The OWA is easy to administer. Clients are set up with an administrator account where they have complete control in managing the assessment of their candidates.
Assess writing in 5 easy steps
- Clients sign up to the OWA and log into their online account (user guide provided).
- Clients select the appropriate writing prompt(s).
- Candidate logins are created and can be distributed at any time.
- Candidates sit the OWA assessment (test supervision is recommended).
- Candidate reports are avaliable for download immediately upon completion of the assessment.
Candidate journey
- Candidates log in to the OWA assessment using their unique username and password.
- Candidates complete the assessment. Prompts and stimuli are displayed on screen and writing is completed in a writing response pane.
- No specialist or prior knowledge is requried to complete the tasks. Candidates are required to complete two writing tasks for different purposes.
- Scripts are then sent to be automatically marked using the latest Intellimetric® essay scoring technology.
- Candidates log out of the assessment platform.
The OWA user guide provides helpful information for:
- setting up accounts
- generating and allocating usernames and passwords
- setting up test sessions
- conducting the assessment
- downloading candidate reports
- general troubleshooting
ACER also provides helpdesk support during regular business hours (9am - 5pm AEST).
Optional data analysis and interpretation services are also available for clients (additional fees apply).
Assessment features
- Assessments can be timed. The recommended time for vocational learners/students is 20 minutes to complete both tasks. For higher education students and employees, the recommended time to complete both writing tasks is 70 minutes. This comprises of 5 minutes reading time and 30 minutes writing time for each task.
- Test supervisor manuals are provided.
- Automatic spell and grammar checks are disabled in the text response pane (as candidates are assessed on Spelling, Sentences and Grammar).