Frequently Asked Questions

The most reliable method is a standardised, timed test administered in a controlled environment. Our Editing Test uses a track-changes interface identical to professional editorial software — the same environment your hire will actually work in. Register free, send an invitation by email, and a trained human editor will review the candidate's work before the detailed percentile report is released to your dashboard (typically within 12 business hours). No account is required to try a demo first.

The default pass threshold is 75%, which places a candidate in the upper half of our 130,000+ candidate benchmark database. For senior editorial roles, we recommend requiring 80th percentile or above. For entry-level positions, 65–75% is a reasonable baseline. The percentile ranking is more meaningful than the raw score — a 78% in the 85th percentile is a strong result for most roles.

Yes. The invitation system works the same way regardless of employment type. Many clients use EditingTests.com to screen freelance contributors, agency candidates, and internal transfers, not just permanent hires.

You can set a custom pass threshold when sending invitations. The platform default is 75%, but you can adjust it per invitation or set an account-level default in your dashboard settings. Candidates above your threshold are marked as passing in your results view.

Our assessments are standardised, consistently administered, and benchmarked against a large candidate database, and all results are timestamped and immutable. We have not commissioned a validation study or an independent bias audit, so we cannot tell you the assessments have been shown to be defensible — the legal obligation, and the evidence for it, sits with you as the employer. Our Assessment Fairness page sets out exactly what we do and do not hold.

Editing involves substantive changes to structure, clarity, style, and flow — reshaping sentences and paragraphs to improve meaning. Proofreading is the final stage of review, focusing on mechanical errors: spelling, punctuation, grammar, and consistency. Our Editing Test uses a track-changes environment; the Proofreading Test presents authentic published-style passages for error detection. Both are separate assessments with distinct scoring frameworks.

Grammar Test: 15 minutes (25 questions). Editing Test: 15 minutes. Proofreading Test: 15 minutes. Writing Test: 20 minutes. MS Word Test: 30 minutes. Industry Vocabulary Test: 15 minutes. Full Editing Assessment (ET + PT + GT combined): 45 minutes. All tests are strictly timed with server-side enforcement — the clock cannot be paused or manipulated.

The Full Editing Assessment (FEA) combines our Editing, Proofreading, and Grammar tests into a single 45-minute session. It costs 2 credits — effectively 3 tests for the price of 2. It's our most comprehensive single-session assessment and the recommended starting point for senior editorial roles.

The IVT measures a candidate's knowledge of terminology specific to your sector. With vocabulary banks covering 4,400+ industries — from legal publishing to medical communications to academic journals — you can test whether a candidate understands the language of your field. This is particularly valuable when hiring for specialist editorial roles where domain knowledge matters as much as general editing skill.

Every submission is scored by a trained human editor against a 100-point rubric with five weighted dimensions: Content (15), Structure (20), Style (15), Grammar (25), and Mechanics (25). There is no automated scoring step. Results are typically returned within 12 business hours.

Every result is reviewed by a trained human editor before it is released to the client. The scoring engine does a first-pass comparison against a master-corrected version, and a human editor then checks the result and signs off. No result reaches the client without human review. Reports are typically released within 12 business hours.

These tests use multiple-choice and true/false questions scored automatically against the answer key at submission. Results are instant and appear in the client dashboard as soon as the candidate completes the test.

The MS Word Test assesses practical application knowledge: formatting, styles, track changes, mail merge, tables, and document structure. It's designed for roles where Word proficiency is a core requirement — editorial assistants, production editors, and communications coordinators. Questions test actual application skills, not theoretical knowledge.

Our anti-cheat system has multiple layers: fullscreen enforcement that detects navigation away from the test window, tab-switch detection with event logging, clipboard blocking during the assessment, and server-side timing that cannot be manipulated by the candidate. All events are logged and visible in your results dashboard. We also use unique question sets that vary between sessions to prevent answer-sharing.

Tab switches are detected and logged as anti-cheat events. These events appear in your results report so you can make an informed decision. The test continues but a record is made. You can configure your account to automatically flag results where tab-switch events occurred.

Our clipboard blocking prevents copy-pasting content to external tools. Fullscreen enforcement and tab detection make it difficult to use separate browser windows. For the Writing Test, our human expert review specifically looks for indicators of AI-generated content. However, no system is completely foolproof — we recommend using EditingTests.com as one input in a broader hiring process.

No. Credits never expire. Purchase now and use them whenever you need them — months or years later. There are no subscription fees, no renewal dates, and no "use it or lose it" pressure.

One credit covers one candidate invitation for any single test or any custom combination of tests. The Full Editing Assessment costs 2 credits (3 tests in one session — effectively 3 tests for the price of 2). There are no additional fees per test within an invitation.

Yes. You can combine any tests — for example Grammar + Editing + IVT — into a single invitation for one credit. The candidate completes all selected tests in one session and you receive a combined report.

Yes. Credits are $50 each, and volume discounts apply automatically to every credit in the order: 50 credits = 2% off, 100 credits = 5% off, 500 credits = 10% off, 1,000 credits = 15% off. For custom volumes above 1,000 credits, contact us for enterprise pricing.

Our REST API lets you create candidate invitations and retrieve results programmatically — any ATS that can call an HTTPS API or consume webhooks can integrate with the platform. We do not publish pre-built certified connectors; integrations are built on the REST API. Full API documentation is at editingtests.com/api-docs.

Yes. The co-branding add-on ($199 one-time) adds your company logo to all candidate reports and certificates. Once activated, it applies permanently to your account — covering all current and future assessments.

Yes. The HR Demo Lab at editingtests.com/demo-lab provides free 5-question previews of all seven tests with no account required. You can experience the candidate interface, see how questions are structured, and review a sample report before spending anything.

By default, invitation links are valid for 48 hours (2 days). You can adjust this per invitation when sending — from a minimum of 24 hours to a maximum of 30 days — to accommodate different hiring timelines and candidate time zones.