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Archives for Reed Castle, Ph.D.

Expectations When Developing a New Certification Examination—Be Aware So You Can Manage Your Expectations and Those of Subject-Matter-Experts

September 27, 2019  | Published by  | Comments Off on Expectations When Developing a New Certification Examination—Be Aware So You Can Manage Your Expectations and Those of Subject-Matter-Experts

Co-authored by Reed Castle, PhD and Christine D. Niero, PhD If you are new to developing a certification program, this post... View Article





Ensuring Equivalence for Exam Form Difficulty Variations

October 12, 2017  | Published by  | Comments Off on Ensuring Equivalence for Exam Form Difficulty Variations

One of the predominant goals a psychometrician strives to achieve is the development of a fair assessment program. The term... View Article





Key Considerations for Translating Examinations and Pitfalls to Avoid

June 9, 2017  | Published by  | Comments Off on Key Considerations for Translating Examinations and Pitfalls to Avoid

We recently provided a few broad “considerations” on the topic of translation of exams for cultural adaptation to a client.... View Article





Tools of the Trade

February 15, 2017  | Published by  | Comments Off on Tools of the Trade

What is the role of a psychometrician and software in the development and maintenance of a certification examination program? As... View Article





What is Measurement Error and What is its Relationship to Reliability?

October 13, 2016  | Published by  | Comments Off on What is Measurement Error and What is its Relationship to Reliability?

When discussing the statistical properties of an exam, one may hear the term “error” or measurement error used by psychometricians.... View Article





The Use of Certification and Licensure Programs in Developing Career Path Models

April 27, 2016  | Published by  | Comments Off on The Use of Certification and Licensure Programs in Developing Career Path Models

Over the past few years there has become increasing interest in the number of ISO/IEC 17024 accredited certification bodies certifying... View Article





Equating Test Forms for Fairness

November 5, 2015  | Published by  | Comments Off on Equating Test Forms for Fairness

Co-authored by: Reed Castle, Ph.D. and Vincent Lima

Certification examination programs often have more than one examination form (set of questions, or items) in use at a time, and they require routine updates. The exam forms represent the same content, but have different items. As new items come into use, they may be easier or harder than the first set of items. As a result, exam forms can have varying degrees of difficulty. These variations need to be taken into account when reporting scores and pass/fail decisions over time and exam forms.





Testing Essentials: Scoring QC

September 17, 2015  | Published by  | Comments Off on Testing Essentials: Scoring QC

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. 





Reliability and Decision Consistency

August 12, 2015  | Published by  | Comments Off on Reliability and Decision Consistency

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.





Computer Adaptive Testing: An Overview and Considerations

June 24, 2015  | Published by  | Comments Off on Computer Adaptive Testing: An Overview and Considerations

Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT) is a testing methodology that weds two processes—adaptive testing and computer administration—for efficient measurement and administration. When compared to fixed length exams delivered linearly on a computer, CAT exams measure a candidate’s ability with fewer delivered exam questions and higher precision. By precision, it is suggested that error is reduced and reliability is increased.