Certification and Licensure Exam Development
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Exam Development for Certification and Licensure Programs
The Caviart Group can help with all stages of exam development to ensure your examination is rigorous, legally defensible and meets accreditation standards. We have experience across the full spectrum of assessment models, including innovative item types and performance-based formats that many credentialing firms do not offer.
See our process below…
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Job Task Analysis (JTA) or Job Analysis
A job task analysis is the search for truth, and analyses for certification and licensure examinations must be designed not only to seek this truth but also to provide the information required to ensure the legal defensibility of the results.
The analysis normally begins with a panel of subject matter experts working with a testing expert to develop a list of all the work activities or tasks that must be performed by a person in that occupation. This list is then turned into a survey instrument so that the input from many practitioners can be collected.
2
Assessment Model Selection
Our experience with all types of assessment models ranges from simple multiple-choice, to case management and constructed response, items to simulations. We help you determine which approach, or combination of approaches, best measures real competencies needed in your profession.
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Traditional multiple-choice and other selected response formats remain the most widely used testing model. We design and develop these exams to meet the highest psychometric and legal defensibility standards.
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Some high-stakes professions require the assessment of skills that cannot be accurately measured by multiple-choice questions alone. The Caviart Group develops assessments using a wide range of innovative item types, including image, audio, and video stimuli, three-dimensional interactive graphics, and complex multi-part problems that reflect real workplace scenarios. If standard item formats don't fully capture competency in your profession, we have the experience and technology partnerships to build something better.
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For professions where application matters as much as knowledge, we develop constructed response tests and computer-based simulations — including patient case management problems and interactive scenario-based assessments — that require candidates to demonstrate real-world problem-solving skills rather than simply select an answer.
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This is where many testing firms reach the limit of what they can deliver and where The Caviart Group stands apart. We develop and administer live performance assessments and video-based testing for professions where competency can only be demonstrated by watching someone actually do the work. If your profession requires hands-on evaluation, we have the experience to build a program that holds up to scrutiny.
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Not all credentialing programs require a traditional exam. We also design oral examinations, portfolio review programs, and work sample assessment processes for programs where demonstrated experience is the measure of competency.
Want to see some of our innovative assessments at work? (Link to Innovations page)
3
Test Design
The results from analysis are used to design a plan for the examination which identifies the topics that will be covered on the examination. The plan will also specify the number of test questions that will appear on the examination from each of the tasks or topics included in the outline. Following the specifications in the exam blueprint will ensure that every edition of the exam covers the same subject matter in the same proportions.
4
Item Writing and Test Development
After the test has been designed, subject matter experts (SMEs) are recruited to write the test questions. After the test items have been drafted, they are professionally edited and then peer reviewed by SMEs. The editing process ensures that the items are consistent in style and format, that they are grammatically correct, and that they clearly present the problem that the examinee is to solve.
Items are normally pilot-tested or field-tested prior to being used on an examination. This process allows test developers to evaluate the item's performance prior to including it as a scored item on an examination.
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Test Administration
We have administered tests in more than 120 countries around the world in all types of environments. We will help you determine the best test administration process for your program whether the test is in a computer-based, paper-based or performance-based format.
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Test Delivery
Whether in-person or remotely proctored, The Caviart Group facilitates all forms of test delivery. Whether we deliver your test directly or through one of our partnerships with the world’s leading test delivery companies we ensure that each test administration meets the highest standards of security, has the most advanced technology, and offers the highest level of support to candidates.
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Results Analysis and Psychometrics
The Caviart Group test developers and psychometricians have years of experience in constructing tests to meet program needs and industry best practices. All of our programs are designed and developed to be legally defensible as valid assessments of candidate ability.
We monitor and analyze initial and ongoing test results to ensure that items are performing correctly and that the tests continue to perform as expected. Our statistical evolution process ensures that tests continue to improve statistically with each edition.
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