SETTING PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE AND CERTIFICATION

Credentialing programs were surveyed to ascertain the procedures that they use to set performance standards on multiple-choice and open-ende d assessments. For multiple-choice assessments, these programs mostly employ variations on the Angoff (1971) standard-setting method. Proced ures used with open-ended questions showed more divergence; some agenc ies use a question by question approach, whereas others utilize method s that consider the assessment results more holistically. Implications of these standard-setting practices from credentialing agencies to th e National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), including the co nsequences of the assessment on the individual candidate, the matrix s ampling construction of NAEP-assessments, the multiple cutpoints of th e NAEP assessment program, and the types of validity evidence that are typically gathered to support the validity of the performance standar d, are discussed. Generalizations of these standard-setting methods fr om the field of professional licensure and certification should be mad e with caution.