ASTRA Ready — Candidate Handbook

1. The credentials

2. Who can sit an examination

• Anyone aged 18 or over may register.
• Completing an ASTRA Ready programme is not required. You may sit the examination directly.
• You may sit the Advisor examination without holding the Associate credential.
• Examination objectives for each level are published on the certification pages. Every question is based on a published objective.

3. Booking

4. Identity and conduct

• Before you start: you show a photo ID and take a live photo, and you give consent. You need a working webcam and must share your entire screen.
• At the start: a short calibration of about 30 seconds learns your normal position, lighting and glasses, so the checks are fair to you. You also show the room with your webcam.
• During the examination: software running on your own computer checks for signs such as no face visible, a different face, more than one person, looking away for long periods, leaving the examination tab or full-screen mode, copy and paste, and sustained speech. If something looks wrong you get an on-screen prompt first.
• What is saved: continuous video is not uploaded. If a check is triggered, a clip of about 20 seconds around that moment and a screenshot of the examination window are saved. A low-resolution webcam still is also saved about once a minute. Between the stages of a staged case you may be asked to show the room again.
• On screen: your candidate ID appears as a watermark. Examination content is confidential.
• After the examination: a trained person reviews any sitting with flags. The AI never fails or penalises anyone on its own; a person always decides. A random sample of unflagged sittings is also checked.
• You will see any flags on your sitting, and you can explain them or appeal under section 10.
• Images and clips are kept for 90 days, or until any review or appeal is closed, and then deleted.
• Examination data itself is also checked for unusual patterns, for example answers given far faster than reading time allows. These are flags for a person to review, never decisions.
• Accommodations: if you need to look away from the screen, use assistive technology or take breaks, request an accommodation under section 9 and the checks are adjusted for you.

1. The examination is closed book: no notes, websites, AI tools or other people.
2. An on-screen calculator is provided where a question needs one. You may not use your own calculator or any other device.
3. Do not copy, photograph, record, share or discuss examination content. Examination content is confidential.
4. You must sit the examination yourself, using your own account and name.
5. Breaking these rules may lead to a result being withheld or cancelled, a credential being revoked, and a ban from future examinations.

5. During the examination

• Question types: single choice; select exactly the stated number; match each row; put steps in order; enter a number. Each scored question is worth one point. There is no negative marking and no partial credit.
• Cases: each case gives you evidence such as documents, logs, price sheets and messages. Answer only from the evidence given. Organisations and figures are fictional.
• Staged cases: some cases release new evidence in stages. Before you continue you will be warned that you cannot return to the previous stage and that unanswered questions in it will score zero. Ordinary cases can be revisited until you submit.
• Answer order is shuffled for each candidate.
• The clock starts when the first case is delivered to you. The system check, consent, calibration and room scan do not use examination time. The clock keeps running if you leave the page. Answers save automatically. When time runs out, all saved answers are submitted.
• No feedback is shown during the examination.
• Technical problems: if you lose connection, sign in again and resume. Your saved answers and remaining time are kept. If a problem stops you finishing, contact support within 24 hours.

6. Results

• The pass mark for each examination is set by ASTRA Ready from examination evidence and a documented review. It is not a fixed percentage.
• You will see your result, Pass or Not yet passed, and your overall score.
• Domain-level feedback is shown once it has been validated as reliable.
• Beta candidates: beta results are held until the pass mark is set. A beta candidate who passes at the final pass mark receives the credential free of charge.

7. Retakes

• You may sit each examination up to 3 times in any rolling 12-month period.
• After a sitting that is not passed, you must wait 14 days before sitting again.
• Each attempt uses a different examination paper where one is available.
• Every voucher includes one free retake. After that, a further attempt needs a new voucher.

8. Your credential

• Credentials are valid for 3 years from the date of issue.
• To renew, pass the examination that is current at the time of renewal. There is no continuing-education renewal route.
• Each credential has a unique ID and a public verification page showing your name, the credential, the issue date, the valid-until date and the status: Valid, Expired, Replaced or Revoked.
• If a certificate is reissued, for example to correct a name, the old ID shows Replaced and links to the current one. Reissue does not extend validity.

9. Accommodations

10. Appeals and complaints

11. Your examination data

12. Cancellations and refunds

13. Contact