61-11.017. Candidates' Post Exam Review of Examination Questions, Answers, Papers, Grades and Grading Key

(1) Pursuant to Section 455.217(3), F.S., a candidate who has taken and failed a departmentally developed objective multiple choice examination, a departmentally developed practical examination, or an examination developed for the Department by a computer-based testing (CBT)-contracted vendor or qualified national testing vendor permitting such a service, will have the right to review only the last administered examination items, answer sheets, examination books, other examination papers, grades, and grading keys for the parts of the examination failed or the questions the candidate answered incorrectly. Review of examinations developed by or for a national council, association, or society (herein-after referred to as “national organization”) shall be conducted in accordance with national examination security guidelines and timeframes.

(2) Those candidates who elect to exercise their right to review must submit a request in writing to the Department or on-line with the computer-based testing (CBT)-contracted vendor within the time frame as set forth in this section.

(a) Unless otherwise provided in board rule, written or on-line review requests must be received no later than twenty-one (21) days after the release date on the original grade notification. The issuance of an amended grade notice, if applicable, will not extend the deadline for a candidate to request a post-examination review.

(b) No request received past the specified deadline in paragraph (2)(a) will be accepted.

(3) Examination reviews shall be conducted in the presence of a representative of the Department or CBT vendor at the Department’s Tallahassee headquarters, Orlando, or Miami, where possible. Only the applicant will be permitted to attend the examination review and only one (1) review of the applicant’s last administered examination will be allowed.

(a) All examination reviews shall be conducted in accordance with that examination’s administration procedures to the extent possible and feasible.

(b) All security rules defined in Rules 61-11.006 and 61-11.007, F.A.C., shall apply to all review sessions. Any candidate violating any provision of said rules shall be dismissed from the review session and may be subject to other sanctions pursuant to Department and/or Board statutes or rules as determined by the board or Department when there is no board.

(c) Unless specified otherwise in board rule, all examination reviews by candidates shall be scheduled and completed no later than ninety (90) days after the release date on the original grade notification. However, a candidate may not participate in a review during the twenty-one (21) day period immediately prior to his or her next examination attempt. The review and challenge process is only available for the last failed examination administered or taken by the applicant.

(d) A representative of the Department or the CBT vendor shall remain with all candidates throughout all examination reviews. Candidates shall be informed that the representative cannot defend the examination or attempt to answer any examination questions during the review.

(e) Candidates will be given an examination review time of one-half (1/2) the time provided for the examination administration of the part failed at the Department or at the CBT-contracted vendor’s examination site at any reasonable time, under reasonable conditions, and in the presence of a representative of the Department or the CBT-contracted vendor.

(f) Examination booklets used by the candidate during the examination are not retained. Candidates reviewing the examination will be provided with a clean, exact copy of the original test questions. They will not be given the actual examination booklets they used during the examination. Consequently, any marks or notes made by candidates during the examination will not be available during the review.

(g) Unless prohibited by board rule or national guidelines, candidates have the right to challenge any question that they believe to be ambiguous or any solution that they believe to be incorrect, and to request a formal administrative hearing if there are any disputed issues of material fact as set forth by Sections 120.569, 120.57, F.S., and Rule 61-11.012, F.A.C. The candidate’s challenges must be submitted in writing during the scheduled review. Any challenges or supporting documentation submitted after the candidate has left the review room shall not be accepted.

(h) Upon completion of reviews, candidates shall acknowledge in writing the review start time, the review end time, all materials reviewed, and other relevant review information, which candidate’s acknowledgement must be verified by a representative of the Department or the CBT-contracted vendor.

(4) In addition to the provisions of subsection (3), examination candidates shall be prohibited from leaving the review with any written challenges, grade sheets, or any other examination materials.

(5) If an examination review results in a re-grade of examination, that re-grade shall be limited to the candidate who filed the examination challenge. For a practical examination, unless examination security is involved, a candidate may obtain by mail a copy of his or her grade sheets resulting from a practical examination. The request must be made in writing to the Department, and adhere to provisions set forth in subsection (2).

(6) Unless otherwise specified in board rule or prohibited by guidelines as set forth by national contracted vendors, the review fee will not exceed $150 per exam part, in addition to any fee charged for review by the national organization, if there is one.

(7) If a successful challenge results in a regrade of an examination, that regrade shall be limited to the candidate who filed the successful challenge.

Rulemaking Authority 455.203(5), 455.217(3), 455.229 FS. Law Implemented 119.07(3)(a), 455.217(3), 455.229 FS. History–New 10-26-92, Amended 5-27-93, Formerly 21-11.017, Amended 11-16-95, 9-18-96, 2-25-01, 8-6-12.