Wednesday, November 9, 2011
2:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m
Certification Resources: Building Your Toolbox
Elizabeth Grater; Jeffrey Kenney; Janice Moore
Build your professional toolbox of certification resources by attending this session that will review the many sources of information available to new certification staff, board, or committee members. This session is designed for individuals who are new to the certification profession, whether they are part of a new or existing certification organization. Participants will learn where to go and who to contact when they have a question about certification by learning about the broad range of resources available including training, networking, books/publications, professional development opportunities, standards, and more.
3:45 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Concepts in Determining Exam Integrity
Daniel Eyob, MBA, CPP; A. Benjamin Mannes, CPP, SSI, CHS-III
In the age of social media, computer-based testing, and the global community; how does a testing organization determine the overall integrity of their examinations? This session looks into exam integrity from both the perspectives of psychometric research and test security to give participants a best practice approach to overlapping scoring, data forensics, and key validation methods to preserving the validity and integrity of an exam.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
10:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
Are Government Mandates for Accreditation on the Horizon? A Discussion of Military Efforts to Certify Service Members
Amanda Dainis, PhD; Lisa Lutz, MPA
Professional certification increasingly plays an integral part in the transition of service members from the military to the civilian workforce. Military occupations have been matched to over 1,000 different civilian certifications – less than half have been accredited. With the increased reliance on certification for service members and other government employees, will accreditation of certifications become a standard for government payment like accreditation of institutions is in higher education? This session will address trends in government requirements for accreditation of certification programs.
11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
The First Steps: Establishing a Test Development Cycle
Ben Babcock, PhD; Nathan Thompson, PhD
“If you aim at nothing, that’s exactly what you’ll hit.” A strong test development (TD) cycle is essential to reliability, validity, and simple business efficiency for a testing program. The first step in TD is understanding the TD cycle and establishing an appropriate process for your organization which leads to those three things. We discuss a general model and best practices to consider when planning a new TDC or making an existing one better, with an emphasis on a programmatic circular approach that focuses on quality management. Topics to consider include paper vs. computerized delivery, event vs. continuous delivery, stakes level, security concerns, practical constraints, psychometrics, equating, and score reporting. Most importantly, because validity involves a chain of evidence from test scores back to professional competence, this model provides a plan for establishing that chain.
2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Lights! Camera! Actions for Including Multi-Media Components in Your Examination
Elizabeth Azari, JD; Andre DeChamplain, PhD; Janine Hawley, MS; Nancy Orr, PhD
In contrast to traditional examinations comprised of multiple-choice questions (MCQs) with static text and images, the use of computer- and Internet-based test delivery offers a unique opportunity to enhance examination content. For example, computer-based and web-based test delivery create the ability to supplement a traditional MCQ item stem by incorporating sounds or video clips that display visual and/or auditory rather than textual information. How can you leverage multi-media components to complement rather than confound a test item? What factors and considerations should be evaluated before including multi-media in your examination? This session will include examples of multi-media components. Speakers will present and consider measurement aspects and challenges of using multi-media item types for the development of test materials, test administration, and scoring.
Friday, November 11, 2011
10:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
The Certification Industry - What are the Opportunities for the Next Decade?
Ron Lancaster, MS; Clarke E. Porter, MS
A brief history of the business of the professional testing industry starting in the 70s will be followed by audience engagement to identify problems impeding the growth, fidelity, relevance, and economics of the testing industry. Key industry trends will be identified that could help solve these problems.