Course abstract
This short course is designed to give attendees a thorough understanding of the goals for the use of standard setting procedures and the basic components of the standard setting procedures that are commonly in use. The intent is to show how the structure and processes used for setting standards of proficiency on educational tests can be used to support a validity argument for the interpretations that are commonly made about examinee performance relative to standards located on reporting score scales.
The short course is not designed to train participants on a specific standard setting procedure. Examples will be provided of common standard setting procedures with a focus on how to evaluate whether those standard setting procedures are functioning as intended. The examples will include a discussion of the typical steps in a standard setting procedure including panelist selection, training, selection of test items, standard setting tasks, feedback, and final approval of standards. Some statistical methodology will be described and demonstrated for determining the functional characteristics of a standard setting procedure.