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Questions on the exam, referred to as items, are written
by Certified Hand Therapists who have been trained in preparing
multiple-choice items by our testing company. Approximately every two years, twelve to fourteen different CHTs,
both Occupational Therapists and Physical Therapists, are
selected to write items for the examination. Item Writers
are selected based on their clinical skills, knowledge and
experience. In addition, Item Writers may have teaching and
writing experience as well as clinical expertise in specific
areas outlined in the test blueprint.
Each Item Writer writes 40 items. These potential questions
are then sent to a validation committee – consisting
of experienced hand therapists and Item Writers – where
questions are assessed for content, level of difficulty, accuracy,
and correctness. Once approved, the question goes to our testing company for
style editing to ensure consistency of question format and
to be included in the bank of examination questions.
From that bank, the testing company prepares a draft examination based on
the exam blueprint. The exam committee then meets and reviews
the draft exam, substituting questions as needed to further
balance and match the content of the examination to the test
blueprint.
Every two years a call for new Item Writers goes out, applications
are reviewed, and new Item Writers are selected. The next
call for Item Writers will go out in 2010. Item Writers review, validate,
and link items to test specifications in addition to
contributing individual questions.
Personal comments from Maureen Ashe, PT, CHT
I was fortunate to be chosen as
an examination Item Writer for the Hand Therapy Certification
Commission (HTCC). I was one of only two Canadian Certified
Hand Therapists (CHTs) asked to join the Item Writer’s
committee. The experience was educational and very enlightening.
In this article I would like to outline briefly the process
of examination development and share my personal experience.
In 1999, I wrote and passed the HTCC exam to become a CHT.
In addition to my years of hand therapy experience, I also
spent an intense year preparing for my examination. I felt
the examination was comprehensive but fair. At a two-day Item
Writer training in November, I discovered the amount of work
that went into the examination itself. While I was systematically
preparing for the test, HTCC was systematically preparing
to test me.
The HTCC exam consists of 200 multiple-choice questions.
The underlying premise is that a valid exam is a reflection
of the skills and knowledge necessary to practice as a competent
therapist, and the process is a scientific stepwise system
to ensure an exam that is comprehensive, fair and accurate.
My role over the weekend and in the next two years will be
to develop questions that will go through this rigorous process
before being used in an exam. Although the weekend was an
intense learning experience of “what is a good question,”
I left satisfied that the exam process is tightly controlled
to give an objective means of certifying hand therapists.
In addition, I met clinicians from a variety of work and geographic
locations. We were able to come together in two days to work
successfully. This experience will enrich my hand therapy
experience while I develop questions and interact with hand
therapists from all over North America.
I would like to thank the HTCC staff and volunteers for both
this opportunity and my weekend experience. I believe that
the HTCC is committed to hand therapy, fairness, and the scientific
method.
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