Exam Development

BCSP’s examinations reflect the most current knowledge and skills required to keep people safe. To ensure our exams accomplish this, we enlist the help of our certificants who qualify as subject matter experts (SMEs) and lead reviews of an exam’s blueprint. Chosen SMEs help us create, revalidate, and revise our certification examinations through three steps:

Job and Task Analysis: A three-day panel activity for defining the exam and identifying domains, tasks, and knowledge and skill statements that will be used to create the draft examination blueprint.

Item Writing: An activity for writing and validating new questions. When questions are being written for an exam, one or more activities lasting several days are conducted with a panel of SMEs. When questions are being written for a self-assessment, the activity is generally conducted with a single SME who may spend up to a week writing items.

Passing Score Activity: A three-hour panel for evaluating the questions that appear on the examination to determine an appropriate passing score.

If you are interested in assisting with our examination development process, see the “Upcoming Panel Activities” section of this page for a list of upcoming panel activities and information to sign up for consideration.

Exams Process Instructional Videos

Below are four videos which provide information on the overall exam development process, and the specifics of the job and task analysis, item writing, and passing score panel activities in further detail.

Overview

Job and Task Analysis

Item Writing

Passing Score

Thank You, Panel Participants!