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The Professional Testing Blog

Credentialing Examinations

The lifeblood of every credentialing body is its credential examinations.  Although sometimes in addition to experience and education, credentialing exams establish minimum competency necessary for an exam taker to achieve certification status.  Significant financial and human resources are invested in the creation, implementation, veracity and security of the examination. If any of these factors are compromised, the organization will face tremendous expense and, perhaps worse, a public relations disaster, opening up unforeseen possibilities for competitors. Vendor contracts and internal processes must be ironclad and constantly reviewed so as to avoid what could become an organization’s quick demise.  In addition to test security protections, contracts with testing vendors and testing centers must address the ever changing requirements of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA).  Until recently, it was settled that, under the ADA, exam providers must provide “reasonable accommodations”.  Now, some federal courts have adopted the “best ensure” standard which makes it much easier for exam takers to require more expensive and expansive accommodations.  Test administrators no longer can solely rely on how they have administered exams in the past.

Categorized in: Industry News