AN APPLICATION OF PRACTICAL STRATEGIES IN ASSESSING THE CRITERION-RELATED VALIDITY OF CREDENTIALING EXAMINATIONS

Within the context of a comprehensive validation study, the criterion-related validities of two laboratory practitioner certification examinations were assessed partially derived from criteria outlined by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies, the research involved assessing the relationships between examination performance and preexamination internship supervisor performance ratings, postexamination supervisor performance ratings, grade point averages (GPAs), and earned credit hours in related and unrelated academic subjects. Supervisors' overall ratings of examinees were related to total test performance. Exceptions to the positive findings involved the relationships between content-related work area performance and scores on respective subsections of the examinations. Rather short subsections (20-60 items) appeared to lack the power to discriminantly predict performance in these areas. In addition, although GPAs in laboratory-related subjects were significantly related to examination performance, it was the amount of training in nonrelated subjects that found to covary with examination performance. The outcomes of the present research also suggest which of the measures may be more effective, useful, and practical for other test validators. Investigators in other credentialing areas may wish to consider the strategies adopted here for assessing the validity of tests that they construct and administer.