What is Offsite Testing?

As it relates to pre-employment testing, offsite testing refers to any time a job candidate takes a test away from a designated testing location or employer’s place of business. What this generally means is that rather than taking tests at an office or jobsite, candidates take tests at home or at any other location of their choosing. Offsite tests are usually unproctored and most commonly taken online using an internet-connected device.

Offsite testing, also called remote testing, is especially useful for screening candidates at the beginning of the hiring process. By administering tests offsite, employers can use test scores to filter out unqualified applicants before reaching out to a select number of candidates for interviews. As for the concern about cheating in offsite testing, many tests can detect suspicious test-taking behaviors linked with cheating. However, evidence suggests that when testing is properly positioned, cheating actually happens far less than expected with offsite testing.