What does legal defensibility mean for a Certification Credential?
A test is legally defensible if it has been developed under sound practices resulting in a quality examination that is psychometrically sound and can be defended in the event of a legal challenge. The defensibility in a court of law for a professional credential is often referred to as the “bullet proof test” or measure of psychometric soundness. Psychometric soundness means that the examination has been developed according to guidelines set forth for valid measurement and assessment. Generally, the test development complies with the standards put forth by the American Psychological Association, American Educational Research Association, National Council on Measurement in Education and the Association of Test Publishers. Valid test development is a rigorous process which begins by identification of the skills and knowledge that define the practice of the profession through a role delineation or job analysis study. The intensive study forms the basis upon which test items are created an
