When validity and defensibility of licensing exams matter, the ARELLO Examination Accreditation Program provides an independent review and evaluation of licensing exams and the program methodology used in developing exams.
By requiring the ARELLO Examination Accreditation in requests for proposals and contract specifications for exam services, ARELLO members can be confident and trust that an independent review is “Ensuring Standards in Exam Development” that are both valid and defensible.
The purpose of the ARELLO Examination Accreditation Program is to promote the welfare, interests, and development of licensing through an independent evaluation and accreditation of licensing examination programs that are administered under the auspices of jurisdictional licensing agencies.
The specific objectives of the program are to: (1) validate and improve examination quality and (2) promote licensure recognition through increased recognition of examination scores among jurisdictions.
In order to be accredited by ARELLO, examination development programs must be found to be in compliance with ARELLO Guidelines for Accreditation and generally accepted principles of examination development such as but not limited to those identified in the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. One way to ensure that exams used for real estate licensing meet these high standards is to require the ARELLO exam accreditation in requests for proposals (RFP), and in the contract specifications for exam services.
The ARELLO Accreditation could be a significant link in the chain of evidence for validity and legal defensibility of a real estate licensing examination should any organization that has an examination program accredited by ARELLO be called upon to defend their examination program.
ABOUT LICENSING EXAM DEVELOPMENT
A primary purpose of regulatory licensing is to protect the public by ensuring that entry-level real estate licensees (both salesperson and broker level), possess the knowledge and ability to competently and safely perform the activities and tasks essential to brokerage services in a manner which protects the public’s interest.
Exams used in licensing are intended to provide the public and regulatory agencies with a dependable mechanism for identifying those who have the essential knowledge and ability necessary for safe and competent practice.
A primary public policy and practical concern of regulators is that licensing exams measure what they are supposed to measure and that they are valid and legally defensible. The validity of an exam relies primarily on “evidence” that the subject area content reflects the job-related knowledge required to perform the activities of the profession in conformance with standards of practice, laws and prescriptive rules. Such “evidence” of validity supports that the exam score is reflective of the exam’s ability to discriminate between those who are qualified and those who are not.
ARELLO's Examination Accreditation Committee encourages all real estate
regulatory agencies to require ARELLO Certified™ examinations in their jurisdiction
(through inclusion in RFPs and rules) to ensure quality tests for the good of the consumer and to
promote uniformity and recognition among license laws.
Contact ARELLO for more information on this important program.
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License Law Officials
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