Welcome to our FAQ page! Here, you’ll find answers to the most common questions about our products, services, and policies. We’ve organized the FAQ by category to make it easy for you to find the information you need.
Once you choose a category, you can quickly find the questions you’re looking for by entering keywords into the search box.
Students need to have the Secure Browser downloaded onto their device in order to access the online tests. This secure browser is the same as the one required for Cat5 tests.
All CAT4 subtests are available online.
The test times can be found here.
No. The countdown timer is built-in and cannot be removed. If students get nervous watching the timer count down, the teacher may consider placing a post-it at the top right corner of the screen to hide it, but still allowing the student to flip up to see how much time is left.
The system refers to each grade by level. Levels begin at Level 10, which represent Kindergarten and go up to Level 22 for grade 12. Levels help teachers understand which grade the tests are. For example, in the fall, teachers will see students’ current grade but a one level below because they will be testing previous year’s knowledge (hence one level below).
Yes. Accommodations are available – these include: Out of Level testing, Audio Accommodations, and Extra time. These items will be reviewed during training and can be requested for set up (the accommodations are not by default in the system).
Yes, you can request this during training so that we have all the details confirmed for set up. Students can be tested outside their current grade by using the out-of-level option on the teacher’s dashboard.
It depends on the school and their needs. Typically schools may want to test students during the Fall to test student’s previous year’s knowledge (one level below), and/or in the spring, to test students at the current grade level to see if they’ve retained what they learned so far in that year.
No. Please inquire for further details regarding pricing.
Yes, as long as the students are a part of a school district/board. If homeschool students are not part of a district/board, they can use CAT3.
No. We do not sell our tests to parents.
No. Everything on the test are based on the curriculum. For Cat4, the tests are based on the 2008 curriculum.
The testing windows should provide teachers enough time to arrange amongst themselves the best way to schedule their test sessions that will allow all students to complete the tests by the deadline. Teachers are encouraged to plan for the test sessions so that all students participating in the class can complete at least one test session in one sitting (or day). Splitting the class to do the test at different times may risk students sharing the test questions and/or answers.
This depends on the number of classes teachers have, the grades they teach, and the tests they will administer. Please refer to our Cat5 User Documentations for specific times required for each test, this will help teachers plan each test sitting. In some cases, teachers may be required to input their student information manually, if this information was not provided to our office. This extra step may take some time for the teacher to ensure the accuracy of student information. In other cases, some students may bring their own devices to use for administering the test, and separate IT set-up appointments may be required to ensure the Cat5 Secure Browser is installed and ready to use.
Note: All test scores are automatically scored, with reports immediately accessible to teachers, which means teachers will not require to collect tests or score them individually.
There is no special preparation required by the teachers. All the questions and test content is based on the most updated curriculum. Teachers will have already taught the material being tested. The Cat5 will be a good indicator of what students have retained and what needs to be reviewed.
No. Teachers are not allowed to preview any Cat5 subtest before administering them. If they’d like to see a demo please go to Subtest Demo page and select the subtest they’d like a preview of.
Each grade level and subtest has a set time for completion. Not all students will require the time that is set, but the set timer on the subtests will serve as a guide for students when completing the test. Please refer to the Cat5 Overview and Preparation document for more information.
Yes. Only for Mathematics and Real-World Math subtests. Students may choose to use a hand-held calculator and scrap paper, or the tools provided within each math-related subtest. However, for Computation and Estimation subtests, students are not allowed to use calculators, they can only be given scrap paper to do rough work.
For this Norming study – students will not be given any accommodations. It is under the teacher’s discretion to determine whether they should exempt a student from a test due to their circumstances. But note that students are encouraged to try the test even if they will not do well, because the purpose of the study is to understand these norms. Please indicate in the Teacher Master List if there are any “Special Groups” that students may fall under. This can be found by clicking the “edit” icon beside the student’s name in the Master List. For more information please refer to the Introduction to the Cat5 Teacher Dashboard document.
After the study – teachers will be given the option to provide accommodations to students. For example, they may choose to provide ‘audio’ accommodations or allow students to complete a test that is above/below their grade level in certain circumstances.
Once the IT department on both ends sets up the Cat5 Secure Browser on the device and completes testing, there should be no further issues. However, if there are any issues with the devices or administering the test, we are happy to help!
The objective of the Cat5 National Study is to collect representative samples of schools across Canada. Our purpose is to establish national normative data of student achievement, particularly regional norms (including Western and Northern Canada and Ontario). This allows an understanding of the range of achievement levels from K-12 in Canada. A published document of this study will be made available to all Principals when Cat5 is published.
No. Only the CTC team will have access to this confidential information. Student or school identifiers (name, ID#, and date of birth) will not be kept in the data records. The study results will only show the data that was produced from student results.
Only classroom teachers have access to his/her students’ reports (through the password-protected Teacher dashboard). Links to the reports are sent directly to the teacher’s email address. No one else should have access to these reports. All data transmission over the internet is encrypted and the user accounts are password-protected.
All student identifiers (name, date of birth, and ID #) will be permanently removed from the database so that these individual identifiers will not be used for any data analyses. The collected national data will be completely removed from the server. While in use, all data will be fully protected by hardware firewall (Cisco Firepower 2110) and software firewall (NGINX, Ubuntu UFW).
Information regarding students or schools will not be distributed externally. Only members in the CTC office will have access to this information. There are strict protocols that are put into place to protect the identities of the students and schools.
Cat5 is aligned with both the Ontario and WNCP curricula, with separate Math tests for Ontario and WNCP.
Passcodes will only expire after any student has used it to log in to a Test Session. Once it is used to log in, it is good to use until 6:00 pm BC time (or 9:00 pm ON time) that day. Once a passcode expires, a new passcode may be generated.
Open the test session you wish to generate code for and under Session details, there should be a link to “Generate New Passcode(s) for this Session”. You should receive an email shortly.
Once a student submits the test by clicking the “I’m Finished” button, there is no way for the student to re-enter the test as the test has already been submitted for scoring. Please remind students to check that they’ve tried all questions before submitting (clicking the “I’m Finished” button).
The test timer and the student results will be auto-saved on our server. Do not worry about data loss during power outages.
The timer will be auto-paused at the time “Pause Session” was activated on the Teacher’s Dashboard. The student’s most recent test answer will also be saved.
All unanswered questions on subtests will be considered “incorrect” when it is scored on the report.
The remote entrance test registration link is provided to the school to share with families who are applying for their programs. Please check with the school you are applying to, in order to get the registration link and register within the registration period.
If payment is required, the payment instructions will be on the registration form. Since we require e-transfers for payments, please ensure that you spell the email address correctly. Payments are auto-deposited, which means if you see ‘pending’ it means the payment was not successful. Double check the email address again and re-send or contact us to confirm payment was received.
The test schedule & rules will be sent out in an email by our Cat5 Support entrancetest@canadiantestcentre.com the week of (typically 4-5 days before) the test. Please check your spam/junk folders if you do not see the email in your inbox. We highly recommend that you also add entrancetest@canadiantestcentre.com as a contact so that emails are not filtered to spam/junk.
Yes. On the registration, we asked that each student register separately even if they are in the same household. Each student is required to have a separate email address so that they can receive the test schedule and links to access the test information.
Here is a list of things you must have ready before the test day:
No. We do not offer any samples or practice tests.
Students may only use Windows or Mac laptop / desktop computers.
Students will access the test from the Secure Browser application. This is a mandatory download that must be completed at least a day before the test. For the purpose of remote entrance testing, students may only download this application on either a Microsoft Windows or Mac laptop/computer. For more information, please go to the download and troubleshooting page.
Note: Student login information is not provided until the day of the test, for test security.
Please contact CTC when this download is complete.
The minimum upload speed is 1.5 mbps and minimum download speed is 10 mbps. Note that if there are multiple students such as twins or siblings doing testing at the same time under the same household, the minimum must be doubled or tripled for the best loading speeds. We highly recommend that students are stationed close to the internet source, or have the router connected directly to the test device for best results.
Students will be proctored (or monitored) by live proctors on the proctoring platform, ProctorExam. Note that this is a separate platform to our test platform, Cat5 secure browser. ProctorExam will send out an email about 2-3 days before the test, with instructions to follow.
Each school will require students to complete different tests. Please refer to the test schedule & rules when it is emailed to you, for more information.
Each test varies in length. Please refer to the test schedule & rules when it is emailed to you, for more information. Note that for each test, there are sample questions, and some tests have instructional videos at the beginning. Make sure that students do not spend more than 5 minutes on the sample questions and watching the video. Once there is no time left on the clock, the system will automatically submit their test for them.
Yes. Each test has a built-in countdown timer. The total test time will appear on the top right corner of the test page. This timer does not begin counting down until the student clicks the first test question and continues in the test. Each test has sample questions at the beginning, and this does not count toward their total test time. Some tests may also have an instructional video at the beginning, and are usually about 3 minutes long. Students should spend no more than 5 minutes on these sample questions (and video watching).
Yes. Students can check their answers and go back to any question they want to change if they want to. If students do not know the answer, they may leave questions blank.
or Cat5 tests, some math tests will include the option for drag and drop, or fill in the blank. The option for filling in the blank will have a keypad with the numbers, letters, or symbols that the student needs to answer the question.
Students are not penalized for incorrect or unanswered questions. They will only be scored for number-correct answers only. The system will only check the questions answered, and score based on correct or incorrect.
For the mathematics tests Grade 4 and below, students will be able to see a built-in simple calculator that they may use. If test questions require other tools such as a protractor or ruler, those will also be available on the screen for students to use. Please refer to the test schedule & rules when it is emailed to you, for more information on whether students are permitted to use a handheld physical calculator.
Note: If schools do not permit students pencil and paper to do rough notes, students will have to do this in their head as there will be no digital writing space for students to write notes on the test platform.
Typically, each school will allocate some time for late entry. Please refer to the test schedule & rules when it is emailed to you, for more information. Latecomers will not be given any extra time to do the test(s). Latecomers may continue through the optional break.
If the student finishes the first test early – they can go on their break if they want to (break is optional). But please let the proctor know by sending them a quick message so they know they’re not just leaving the test. If the student finishes all the required tests, they are free to leave the exam. Please make sure to click the blue “Finish exam” button at the top right of the ProctorExam webpage so we know you’ve left the exam and are not experiencing technical issues. Do not click the blue “Finish exam” button if students are still writing the test as this closes the proctoring session and the student’s test will become invalid.
The school will receive the results of the test.
Remain calm and wait for a few moments to see if the issue resolves itself (e.g. if the internet comes back on its own). ProctorExam will automatically try to resolve the issue on their platform. Once the student reconnects their internet, they can launch the Cat5 Secure Browser again using the login instructions provided on the instructions page on ProctorExam’s portal. If more than 15 minutes have passed and the issue is still unresolved, please contact the support email provided to notify us of the situation. If the matter is in regards to issues on the Cat5 test server or proctoring platform, the parent will be notified via email.
Applicants in grades 4 and below, parents may help the student set up and get the passcode to enter the test, and only one parent is permitted in the room during testing. The parent must sit behind the student or away from the student and should not speak to them during the test.
Applicants in grades 5 and above, parents may only help the student with set up, taking a picture of the passcode to enter the test, and any emergencies or technical problems. The parent must leave the room as soon as the student begins the test.
You may contact us at (365) 873-0438 (Monday – Friday, 8:30am – 4:30pm EST.) or send an email to entrancetest@canadiantestcentre.com. Please state the child’s name when contacting us for quicker assistance.
We ask that registered students contact us to let us know at least 48 hours in advance if they wish to cancel their registration
The Cat5 Secure Browser is a lockdown browser application that restricts access to students’ test devices. This means when this Cat5 Secure Browser is in use (for testing), students will not be able to access the internet, files on their computer, etc.
Please note that the Secure Browser is independent of the ProctorExam platform.
After you download the Ca5 Secure Browser, double-click to open the application, and when it opens it should show an orange screen with two fields – one for Student Name or Number and one for Passcode. If you see this login page, then you have successfully downloaded the application.
Please contact CTC to let us know that you have successfully downloaded the application.
Please refer to the Troubleshooting guide for the device you downloaded the application on. If you are still experiencing technical issues after referring to the Troubleshoot document, please contact us via phone or email for support.
The Cat5 secure browser serves as a direct access point for students to receive the tests. For this reason, students will not get the login information before the test day. The login information – including the student name and passcode – will appear in a textbox just under the instructions on the ProctorExam webpage. This information will only be accessible on the day of the test, after students enter the ProctorExam portal. To enter the ProctorExam portal, students must use the link provided to them in the email after they complete the required system check.
Please be advised that students must input their full student name exactly as it appears in the instructions (make sure to input the spaces accordingly). The system will only allow access with the exact information provided on the instructions page. Make sure to use the correct passcode at the correct time. The test schedule will also appear on the instructions page.
For the mathematics tests Grade 4 and below, students will be able to see a built-in simple calculator that they may use. If test questions require other tools such as a protractor or ruler, those will also be available on the screen for students to use. Please refer to the test schedule & rules when it is emailed to you, for more information on whether students are permitted to use a handheld physical calculator.
Note: If schools do not permit students pencil and paper to do rough notes, students will have to do this in their head as there will be no digital writing space for students to write notes on the test platform.
Most CAT tests are multiple choice. For Cat5 tests, some math tests will include the option for drag and drop or fill in the blank. The option for filling in the blank will have a keypad with the numbers, letters, or symbols that the student needs to answer the question – students can use their mouse to select the answers or type using their keyboard.
Students can check their answers and go back to any question they want to change to answer for, if they want to. If students do not know the answer to a question, they may leave questions blank.
Each test has a built-in countdown timer. The total test time will appear on the top right corner of the test page. This timer does not begin counting down until the student clicks the first test question and continues in the test. Each test has sample questions at the beginning, and this does not count toward their total test time. Some tests may also have an instructional video at the beginning, and are usually about 3 minutes long. Students should spend no more than 5 minutes on these sample questions (and video watching).
There is an orange “I’m Finished” button on the last question of the test. Once students reach the last question, they can click this button when they are ready to submit the test. When clicked, there will be a message that pops up to confirm with the student that they want to submit the test. If they’re not ready to submit, they have the option to go back to the test – only if there is still time left on the countdown timer.
IMPORTANT: Students must finish the test within the time stated at the top right corner of the test page. As students work through the test, this timer will count down. When there is no time left, students’ tests will auto-submit without them selecting “I’m Finished”. Their answers will be saved, but they can no longer go back to do the test because their test is over. When a test is auto-submitted, only the questions the students have answered will be saved and checked for correctness.
Students must only use Windows or Mac laptop / desktop computers. ProctorExam only operates on the Chrome browser, therefore only the Chrome browser may be used to complete the set up, verification process, and access the ProctorExam portal on the day of the test. ProctorExam requires students to have the Screen-sharing Chrome plugin installed (instructions will be sent in an email from ProctorExam, but if you want to download it now, click the link and add the plugin extension).
The ProctorExam System Check is a mandatory requirement that we ask all students to complete. This step is important because it ensures that your device is compatible with the ProctorExam platform. This System Check must be completed 48 hours or about 2 days in advance of the test.
About 2-3 days before the test day, students will receive an email sent from ProctorExam with instructions and steps to follow to complete this System Check. Once this System Check is successfully completed, a follow up email will be sent from ProctorExam which includes a link that can be used on the day of the test to enter the ProctroExam portal.
The ProctorExam System Check will check the following things: Webcam, Microphone, Bandwidth, Speakers, and Screen Sharing. You must pass all these checks successfully to be proctored for the remote entrance tests. Note that the student’s webcam, microphone, and speakers must remain turned on and available during the entire testing.
Please note that the Proctoring platform is separate from the Cat5 Secure Browser. But to ensure that both are working together, the Cat5 Secure Browser must be downloaded on the same device that the System Check was completed on.
Important: The ProctorExam system check link will expire once used. If you happen to have a computer that suddenly has issues, and need a new system check link, please contact us via email and we can send you a new link to complete this step.
Please check your spam or junk folder. If it is not there, please send an email to entrancetest@canadiantestcentre.com and we will send you the link.
Students are permitted to begin the student verification, set up, and preparation 30 minutes before the official test start time. During this time, students will use the ProctorExam entry link to enter the portal where instructions and login information is found.
Students will need to complete the photo submission (verification process) and set up their device to make sure it is ready to start recording. Once the student enters the ProctorExam page, they will have to read the instructions, as their parent/guardian, to take a photo of the login information and then open the Cat5 secure browser to enter that login information when it is time to do the test.
On the day of the test, when students complete the setup and verification process, they will see an Instructions page. There are two textboxes: the one on top has the instructions that students need to scroll through and read carefully, and the one just below that has the student specific login information.
Please make sure that the student enters the login name and passcode exactly as shown and use the passcode in the order it appears.
Please go to this link and follow the instructions.
In order to share, you must click the image of the screen you want to share. Once you select the image of the screen that is being shared, the “share” button will become active for you to select.
No. A mobile device is an option that ProctorExam has on their platform for additional security, but for remote entrance testing with CTC, students are NOT required to have a mobile device as a second monitoring device.
Due to the screen-sharing requirement from ProctorExam, only one screen is permitted to be in use at all times.
No. Since the proctor must listen to the student’s surroundings at all times, headphones are not permitted.
No student ID or passport is required. We understand students may not have student IDs. Please just ask students to take a photo of their face twice using the built-in tool on the ProctorExam page. ProctorExam has this standard protocol for maximum security as their typical user is of older students. Since most applicants taking the remote entrance tests with CTC are underage, no Student ID or passport is required. Please ignore any requests for a student ID.
The proctor and the applicant will only be able to communicate via the chat function within the ProctorExam test webpage. There is also a chat box for live technical support (located bottom right in red). This will only be available before launching the Cat5 Secure Browser, during the break, and after submitting a Cat5 Test. When the student has launched the Cat5 Secure Browser, it will be in lock-down mode, which means the student cannot access anything outside of that application. If the student is experiencing technical issues with the test at that time, please contact us via phone or email for support.
Applicants in grades 4 and below, parents may help the student set up and get the passcode to enter the test, and only one parent is permitted in the room during testing. The parent must sit behind the student or away from the student and should not speak to them during the test.
Applicants in grades 5 and above, parents may only help the student with set up, taking a picture of the passcode to enter the test, and any emergencies or technical problems. The parent must leave the room as soon as the student begins the test.
This blue “Finish Exam” button is used to end the testing session. This means when this button is selected, the session will end and the student will no longer be proctored. For this reason, the student should only click that button when they have completed all required tests. The ProctorExam webpage should remain open throughout the entire testing.
If the student clicks the blue “Finish Exam” button by mistake, there will be a warning message to ask the student to confirm whether they would like to end the session. Note that if the student ends the session without completing all the tests, their testing session may be deemed invalid.
There is live technical support on ProctorExam’s webpage. This red live chat is located on the bottom right corner of your screen when you are on the ProctorExam webpage.
You may also try this self-help troubleshoot guide.
It is suggested that testing be spread over at least two days when all seven subtests are administered.
Extra time is allowed for only two of the subtests: Visual Processing and Fluid Reasoning. For these two subtests, extra time is allowed for all students, but more time may be necessary for students with disabilities. The examiner may decide the length of the breaks to be given between subtests.
Yes. One student individually or a small group of students may take Insight, or specific subtests of Insight.
Administration of Insight in a small group in a distraction-reduced environment is a good accommodation when testing a child who has difficulties with attention controls.
A scribe is permitted for all subtests except for Processing Speed, where the ability to quickly respond to a paper and pencil task is being measured. However, the DVD should not be stopped to accommodate scribbling, and extra time should be allowed except for the Visual Processing and Fluid Reasoning.
Provide the accommodation that the student usually uses within the classroom for instructional purposes. These may include:
Large print test books are available from Canadian Test Centre upon request. Provide the student with preferential seating close to the screen. (It might work best to present the Insight DVD on a laptop on a table in front of the student.) Professionals who work with the student can judge whether or not all subtests should be administered. After completing the subtests, the student’s answers should be copied to a regular-sized test book; the regular-sized test book should be submitted for machine-scoring.
Tests can only be sold to schools, school boards, homeschooling parents, and other educational institutions.
Reports are generally sent out 10 business days after we receive your completed test materials. However, this can change depending on the workload of the scoring centre when your materials arrive. If you’d like to receive your results by a certain date, please indicate the date on the Scoring Services Downloads, and the scoring centre will do its best to send your reports out by that date.
Visit our Print Materials Order form page to make the order.
We can offer our practice tests to schools, school boards, homeschooling parents, and other educational institutions only. Please note that the purpose of the practice test is to help students become familiarized with the format of the CAT tests. It is not meant to offer extensive preparation for the CAT tests.
For information on materials for administering CAT4 Multiple Choice Tests, please refer to the CAT4 Multiple Choice page. For information on materials for administering CAT4 Constructed Response Tests, please refer to the CAT4 Constructed Response page.
Our answer sheets and student diagnostic profiles come in packages, but they are also available in singles. There is no price difference per sheet between the singles and the packages. When ordering these materials, please clearly indicate whether your numbers refer to singles or packages.
For information regarding CAT4 Multiple Choice testing times, please visit the Multiple Choice Testing Times page. For information regarding CAT4 Constructed Response testing times, please visit the CAT4 Constructed Response home page.
No, our company just sells the materials to educational institutions. The institutions themselves administer the test.
CTC is a private company that sometimes does contract work for the Canadian provincial and federal governments.
We obtain our norms and scores through norming studies where our tests are administered to samples of students and schools all over Canada.
For samples of our CAT4 reports, please visit the CAT4 Scoring and Reports page. For samples of our Insight reports, please visit the Insight Scoring and Reports page.