Abstract
The standards associated with high-stakes professional credentialing are well established in the field of testing and measurement and are well supported by antitrust, administrative, and contract law. These standards have evolved to assure that the scope of work for a field’s practitioners is appropriately reflected in the content of credentialing examinations and that the means by which credentials are earned include practitioners and other stakeholders throughout all phases of the credentialing process. This article describes the procedures by which the content of credentialing examinations is determined. The certification programs administered by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board are used as an illustration throughout. The article also considers the implications of these procedures and mechanisms.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education. (1999). Standards for educational and psychological testing. Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.
American National Standards Institute. (2003). General requirements for bodies operating certification systems of persons. Washington, DC.
American National Standards Institute. (2014). Accreditation directory. https://www.ansica.org/wwwversion2/outside/ALLdirectoryListing.asp?menuID=2&prgID=201&status=4. Accessed 3 Apr 2014.
Angoff, W. H. (1984). Scales, norms, and equivalent scores. Princeton: Educational Testing Service.
Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2011). BACB Newsletter, May 2011. http://www.bacb.com/newsletter/BACB_Newsletter_05_2011.pdf. Accessed 3 Apr 2014.
Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2012). Fourth edition task list. http://www.bacb.com/Downloadfiles/TaskList/BACB_Fourth_Edition_Task_List.pdf. Accessed 3 Apr 2014.
Henderson, J. P., & Smith, D. (2009). Job/practice analysis. In J. Knapp, L. Anderson, & C. Wild (Eds.), Certification: the ICE handbook (pp. 123–148). Washington, DC: Institute for Credentialing Excellence.
Institute for Credentialing Excellence. (2014). NCCA-accredited certification programs. Retrieved from http://www.credentialingexcellence.org/p/cm/ld/fid=121. Accessed 3 Apr 2014.
Livingston, S. A. (2006). Item analysis. In S. M. Downing & T. M. Haladyna (Eds.), Handbook of test development (pp. 421–441). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
National Commission for Certifying Agencies. (2003). National Commission for Certifying Agencies standards for the accreditation of national certification programs. Washington, DC
Raymond, M. R., & Neustel, S. (2006). Determining the content of credentialing examinations. In S. M. Downing & T. M. Haladyna (Eds.), Handbook of test development (pp. 191–223). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Ricci v. DeStefano (2009), 129 S. Ct. 2658, 2671.
Shook, G. L., Johnston, J. M., & Mellichamp, F. (2004). Determining essential content for applied behavior analyst practitioners. The Behavior Analyst, 27, 67–94.
United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (1978). United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines on employment testing procedures. Washington, DC.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This paper is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Jerry Shook, whose contributions to credentialing applied behavior analysts have had a profound impact on the field and those it serves.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Johnston, J.M., Mellichamp, F.H., Shook, G.L. et al. Determining BACB Examination Content and Standards. Behav Analysis Practice 7, 3–9 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-014-0003-6
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-014-0003-6