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Certification’s “Invisible Science” by Dr. Jim George, ClearLearn VP of Certification Services and Dr. Earl McCallon, ClearLearn VP of Psychometric Services In the not too distant future, online tests will be able to “judge” each of your answers in real time. These adaptive tests will then automatically serve up the next question adjusted to match your unique mind! “Smart tests” sound like science fiction, but the breakthrough will just be another example of tremendous recent progress in the fields of psychometrics and certification services. Not a well-known discipline, psychometrics is one of the “invisible” sciences that are critical to successful Internet-based testing. The quantitative practice fuses scoring and statistical interpretation with areas of expertise like latent trait analysis, adverse impact studies and “fairness”. As intelligent computer technologies are harnessed to support these methods, the day of the “smart test” looms ever closer. In the mean time - while corporations try to evaluate endless hardware and software solutions - it makes good sense to take a quick look at the hidden knowledge that drives every truly effective testing machine. Social Concerns Mandate Awareness Modern social pressures – and marketing concerns – are behind the development of certain fundamental methods that put the certification process on a solid, systematic footing. Today, corporations want programs that truly distinguish them from any competitors they might happen to have. And as labor markets finally begin to balance out, the need for professionals to bolster their resumes with high-quality credentials will increase. “Fairness” has also become a huge concern. America is a litigious society, and issues like “adverse impact” cannot be ignored. Do your tests currently discriminate against any test-taker’s gender, race or age group? Let’s certainly hope not! Almost as a form of operational insurance, forward-thinking corporations are beginning to tackle the full spectrum of fairness issues. These executives want to be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they went the extra mile to structure tests that differentiate between individual candidates with ZERO discrimination. And it takes a little psychometric science to keep tests legally fair. Trade Secrets Accounting and zoology are just forms of knowledge. To become a CPA or certified zoologist, however, you must prove to your peers you can apply that knowledge. The best accountants and zoologists are rightfully proud of the skills they have accumulated over the years. They want to be certain that new professionals within their company live up to their standards. The first step toward protecting those standards is a fair and impartial assessment of the “body of knowledge” that a candidate must possess in order to join the peer group. Certification specialists typically work with a group of people who have been given the daunting honor of formalizing the company's body of knowledge, or BoK. We do our best to nurture this board of examiners throughout the BoK definition process, educate them in terms of essential standards of accreditation, and facilitate their application of those standards to the unique knowledge and practice of everything from accounting to zoology. In addition to BoK issues, there has recently been an amalgamation of topics growing stronger as national standards for certifying agencies. These “trade secrets” include program audits, identifying and credentialing based on competencies, test validation, statistical reporting, continuous personal and professional growth, training development and delivery. A well-coordinated certification program can take as long as a year or more to structure and implement, so fairly specialized project management skills are also required to make sure that the standards of the process obtain throughout. In the most successful programs, a certification development project manager will also be working in close harmony with an authority on psychometrics. Hopefully, the statistically-oriented team member will see to it that tests on the defined BoK measure precisely what they are supposed to measure in the fairest way possible. In these close collaborations, knowledge analysts and psychometric experts are steadily developing new and better means of protecting the client’s unique image and interests. There may never be a Nobel Prizes handed out for certification services, but we are very proud to see our own BoK growing by leaps and bounds these days. And if you ever find yourself face-to-face with a computerized test that seems to be able to read your mind, you can rest assured our obscure disciplines had an “invisible” hand in the process. ************************************************* Dr. Jim George is Vice President of Certification Development Services for Dallas-based ClearLearn. He previously served for 15 years as a ‘foundering’ contributor and Vice President of the University of North Texas Professional Development Institute, interpreting certification standards and providing services for more than 100 associations. |
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