ATTATION! If you normally take our newsletter for granted, we recommend that you read it carefully this time. We discuss the following topics:

– dispensation for driving licenses and residence permits;
– the new VCA VOL and VIL dyslexia;
– 2nd exam on the same day NO longer possible in The Netherlands;
– fraud during exam at our office.

If you have any questions after reading, you can email them to administratie@ascendexamen.nl

Sincerely,
Team Ascend examengroep B.V.

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Dispensation for expired Dutch driving licenses and residence permits is no longer valid.

In recent months, candidates were allowed to take an exam with an expired Dutch driver’s license and residence permit. As of 1 May 2022, that will no longer be the case.

Each exam candidate must have a valid Dutch driver’s license, passport, European identity card or Dutch residence permit in order to participate in the exam.

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Going on a VCA exam with dyslexia

For years there has been the special reading VCA basic exam for candidates who have dyslexia. The candidate is given 75 minutes for the exam and all questions are read aloud by the computer. We often receive feedback that participants are very happy with this opportunity.

For VOL and VIL there was no separate exam for candidates with dyslexia. Fortunately, a special VOL and VIL Dyslexia exam is available as of May 1, 2022. The exams last 120 minutes, but do not include a reading aloud option. We require a valid dyslexia statement from the candidates who want to participate in this special dyslexia exam.

 

No more 2nd exam on the same day in the Netherlands

The system partners SSVV, eX:plain, Stichting Examenkamer have determined that there is a Tombola effect if multiple exams are requested for the same candidate on the same day. In many cases, the candidate does not have time to further develop the missing knowledge. The ‘probability’ is therefore the factor whether someone succeeds or fails.

We at Ascend examengroep B.V. want participants to be able to work safely and therefore to have understood the exam questions in order to receive a valid diploma. We used to use the rule from the manual that someone could take 2 exams in a day, because we noticed that some participants are very nervous during the first exam and can make the second exam calmer.

In the future, unfortunately, we are no longer allowed to schedule a 2nd EXAM on the SAME day in The Netherlands. The manual still has to be adapted, so we don’t know the exact rule yet. As of June 1, 2022, we will implement that only 1 exam per day can be requested for the same candidate.

In our next newsletter we will pay attention to it again and indicate what the exact rule has become.

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Dispensation for exams abroad

The exams that are held outside the Netherlands will receive an exception to the above rule. A maximum of 2 exams per day will be possible with a minimum of 3 hours between the completion of the first exam and the start of the re-examination. This gives the candidate the opportunity to increase their knowledge before taking the re-examination.
 
As of June 1, 2022, it is no longer possible for our international exams to immediately take 2 exams in succession.

Fraud at the exam at our office

We had never seen a candidate red-handed committing fraud during the exam. At the office, candidates must leave their coats, bags, caps and telephones outside the exam room. We make sure that candidates turn off their phones completely, so that colleagues in the office are not disturbed all the time by beeps and buzzes from the phones.

Shortly after the start of the exam, the examiner got up to see how the exam was going with the candidate, so she saw that he had his phone in his lap and was taking pictures of the exam. Apparently the Polish candidate had a second phone with him.

Appropriately, the examiner, together with a colleague at the office, immediately wrote down the number and name of the recipient. Then all the photos from his phone were erased, but unfortunately the recipient will still have them.
We have forwarded the name of the candidate and recipient to all examination offices. We don’t know if this candidate came to take pictures on purpose or out of sheer stupidity trying to get help answering the questions. We have reported that he can no longer take a VCA exam in the Netherlands.

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End of the full newsletter

It was a big newsletter this time, but we hope everything is clear. If you have any questions after reading this newsletter, please send them to administration@ascendexamen.nl

Thanks for your time,

Team Ascend examengroep B.V.