Attention October 2011 Exam Writers
Gaining one’s CHRP designation is not an easy task. The CHRP bestows the respect and acknowledgement for years of dedication, patience and professional experience. Attaining a CHRP is challenging by design, as befitting the recognition of acumen required to become a certified HR professional.
The October 2011 NKE and NPPA results are now in, and the provincial Member Associations have provided the results to all candidates.
The October 2011 NKE was developed using pre-existing content from the CCHRA item data bank. When preparing for scoring of the NKE, subject matter experts met on several occasions to review the difficulty of every multiple choice item to ensure the level of difficulty in the October 2011 NKE was consistent with the level of difficulty in past exams, and that the grading process has remained consistent to previous exams
The October 2011 NKE Scoring Process
The NKE is a part of a ‘High Stakes Credentialing’ process. This is an important distinction as it is as a single, defined assessment that has a clear line drawn between those who pass and those who fail, and has direct consequences for passing or failing. There isn’t a bell curve to rank one writer against another or to improve results. Rather, the NKE assesses whether or not each candidate has the level of knowledge and proficiency required to be certified.
To support this high standard, exam scoring follows an externally prescribed and detailed process.
Reliance on Psychometricians
It is important that this standard be the same from one sitting to the next. Ensuring that the standard of proficiency required to pass the exam is consistent from one exam sitting to the next is a task which is confided to psychometricians. While the exam standards reoctobren consistent, the results do not. Historically, groups of exam writers have differed; exam-writers at one sitting October be better prepared than exam-writers at another sitting.
Angoff Panels
Starting October 2009, CCHRA started using ‘Angoff panels’ to set the ‘cut-scores’ or the passing grade for the exams. An Angoff panel refers to a specific approach to setting the cut-score for an exam to ensure that the exam difficulty is consistent across variations of the exam from one sitting to the next. That being said, differences in exam difficulty can occur. The cut-score will balance the variances in exam difficulty. In simplest terms, an easier exam will have a higher cut-score and a more difficult exam will have a lower cut-score.
Conducting Angoff panels is a more systematic and precise way of setting the cut-score for the NKE. This process makes use of the combined judgment of panel members to establish the probability that a candidate at the threshold of competence would be able to answer the question correctly. The most recent Angoff Panel was comprised of 11 subject matter experts recruited through the Member Associations. For the October 2011 NKE exam, this process was enhanced with additional methodologies, which incrementally refined the cut-score and ultimately increased the pass-rate.
Read more about Angoff Panels >>
The Pass Rate
The pass rate is a statistical outcome based on how the group of exam writers score against the methodologically determined cut-score. Historical cut-scores from the last three administrations range from 67% to 70%. Pass rates from these administrations have fluctuated from 45% to 59%.
In Comparison to Previous Exams
The level of difficulty in the October 2011 NKE was consistent with the level of difficulty in past exams, and the cut-rate ensured that the grading process has reoctobrened consistent to previous exams. The Angoff Panel worked to ensure both a fair yet challenging exam, as befitting the recognition of acumen required to become a certified HR professional.
For More Information
To learn more about the October 2011 NKE results, please contact the registrar at your provincial association.
Manual Re-scores
Manual re-scores are available for those who believe that there has been an error in the scoring of their exam. If you wish to have your exam manually re-scored, please send a written request along with payment of $50 for the NPPA or the NKE to:
Attn: Professional Standards
Canadian Council of Human Resources Associations (CCHRA)
150 Metcalfe Street, Suite 603,
Ottawa ON K2P 1P1
For Ontario members, requests for manual re-scores need to be made to the Human Resources Professionals Association of Ontario’s Office of the Registrar at registrar@hrpa.ca.
The Next NKE Exam
The next scheduled exam date is May 5, 2012 and participants must submit their application by March 5, 2012.
Learn more about the NKE >>