CLEAR Exam Review Fall 2024

CLEAR Exam Review Fall 2024, Volume 34, No. 1

• Abstracts and Updates, by George Gray- In Abstracts and Updates, George Gray covers a range of recent publications, including a new edition of Assessment in Nursing Education, three recent articles addressing quality assurance and the validity of assessments, and updates on ChatGPT-4 and other AI innovations. Additionally, Dr. George Gray examines four articles on diverse topics, including assessment design to mitigate cheating in MOOCs, a new taxonomy for exam restrictions, and the role of exams in competency-based medical education.
• Legal Beat, by Dale Atkinson- Legal Beat discusses a license reciprocity case involving a New York-licensed dentist seeking reciprocal licensure in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Dental Board denied the request, citing concerns that New York’s dental licensing requirements were not substantially equivalent to Pennsylvania’s. The Commonwealth Court, however, reversed the Board’s decision. To learn more about the reasoning behind this outcome, delve into “Legal Beat.”
• Recent CLEAR Quick Poll Results, by Carla Caro- Carla Caro presents the results from the two most recent CLEAR membership surveys in the Quick Poll column. The polls highlighted in this issue are the “Use of Jurisprudence Exams” and “Pass Rate Changes from Before Covid-19 to the Present.” Interestingly, the “Pass Rate Changes” poll saw one of the lowest response rates in recent years. Was it because the topic has been thoroughly explored and discussed, or was everyone simply enjoying a screen-free vacation in July? We invite you to share your thoughts and suggestions for future Quick Polls on the CLEAR Regulatory Network Message Board.
• Ethics & Disciplinary Programs: Mitigating Risk & Minimizing Exposure, Richard Bar, Dr. Christine D. Niero, Ann Witherspoon, and John Zarian- Our first feature article presents a comprehensive 10-part framework outlining best practices for credentialing bodies navigating ethical challenges. While some of these challenges related to exams, this article broadly addresses ethical concerns for credentialing bodies, in line with CER’s expanded focus to better engage our regulator readers.
• Practical Issues in Standard Setting Part I: An Approach for Incorporating Policy Considerations with Method, by Drs. Gregory Cizek and Lorin Mueller- This article introduces a thoughtful amendment to standard setting processes by incorporating “historical bookmark” data. This approach provides participants with information on where previous pass rates would be located in the ordered item booklet, serving as useful guideposts without imposing limitations. We’re excited to announce that the exploration of standard setting will continue in the next issue with a follow-up article from these authors.