Open Records Decision No. 353
December 31, 1982

	Re:  Copy of examination questions used by city in listing applicants for 
electricians' licenses

Mr. Lowell F. Denton
City Attorney
P. O. Box 9960
College Station, Texas  77840

Dear Mr. Denton:

	You have requested our decision under the Open Records Act, article 6252-17a, 
V.T.C.S., as to the availability of a copy of examination questions used by the city of 
College Station in testing an applicant for an electrician's license.

	Ordinance No. 1123 of the city of College Station requires any person “desiring 
to qualify for a ‘master electrician's license’” to take and pass a particular examination 
described in the ordinance.  We will presume for purposes of this opinion that the city of 
College Station, as a home-rule city, is legally empowered to impose this examination 
requirement.  You state that an unsuccessful applicant has requested a copy of the 
examination, the grader's work papers, and evidence of her grade.  You also state that no 
“record” of the grade exists other than the test paper itself.

	This office has previously said that the authority to conduct an examination 
“necessarily includes the authority to maintain the confidentiality of the questions used to 
test the knowledge of the person examined.”  Open Records Decision No. 118 (1976); 
Attorney General Opinion H-242 (1974).  In addition, it has been held that, where an 
examiner's “policy is to reuse examination questions and knowledge of a past 
examination's questions would compromise the effectiveness of future examinations, the 
agency may maintain the confidentiality of past examination questions.”  Open Records 
Decision No. 118; Attorney General Opinion H-483 (1974).  Thus, if the questions on 
the city's examination for master electrician are reused, the city may withhold them from 
public disclosure.  By the same reasoning, if the grader's work papers would reveal the 
contents of the examination, and the questions are reused, the city may also withhold 
those work papers.

	The city should, however, easily be able to advise the applicant of her grade.  
Although a governmental body is not required to “compile or extract . . . information if it 
can be made available” by giving a requestor access to the records themselves, Open 
Records Decision Nos. 243 (1980); 127 (1976), the city in this instance has opted not to 
disclose the contents of the examination.  As a result, and since “extraction” in this case 
would require little effort, we conclude that the city of College Station must advise the 
applicant of her grade on the examination.

Very truly yours,

Mark White
Attorney General of Texas

John W. Fainter, Jr.
First Assistant Attorney General

Richard E. Gray III
Executive Assistant Attorney General

Prepared by Rick Gilpin
Assistant Attorney General

APPROVED:
OPINION COMMITTEE

Susan L. Garrison, Chairman
Jon Bible
Rick Gilpin
Jim Moellinger
Bruce Youngblood