Session Type: Presentation
Location: Broadmoor Hall E

Presenters: 

• Maria Incrocci, Senior Vice President of Psychometrics & Assessment Services, Meazure Learning
• William Finnerty, Senior Examination Content Developer, National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists
• Mihaiela Gugiu, Chief Assessment Officer, National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians
• Larry Simmons, Senior Director of Credentialing, National League for Nursing

Description: 

The key tenant of fairness in testing is to optimize performance for all qualified test takers by identifying and eliminating construct irrelevant obstacles that may hinder comparable and valid interpretation of test scores. All steps in the test development process must align with bias-free design strategies and support standards for fairness in testing.

Bias and sensitivity reviews are not new concepts for test sponsors to conduct and document when validating test content. However, with diversity, equity, and inclusion considerations at the forefront of public awareness, it has become clear that there is limited authoritative guidance on how to educate and train practitioners to review and detect potential bias in test content. There is equally limited guidance on ensuring that diversity and inclusion factors are considered throughout the test development cycle. To achieve fairness in testing, bias-free design strategies and support standards must be at the forefront of the test development process.

This session will present participants with guidance for assembling and engaging subject-matter experts in all facets of test development. The panelists will describe their firsthand experiences in this area and offer practical advice to assist test developers through a solution-driven pathway to address this critical component of content development and validation processes.

Key questions this session will address include: Why is it important to make deliberate efforts to minimize bias in test development activities? What techniques should be used to develop an unbiased view of individuals and subgroups in the population of qualified candidates? How can the overall industry support test developers with guidance activities and educational material?

Session Type: Presentation
Location: Broadmoor Hall D

Presenters: 

• Jason Fine, Vice President, Account Management & Strategic Partnerships, Meazure Learning
• Melissa Opp, Deputy Executive Director, National Commission for Health Education Credentialing
• David Mason, Director, Certificant & Student Experience, FP Canada

Description: 

Your credential holders are one of your most valuable assets. They are passionate about their profession, they’ve gone through the process, understand what it takes to be successful, and know the value of holding your credential. Why not utilize that goodwill to promote your program and educate a prospective student population of future credential holders?

Join several assessment organizations to learn how they leveraged their community of credential holders to build relationships with colleges and universities, resulting in expanded reach, diversity and growth for their programs.

From an ambassador program to specific engagement outreach and providing real-world professional scenarios, these credentialing programs have found ways to connect with students and young professionals beyond anything they’ll find in a classroom or textbook.

Presenters will share marketing and communication tools they used to attract and communicate with their student population, ranging from social media to videos to career based informational meetings, hear actual examples of activities that worked. An added benefit to these engagements is that the programs were also able to increase the information for students to be successful on their assessments.

Presenters will also discuss what led them to initiate these programs, how the programs are structured, best practices in recruiting university influencers, and the success they’ve seen along the way. If you are concerned about program growth or want to identify ways to strengthen your connection with students and build your pipeline, this is the session for you!

Session Type: Presentation
Location: Colorado Hall E

Presenters: 

• Stephanie Dille, Chief Marketing Officer, Meazure Learning
• Todd Galati, Senior Director, Credentialing and Practice Advancement, American Council on Exercise
• MaryBeth Kurland, Chief Executive Officer, Commission for Case Manager Certification
• Melanie Graw, Senior Exam Developer, National Restaurant Association

Description: 

As the credentialing world becomes more and more competitive and in fact, many credentials remain optional, competing for mindshare from your potential credential holders can be difficult. It is mission critical for any assessment organization to focus on the value of their credential and promote that value with various stakeholders. Stakeholders may include educators, students, employers, professionals and even consumers. Combine this with limited resources to spend on marketing your program and very quickly, we begin to ask ourselves, what will have the greatest impact? How can we promote the value of what we are doing to the people that care about quality, value and employability for credential holders?

Most consumer-driven marketing is expensive and often difficult to target but the good news is you have strong advocates already engaged with you, your credential holders! In this session, a panel of testing program leaders will discuss how they leverage their community of credential holders to launch some powerful marketing programs and how these efforts have had some amazing results. They will share proven strategies and tools developed to increase exam program exposure with the added benefits of organically building a connected community of professionals. You will learn about marketing programs focused on leveraging credential holders to drive testing program growth. Examples include a mentor program that benefits the professional development of both the mentor and mentee, professional development tools that provide opportunities for credential holders to stay engaged, and a rich set of social media activities fueled by digital assets. You will walk away with new strategies to engage with your credential holders and build a stronger, more powerful marketing channel leveraging your community of credential holders.

Session Type: Presentation
Location: Colorado Hall AB

Presenters: 

• Sarah Hasnoo, Director of Client Engagement, Professional Testing, Meazure Learning
• Gauri Sharma, Vice President, Professional Certifications, American Bankers Association
• Mindy Rodgers, Vice Chair, National Association of Medical Staff Services (NAMSS)
• Alexandra Link, Certification Program Manager, American Council On Exercise (ACE)

Description: 

Making changes to a program, whether it’s a solution or vendor change, can be daunting. Regardless of the benefits, managing the change and challenging the current way of doing things can require a significant number of resources and carry risk for the program. While many credentialing programs have experienced the need for change and a process for implementing it, some are hesitant to share their experiences and lessons learned due to potential public scrutiny.

In this panel discussion, attendees will hear from several credentialing programs that have recently changed their remote proctoring provider. These programs will share their experiences in switching providers as well as the best practices they established. They’ll also divulge the benefits they’ve gained from making the switch and the challenges they needed to overcome. Session attendees will also learn how the adoption and use of new tools, reporting, and processes—both internally and externally—contributed to the overall outcome of the provider change. While this discussion will be focused on the adoption of new online proctoring technologies, the principles shared during this session can be applied to any large program change.

By the end of the session, attendees will gain valuable insights and tips for managing candidate expectations, aligning internal teams around change, managing vendors, and demonstrating the value and outcomes of the change.

Session Type: Presentation
Location: Broadmoor Hall D

Presenters: 

• Rachel Schoenig, Founder and CEO,  Cornerstone Strategies, LLC; Chief Science Officer, Examity/Meazure Learning
• Nathan Thompson, CEO,  Assessment Systems
• Patrick Ochoa, Chief Operating Officer, MonitorEDU

Description: 

The COVID-19 pandemic drove an explosion in digital assessment and remote proctoring, as organizations struggled to migrate on short timelines and small budgets. This often left them facing decisions about which vendor and type of remote proctoring without having a background in the pros and cons of each. This panel will provide a thoughtful discussion on the types of remote proctoring and situations where each is most relevant. It will also discuss related issues like privacy, scalability, and the role that AI plays. The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of AI proctoring, but in some cases also backlash.

This debate will bring together experts from three of the leading remote proctoring companies, each with a unique perspective. One provides live human proctoring, one focuses on record-and-review, and the third provides AI. Discussion points include:

• What assessment situations are a good fit for AI vs record-and-review vs live?
• For what problems or situations is AI or human proctoring not a good fit?
• What are best practices and policies to implement remote proctoring?
• How can bias affect proctoring, and how do we mitigate it?

At the end, we will welcome questions from the audience for the panelists to discuss, as well as welcoming their viewpoints, especially from a customer perspective.