Test security is the process of protecting assessments, so that the results from those assessments can be trusted and used to make important decisions about individual competence. According to the American Education Research Association/American Psychological Association/National Council on Measurement in Education standards, test users have the responsibility to protect the security of tests. Test security is particularly important when assessments are used, for example, in selection, accountability, credentialing, or diagnosis because of the inferences drawn from the assessment’s validity.

Test security is a relatively new field that has been gaining momentum since the early 2000s. For a long time, many testing organizations kept test cheating and theft to themselves. If there was a breach, such as a box of test booklets reported as missing or a ...