This is a continuation of the previous blog article that discussed the use of performance examinations for certification and licensure.  To summarize the previous blog, performance examinations (i.e., “hands-on”) are expensive to use and maintain. Many certification and licensure authorities have abandoned hands-on performance examinations for some alternative measure of a person’s skills. However, there are situations where the expense and effort are worth the expenditure because of consequences to clients.  Situations where a performance examination may be worth the expense are those where failing to measure an examinee’s performance skills (fine motor) could result in pain or suffering for other people (e.g., patients). 

The video item type is useful across a wide range of content areas and exam programs. Video can be used to better represent crucial aspects of the profession. In addition, video can facilitate coverage of test content not easily measured with traditional written stems.

With the release of the micro-credential white paper “Micro-Credentials: Preparing a Skilled Workforce in Real Time,” which you can download here, we are bringing you a series of excerpts from the paper that we think are important to highlight.

Reed Castle, Ph.D.

The primary goal of any testing program is to treat test takers in a fair and equitable manner and to assure that inferences made from an exam score are appropriate. To do so, one component is to maintain proper scoring and reporting procedures. 

If you ask psychometricians and test developers, “What is the first step in developing a certification program?” a majority of them will respond that the first step is to conduct a job/task analysis. From a measurement perspective, they would be right. Once an organization has determined that they want to go through the process of developing a certification program, a logical first step is to conduct a job/task analysis. However, there is a critical step that every organization should take before reaching that point, although few do take it. That first step is to conduct a needs assessment.

Examinations can be split into two types: norm referenced and criterion referenced.  Norm referenced examinations compare each examinee’s score to a normative sample.  Criterion referenced exams compare each examinee’s score to an established standard.  Let’s think of each of these types of exams in terms of running a race.  Typically, when people come out and participate in a race they are being evaluated based on the performance of everyone else in the race. This process is similar to how examinees are evaluated on a norm referenced examination.  Whoever crosses the finishes line first will be considered the winner of the race regardless of what time they cross the finish line.

By: Roy Swift, Ph.D., Executive Director, Workcred - an affiliate of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

Credentials hold the power to build education and career paths. But the last decade has seen enormous growth in the number and variety of labor market credentials – college degrees, educational certificates, industry certifications, occupational licenses, and micro-credentials such as badges. This growth has fueled confusion among students, workers, job seekers, and employers who are left to navigate the “credentialing maze” without a guiding compass.

There are many philosophical debates as to what constitutes validity or the validity of test score inferences. Within certification we hear things like “a job analysis is typically conducted every five years unless the content changes more or less frequently.” You may have also heard that more than eight SMEs are required for test development activities, while others suggest six or more is sufficient. Some suggest that SMEs should not overlap with separate test development meetings.  So in essence psychometricians will typically say “it depends” in response to questions about the appropriate way to design a certification examination program.

Today, the hegemony of formal education’s traditional business model is being challenged.  Macro trends in employment, technological advances and the inability for our legacy educational systems to maintain pace with an unprecedented global demand for learning have fueled a renaissance in educational entrepreneurship and innovation that are sure to change the way we think about education and learning.