... and what time is given to candidates to respond to test tasks? Are candidates disadvantaged in any way by the timing of test delivery?

ELPAC candidates are given adequate time to read and listen to rubrics, instructions and test items, to listen to the test scripts, to respond to the items and finally to review the responses before the test automatically moves on to the next task. Air traffic control is a time driven profession with procedures and communications logically ordered and sequenced in time. To reflect this, candidates always know what information they are listening for before the information is presented, and responses are given in the order that information appears in the scripts. The ELPAC sample test on www.elpacsample.info contains the same pauses and preparation times as real test versions and candidates are encouraged to take the sample test in order to become familiar with the test format.

In particular, how far does responding to Paper 1 (Listening Comprehension) of ELPAC rely on a candidate′s secondary skills or knowledge which are not assessed, such as reading, writing and spelling?

Item responses in Paper 1 are limited to alpha-numeric data or very short answers, thus reading and writing skills do not interfere with item response. Paper 1 is marked in part automatically, in part by trained human clerical markers. Human markers of Paper 1 are assisted by marking sheets to maintain objectivity; spelling errors are acceptable so long as the meaning of responses is clear.

In the trialling process, the development team used two methods of determining the difficulty of items and thus helping to ensure test equivalence and stability:

Firstly, standard setting sessions were conducted whereby trained personnel were invited to sit Paper 1 and then asked to decide the level of difficulty of each item presented. Secondly, items were subject to statistical analyses which disclose levels of difficulty and determine the usefulness and effectiveness of test items. The results of the qualitative and quantitative data then influenced the production of final versions of the test. Item-writing and trialling is an ongoing process in the maintenance of ELPAC, with new items being trialled as a part of live test administration.

More information can be found on www.elpac.info under "Final test construction" and "ELPAC validation".

Due to issues of human sensitivity and security, and the length of a typical R/T dialogue, it is problematic to use authentic radio-telephony scripts. The scripts for Paper 1 of ELPAC are based on transcriptions of authentic air traffic control recordings. Scripts are standardised for length, audio and linguistic quality and sanitised to remove sensitive references found in real communications, although the scripts do refer to real places, airspace and operators (airports, FIRs and airlines). The scripts are recorded by EUROCONTROL personnel.

The authenticity of the recordings is maintained in that grammatical errors occur in the scripts which are representative of the use of English by the international community. Furthermore, the voices found in the re-recorded scripts represent a variety of international accents which are considered acceptable to the international aviation community, and typical of those found within the test population and to which the test population are exposed

At the request of Eurocontrol Member States the ELPAC test has to test both ICAO levels 4 and 5. Some transmissions and associated test questions are designed to test listening comprehension at ICAO level 5 and thus they are longer and more complex. It should not be surprising that many controllers (at level 4) will have some difficulty with the level 5 items in ELPAC (mostly, but not exclusively, in Parts 5 and 6).

You do not have to be “good at typing” to answer the test questions. The short answer questions (parts 3, 5 and 6) require an answer of 1 or 2, maximum 4 words. As a candidate you are told in the instructions that you do not have to write full sentences. The sample version of the test shows suggested responses which should help you to understand how much is required for an answer.

Also, the questions are spaced in such a way that you should finish typing the answer before hearing the information necessary for the next question. There is time to read the questions before the recording starts and then you listen out for the information you need in order to answer the test questions. You are not controlling the airspace, you are not making any co-ordination, you are just being tested for your listening comprehension - whether you can understand 3, respectively 5, pieces of information per transmission.

We would still recommend you take the sample test a few times to familiarise yourself with the test structure and thus minimise the effect of the test method.

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No, all test parts in all test versions are being checked for bias. It has been statistically proven that the transmissions used in the ELPAC Paper 1 do not disadvantage a particular group of controllers. Paper 1 tests listening comprehension, not knowledge of ATC procedures or ability to control. No matter whether you are a TWR, APP or ENR controller you should be able to understand the communications provided you have sufficient language proficiency in English.

In theory yes, on a CD-ROM. But development costs would be high and security is a major issue. Only one test version at a time could be produced and any changes would require a new CD.

Current test development is concentrated on continuing to produce more on-line versions.  

For the moment ELPAC is available to all Eurocontrol Member States from one protected data base (using 3 isolated servers). There are some concerns among individual States over data protection rights and these will be discussed with individual ANSPs regarding national regulations pertaining to the protection of data.

ELPAC test data is accessed through an independent server with a triple layer security system. Login procedures are user name and password protected. Data relating to candidate profile and test performance is only accessible to a designated and accredited national test administrator, and by extension to nationally accredited markers. Markers can only access the tests they are supposed to mark. They do not see the candidate profile and do not know who the candidate is. All possible care is taken to safeguard the data on the ELPAC servers.