PREREQUISITE EXAM

Click here for more details on our application process, to learn more about the admission criteria, and to sign up to receive exam registration notices and application invitations.

The Code of Ethics exam and Reading Comprehension Exams are 60 minutes long, and the Grammar Exam is 90 minutes long.

Staff is not available provide tech support in the event of problems through the exam weekend; issues must be addressed following the “mock test.”

Passing the admissions exams do not make an applicant certified.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

• The path to certification for professions and language combinations/pairs are individual and treated separately.
• Anyone wishing to join ATIO must pass the ATIO Code of Ethics Exam. Code of Ethics exams are unique to each member society.
• Only Certified Affiliates are exempt from writing the Language Proficiency Exams.
• Registrants may write a maximum of three exams in the given period.
• Registrants are encouraged to review ATIO’s eligibility requirements for admission to the association before registering for the exams.
• Registrants must be Canadian Citizens or have permanent resident status and be living in Ontario at the time they submit their application.
• Prerequisite exams are required for each profession and language combination/pair for which the registrant intends to apply.
• Exam fees will not be refunded.
• Preparatory Webinars will run in the weeks preceding the April and October exams. The language proficiency exam preparatory webinars are intended as a refresher regarding grammar rules, practice, and native language interference. The Code of Ethics webinar focuses on ATIO’s Bylaws, is prerecorded, and is offered for a fee prior to each exam date.

Exam Format

• Code of Ethics Exam: An open-book exam which consists of multiple-choice questions and a case study in a long answer question format
• Reading Comprehension Exam (Translators, from English into Other Language): Multiple-choice questions.
• Grammar/Editing Exam (Translators, from Other Language into English): A five-part exam consisting of short passage editing, multiple-choice, and long passage editing.
• Reading Comprehension Exam (Interpreters): Multiple-choice questions.

Schedule

• February 21, 9:00 a.m. until February 23, 5:00 p.m.
• April 11, 9:00 a.m. until April 13, 5:00 p.m.
• August 22, 9:00 a.m. until August 24, 5:00 p.m.
• October 24, 9:00 a.m. until October 26, 5:00 p.m.

Registrants have the weekend to complete the exam(s). No alternate dates will be offered due to religious holidays.

Rules

• Registrants must attend the mandatory technology session and practise test one week prior to the exams.
• Registrants will receive one email for each exam for which they’ve registered.
• Registrants must click START TEST to begin their exam anytime between the first and last day in the window given to write the exams. The link will become invalid at 5:00 p.m. on the last day.
• Registrants must appear with valid Canadian government-issued photo identification (Driver’s License, Health card, Passport, etc).
• Registrants must have a paper copy of the ATIO Bylaws and Code of Ethics to use for the Code of Ethics Exam.
• The use of any electronic device during the examination is strictly prohibited. Electronic devices include, but are not limited to, cell phones, BlackBerries®, iPods®, and tablet computers. Any such use will lead to your disqualification; the examination will not be marked, and the fee will not be refunded.
• Registrants must disable spelling and grammar checking, including predictive text. Plug-ins like AI, Antidote and Grammarly must be disabled before starting any test.

Please also note

• To ensure anonymity, exams will be identified only by a number.
• Prerequisite exams are only available online.
• Attending the preparatory webinars before the exams is highly beneficial.

Results

• It takes approximately twelve (12) weeks for registrants to receive their exam results by email.
• A passing mark is 75% for the Code of Ethics Exam and 70% for the Language Proficiency Exam (pass/fail mark).
• Pass results are valid for a maximum of two years. Exams must be retaken should other admission criteria not be met within that time.
• Code of Ethics results are valid indefinitely only if all admission criteria are met within two years of passing the prerequisite exam.
• Registrants who do not score at least 75% for the Code of Ethics Exam and 70% for the Language Proficiency Exam can re-take one or both exams when they are next offered.
• There is no appeal process for prerequisite exams.
• Registrants who pass both prerequisite exams will be invited to apply in the language combination for which they wrote the exams.
• Only approved applicants in translation will be invited to write the Entrance Exam in the language combination for which they wrote the prerequisite exams. Learn more about the entrance exam here.
• Registrants wishing to apply in more than one language combination do not need to retake the Code of Ethics exam once the admission process is complete the first time.
• The fees associated with these exams will not be reimbursed.