Pesticide_Certification_Exam_Attempts_2025.pdf

This document is a Pesticide Certification Exam Attempts Summary compiled by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture for the 2025 fiscal year, providing statistical data related to a Request for Information (RFI) concerning remote pesticide certification and license exam administration. The RFI, issued by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, seeks vendor responses for administering pesticide certification and licensing exams with 24/7/365 testing availability across physical and remote locations. The scope encompasses exam scheduling, applicant eligibility verification, secure exam-material handling, test security, privacy protections, accessibility accommodations, recordkeeping, and regulatory compliance. Vendors must integrate with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture's CoreOne system via secure API, provide multilingual exam administration, and transmit results through automated electronic transfer, SFTP, API integration, encrypted email, or secure web portals. Responses to the RFI are due July 17, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Central Time and should be submitted to Lori Holt referencing RFI #32505-00126 using the Department's Technical Informational Form, Cost Informational Form, and Additional Considerations form.

The exam data reveals significant vendor performance metrics relevant to contract planning: in 2025, the Department administered 5,147 total certification exam attempts across 30 categories with an overall pass rate of 36.35%. The vendor must comply with Tennessee's mandated maximum exam fees of $25 for certification exams and $150 for licensing exams, with transparent fee-collection procedures, multiple payment methods, and clear refund policies addressing cancellations, rescheduling, and applicant errors. Data security is a critical qualification requirement, mandating vendors to describe encryption practices, user authentication controls, cybersecurity standards, and incident response protocols. Vendors must also outline comprehensive policies and procedures for detecting and preventing unethical testing practices, including identity verification methods, proctoring approaches, and monitoring tools. This is an RFI only and does not represent a binding solicitation or obligate the State to reimburse costs for response development.