ESTABLISHING WEIGHTS FOR TEST PLANS FOR LICENSURE AND CERTIFICATION EXAMINATIONS

This study evaluated two methods for establishing weights for test pla ns for certification examinations. One method required a panel of expe rts to provide holistic judgments indicating the percentage of test qu estions to allocate to each content category. Weights were first obtai ned from individual panel members, discussed by the entire panel, and then finalized by group consensus. The other method derived weights us ing a statistical model. The model included ratings of task frequency and task criticality provided by a large sample of practitioners as we ll as information from a panel of experts concerning the linkages betw een specific tasks and the knowledge and skills required to perform th ose tasks. The study was replicated for four medical imaging specialti es in the field of radiologic technology. The weights for the two meth ods exhibited moderate to high levels of agreement for sections of the test plans comprised of specific imaging procedures. However, there w as much less agreement for those sections of the test plans that addre ssed more general topics. Possible reasons for the observed pattern of agreement and disagreement are considered.