ATP Resources: Your Hub for Industry Insights


At the Association of Test Publishers (ATP), we are committed to advancing the assessment industry by providing a comprehensive collection of resources designed to inform, educate, and support professionals in the field. Our members continually contribute to a growing repository of white papers, publications, and legal, legislative, and regulatory alerts, ensuring that ATP remains at the forefront of industry developments.

Explore our curated selection of resources, available to help you navigate the evolving landscape of assessments. Below, you will find a list of documents available for purchase, as well as a link to our exclusive library of free resources available to ATP members.

Stay informed, stay connected, and leverage ATP’s wealth of expertise to drive innovation in assessment.

White Papers/Publications

ATP Members can access all these documents for FREE in the members-only resource page. 

January 2025: A Primer on Generative AI in Assessment - (Free for ATP members, $14.95 USD for non-members)

  • This Primer introduces and discusses Generative AI and its potential applications in the testing industry. Generative AI, a subfield of AI based on the use of large language model AI (“LLMs”), focuses on creating new content based on learned patterns from existing data. It holds broad potential for application in the testing industry, including for test design and development, test taker eligibility, registration, and identification, and test delivery, scoring, reporting, and customer service. However, such systems equally pose risks to ethics, privacy, safety, security, and human autonomy. This Primer explains how Generative AI works and how testing organizations may choose to interact with such systems. It highlights both the potential benefits (such as increased efficiency and personalization) and technical risks (such as hallucinations and bias) associated with the use of Generative AI tools, as well as risks of operational challenges and protection of test integrity.

November 2024: Online Observation of Tests Standards  - (Free for ATP members, $19.95 for non-members)

  • The ATP-NCTA Assessment Industry Standards and Best Practices for Online Observation of Tests (“Standards and Best Practices”) provides consensus-based requirements and considerations for the online observation of tests, with or without a proctor. It includes current thinking regarding fast moving technologies, such as artificial intelligence, biometrics, and advanced algorithms, and evolving regulations concerning privacy and accessibility.
  • The Standards and Best Practices were contributed to and reviewed by testing professionals globally. These guidelines are intended for use by test sponsors, such as certification bodies and online observation providers, to outline responsibilities and best practices that ensure privacy, test security, and data validity. The Standards and Best Practices were developed during rapid changes in the assessment industry, driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. As online monitoring evolved, the document was revised multiple times and will be updated periodically due to the fast-paced advancements in assessment technologies.

July 2024: EU AI Act Summary - (Free for ATP members, $19.95 for non-members)

  • The AI Act is a regulation that has been approved by the EU Council, the European Commission, and EU Parliament with the purpose of improving the internal EU market and promoting the uptake of human centric and trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI), while ensuring a high level of protection of health, safety, fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter [EU], including democracy, the rule of law and environmental protection, against the harmful effect of AI systems in the EU and supporting innovation. Thus, the AI Act is essentially a consumer product safety law based on risk evaluation and management. Ostensibly, the EU is trying to regulate AI, while still promoting innovation. However, in our view, that lofty goal may be deflated given the complexity of the AI Act and the maze of regulators involved in rulemaking and enforcement, from the European Commission to each EU Member State.  Although other countries have addressed AI regulation (e.g., Canada, India, China), some commentators have referred to the EU AI Act as setting the “benchmark for rest of the world” -- a landmark law.   Assessment organizations that develop, introduce or operate AI systems in the EU market (within scope of the AI Act), regardless of their home base, are subject to the complicated rules.

July 2024: Creating Responsible and Ethical AI Policies for Assessment Organizations - Free for ATP members, $24.95 for non-members)

  • This document, authored by the AI subcommittee of ATP's Technology-Based Assessment (TBA) Committee, aims to guide assessment organizations in implementing AI responsibly and ethically, addressing the unique risks and regulations associated with AI use.
  • This comprehensive guide builds on previously published ATP materials on AI and is designed for those who may not be experts in assessment or AI. It is relevant to a wide range of assessment settings, including professional licensure and certification, educational testing, recruiting, and workforce skills credentialing. While not prescriptive, the document highlights critical topics and risks to consider when planning AI use. This document does not constitute legal advice; you should consult your own lawyer for legal advice on the matters addressed in this document.

October 2022: Considerations When Creating A New Certification Program - FREE

  • This paper is intended to serve as a resource for any organization that plans to develop a new certification program. In this context, certification is defined as an official record that attests to a status or level of achievement, such as individual competence or competent use of a product or process. Certification programs yield tangible benefits to participating organizations, to individual practitioners, and to society at-large. This document highlights issues to address and questions to ask when determining an organization’s readiness to start the development of a new certification program. Many of the challenges, opportunities, and operational mandates are outlined herein, and are based on the collective education and experiences of the authors.

October 2022: Guidelines for Technology-Based Assessment - FREE

  • The Guidelines for Technology-Based Assessment are the result of a multi-year collaboration by the Association of Test Publishers (“ATP”) and the International Test Commission (“ITC”) to fill a pressing need – to provide guidance and best practices for the design, delivery, scoring, and use of digital assessments, while ensuring the validity, fairness, accessibility, security, and privacy of such assessments. Various other testing standards and guideline documents are available; however, this document is unique in its comprehensive discussion of issues regarding the use of technology in assessment.

April 2021: ATP Comments to EU on AI Regulations - FREE

  • The Association of Test Publishers (“ATP”) submits its comments to express the serious concerns of the testing industry to the proposed Artificial Intelligence Act (“Regulation” or“Proposed Regulation”) published by the European Commission (“EC” or “Commission”) for public consultation on April 21, 2021. We welcome this opportunity to express our views and contribute to the EU decision-making process on the adoption of a final regulation by the European Parliament and the EU Council (“Final Regulation”). This feedback is being made by the required date of August 6, 2021. Further, the ATP fully understands that, as required by GDPR Art. 70(4), the EC must make the results of this consultation public, and therefore we acknowledge that our submission will be published in its entirety on the EC website; for clarity, there is no personal information contained in this submission that requires protection by the EC.

January 2022: Principles of Artificial Intelligence Use in Testing from ATP - FREE

  • The Association of Test Publishers (ATP), the international trade organization representing the testing/assessment industry, acknowledges the life-enhancing potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) when utilized in an appropriate fashion, while equally recognizing that the inappropriate application of AI to testing scenarios is capable of resulting in bias or discriminatory effects on individual test takers.  While international regulation of AI is under active consideration, almost no final laws/regulations are in place to provide the industry with guiding benchmarks for these principles.  Nevertheless, to assist ATP members in achieving accountability in their utilization of AI systems in testing scenarios, the Association has developed five (5) principles for AI development and adoption, which taken together, create a framework for constructive, responsible  uses of AI systems.  Ultimately, the ATP encourages every testing organization to use AI systems responsibly in an ethical and trustworthy manner.  

July 2022: Guidance for Test Takers Taking High Stakes Exams - FREE

  • The Association of Test Publishers (ATP) is the global body for the testing industry, seeking to promote equity, integrity, and learning in testing. This guidance produced by the ATP Test Infringement and Fraud Coalition includes important information for test takers to keep in mind as they study and prepare to take any type of exams that may be high stakes.

April 2020: Privacy Considerations in Online/Remote Proctoring: A Privacy in Practice Security Bulletin - FREE

  • Due to the rapid emergence of the COVID-10 pandemic, with so many people working and/or studying from home, testing organizations are evaluating the option to use remote technologies to replace “in-person” testing. These constraints are increasingly coming into play for many test sponsors/ programs (“test sponsors”) that deliver high stakes assessments, whether as part of critical certification or credentialing programs or in higher education. Instead of monitoring testing events in a test center, where proctors are present either in the room itself or are watching from an adjoining area, organizations are turning to Internet-based online/remote proctoring.

July 2021: Artificial Intelligence and the Testing Industry: A Primer - FREE

This White Paper provides a high-level overview and definition of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”), use cases drawn from the testing industry, international standards and frameworks related to AI that share commonly accepted principles governing the appropriate responsible use of AI, and legal requirements for AI usage when personal information is processed. This Paper also describes specific risks arising from use cases in light of the standards and laws.

November 2020: Testing Industry Pledge Related to Online Proctoring Services  -FREE

Over the past decade or more, testing programs have begun to use online proctoring (also called remote proctoring) as a viable and cost-effective alternative to proctoring in-person testing at testing centers. This evolution is part of a long trend in digitization of society, including the proliferation of hybrid learning, blended learning, and fully online learning methods which is occurring throughout testing. As such, the Association of Test Publishers (“ATP”) has recognized the need for an industry standard around the emerging technologies and methodologies related to online/remote proctoring services.

2017: Innovative Item Types: A white paper and portfolio - FREE

This project, which includes both a white paper and an accompanying portfolio of sample items, is the result of collaborative efforts by the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE) and the Association of Test Publishers (ATP). The paper provides an overview of considerations and best practices for incorporating alternative item types into an assessment. The focus of the paper is on credentialing/certification assessments, but many of the same considerations and processes apply to other types of examinations (i.e., assessments for use in educational, industrial/organizational, or clinical settings). For simplicity, this paper will use the term “credentialing organizations” to refer to both certification and licensing organizations.

Legal /Legislative Alerts

  • ATP's legal/legislative/regulatory alerts are only available to ATP members. Interested in becoming a member? Check out the membership brochure and apply today!