Certification Assessment
Signaling of individual capabilities in the labor market is important for workforce development. Government- or government-based credentialing, meaning mandatory licensing and voluntary certification, is an approach for signaling worker capability to employers and increasing access to high demand-skill-wages jobs. Information Technology and Healthcare are two sectors in which credentials are widespread.
- Credentials are awarded using decision rules based on examinations, education, and experience
- Credentials may be maintained through suitable demonstrations of knowledge and skill over time
CETE staff in the Assessment Services Program has been providing evidence-based thinking and services in credentialing for the last decade, for example by
- Serving on the ANSI ISO-IEC 17024 Personnel Certification Accreditation Committee (Mahlman, 2010 to present)
- Preparing a commissioned paper for the National Skill Standards Board (Mahlman & Austin, 2003 – available here) on certification and career-technical education.
- Conducting verification surveys for practice analysis of bodies of knowledge – an article on developing test specifications using occupational survey data (Mahlman, 2006)
- Working with clients to design, develop, and evaluate tests
- Delivering tests for multiple clients through WebXam
- Providing guidance to credentialing bodies seeking accreditation under standards developed by ISO-IEC 17024 (2003) or National Commission on Certifying Agencies (2004)
As one illustration of our approach to accreditation, a document that we use with clients is provided as a PDF. The document is a self-report completed by potential clients, in other words a needs assessment that allows for planning, scheduling, and budgeting work.
© 2011 The Ohio State University - College of Education and Human Ecology - The Center on Education and Training for Employment. All Rights Reserved.
If you have trouble accessing this page, contact the webmaster.