Test Regeneration: A Primer
How does a test go from old to new?
Test regeneration — the process of updated existing Praxis™ exams — starts with a 5-year plan to review almost every Praxis exam. It includes convening National Advisory Committees (NAC), conducting job analyses, writing items and creating new forms of the tests, conducting standard setting studies and ultimately adopting tests and setting scores at the state level.
National Advisory Committees comprised of practicing professionals are convened to review the current test specifications, national standards and changes in the field that necessitate modifying existing tests. The NACs provide the opportunity to gather input from clients on issues such as test length, use of multiple-choice versus constructed-response items, content and subject categories, scoring and other constructs that make up a Praxis exam.
States can play a large role in test regeneration by sending representatives to the NAC. NAC candidates are asked to submit their demographic information, affiliation, years of experience and type of certification to ensure a broad and diverse panel of participants.
If any test changes to such a degree that equating with the previous test cannot be done using statistical processes, ETS assists states by conducting standard-setting studies at no charge. Following these studies, our Client Relations staff work with each state to review the results, performance data and pass rates so that the state may set a new passing score for the test. Tests are usually ready for state adoption approximately 18 months from the start of the review.
The Praxis regeneration plan will address areas of client concern. Specifically, in an effort to reduce the testing requirements for licensure and provide a more cost effective program for candidates, ETS will examine the use of the Praxis test series to determine whether states can use single rather than multiple tests in each subject area. ETS will also begin to move older NTE-scaled tests to the current Praxis scale of 100-200.
We recognize that in some cases these improvements may require states to conduct new standard setting studies and are now examining how we can streamline these studies so that transitions to new tests are accomplished efficiently and quickly. Older tests will not be dropped until all states are ready to move to the new improved testing offerings.
As more information becomes available, Client Relations Directors will reach out to individual state licensure and certification representatives to get their input regarding specific tests or tests series that could undergo significant changes.