts, the standard-setting method and panel, question statistics where meaningful, appeals and outcomes, security incidents and paper versions.
- Framework cross-references: where we map examination objectives to external frameworks, we publish the mapping with the framework version, the relationship for each objective and the review date, and we describe it as a mapping, never as approval, accreditation or certification by that body.
- Accreditation: ASTRA Ready is not accredited by any external body. We are designing our certification operation against ISO/IEC 17024 and will seek accreditation once we have the operating evidence it requires. We will say so here when, and only when, it is awarded.
13. Versions
This page is versioned. Changes to the blueprint, pass-mark method, supervision rules or credential terms are announced here with the date, and candidates with an active voucher are told by email.