Item Writing and Review
Certification examinations
- ABPN test development staff perform question item bank analysis and identify areas where more items are needed.
- Committee members receive annual assignments and submit a specified number of items.
- ABPN editors edit items for formatting and stylistic consistency and return them to authors for revision if needed.
- Committee members are each assigned to review a section of the draft items ahead of the meeting.
- Committee meet to review items, further modify them as needed, and decide for each item whether to accept if for use, send for further revisions, or reject.
- Staff facilitate the meeting and track the committee’s revisions and decisions.
- After the meeting, staff make all item revisions. Final versions of accepted items are saved in the item bank for potential use on subsequent examinations.
- Staff compile feedback on any items that were flagged for revision or deletion. The feedback is provided to the original writer.
Article-Based Continuing Certification (ABCC) examinations
- Committee members receive annual assignments and submit a specified number of question items.
- ABPN editors edit for formatting and stylistic consistency and return them to authors for revision if needed.
- Committee members are each assigned to review all submitted items in a particular topic. They read the articles and review the questions blindly (i.e. without answer keys) to simulate the experience of a test taker.
- Committee meet to review items, make modifications as needed, and select the five questions per article to be used in the online examination.
- Staff facilitate the meeting and track the committee’s revisions and decisions.
- After the meeting, staff make all item revisions. Final versions of accepted items are saved in the item bank and are used in the online examinations.
- Staff compile feedback on any items that were flagged for revision or deletion.
ABPN
