In a previous post (NCCA Accreditations), you learned about the ARRT's accreditation through the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). More recently, you learned about the Job Analysis process (NCCA Standard 14: Job Analysis) and the Examination Specifications (NCCA Standard 15: Examination Specifications). Today, we continue our series exploring another standard that certification organizations must meet to earn accreditation.
Now that the Job Analysis is complete and the specifications around the examination have been identified, it is time to develop the actual examination. Standard 16 specifically addresses how we do this, and states, "The certification program must develop certification examinations according to established specifications and sound psychometric principles and practices." The standard contains four essential elements, and ARRT takes specific steps to ensure we meet each one.
First, "The program must use and document a systematic process for developing items to ensure that examination content is accurate, current, fair, and appropriate for the target population."
Second, "The program must use and document a systematic process for creating examination forms to ensure the comparability and integrity of the content."
Third, "When the nomenclature used to classify items (e.g., content outline) changes, programs must use and document a systematic process to update item classifications as needed."
Forth, "A program that includes a performance examination must employ rigorous content development methods, including any associated scoring rubrics." Please note, the ARRT does not use performance examinations; as such, this element of the Standards does not impact ARRT.
ARRT derives the Examination Content Specifications and Task Inventories directly from our practice analysis process and then uses those documents with our committees of subject matter experts (SMEs) to develop items (the questions on the exam) and then pulls items together in a systematic approach to create examination forms (the actual test).
