What is happening to our pass rates? A discussion on trends and factors impacting fluctuations

Over the past few years, some credentialing programs have noticed fluctuations in pass rates and exam performance. There are various possible explanations to account for these variations, such as new exam content outline derived from a new job analysis, new standard setting, test taker variability, test difficulty, change in the number of test takers, changes test delivery window timings, or usual fluctuations overtime. It’s difficult to ignore the correlation between these changes and the COVID-19 pandemic. Some have questioned whether the pandemic might have had an impact, such as changes to education/training program modality and access, or test-taker preparedness and bandwidth to take a credentialing test.

A short study leveraging data from 17 different nursing specialty programs was conducted to identify trends in pass rate fluctuations. Although it is hard to assess the impact of the pandemic on pass rate fluctuations, some programs appear to have been affected during the COVID-19 timeframe.

During this session, panelists will review key findings from this short study and discuss implications with 3 different credentialing programs. Commonalities and trends, and key considerations for how to address and respond to key stakeholders concerns and questions will be highlighted.

Thank you Excelsoft for sponsoring the Test Development and Administration track.