PART II - DMA Certification Exam Blueprint and Exam Development-

1. PART II - DMACertification Exam Blueprint and Exam Development- Dietary Managers Association

2. What Groups Are Involved in the Exam Development? • Certifying Board for Dietary Managers (CBDM) • Certifying Board Committees • Item Writers Committee • Standards Committee • Certified Dietary Managers (CDMs) • ACT (American College Testing) Dietary Managers Association

3. EXAM BLUEPRINT: A. How is it Developed? • Job Analysis - ACTcoordinates survey with CDMs • Major Job Tasks Identified – Certified Dietary Managers • Exam percentages determined – Certifying Board • Validation survey of job tasks and percentages – ACT coordinates survey with Certified Dietary Managers Dietary Managers Association

4. B. How Often is Exam Updated? • Last Validation survey was December, 2003 • 379 CDMs participated • Exam Blueprint is updated/validated every 5 years Dietary Managers Association

5. C. How is Exam Blueprint Used? • Detailed outline of the exam content • Determines the program outcomes and course competencies for the DMA curriculum • Detailed outline for textbook • Printed in the study guide • Detailed outline for the study guide Dietary Managers Association

6. II. Certification ExamA. How is it designed? • There are 10 content areas: • Gather Nutrition Data • Apply Nutrition Data • Provide Foodservice • Provide Nutrition Education • Hire and Supervise • Develop Personnel and Communications • Coordinate Professional Interaction • Manage Supplies, equipment use, sanitation, and safety • Manage Production • Manage Business Operations Dietary Managers Association

7. II. Certification ExamA. How is it designed? • Each content area has an assigned percentage, based on the Job Analysis Survey • The assigned percentage indicates the approximate number of questions on the exam, out of a total of 175 questions, associated with that content area. Dietary Managers Association

8. II. ExamA. How is it designed?-Example • Provide Foodservices 10%(Exam Blueprint Section III) • Means approximately 17 questions (10% of 175) will be on the exam that address this content area and the following sub topics: • Check Meal Service for Food Quality, Portion Size, and Diet Accuracy • Manage the Preparation and Service of Special Nourishments and Supplemental Feedings • Develop CQI Procedures for Department • Evaluate Food Acceptance Survey • Utilize Appropriate Resources to Modify Standards Menus to Suit Patients’ Needs Dietary Managers Association

9. II. ExamA. How is it designed? • Examinees answer 200 questions of which 175 are scored • Every exam includes 25 questions that are being pre-tested for reliability and validity • These questions are not included in the exam score. Dietary Managers Association

10. II. Certification ExamA. How is it designed? • The content areas, exam percentages & approximate # of questions: • Gather Nutrition Data - 8.5 % or 15 questions • Apply Nutrition Data – 8.5% or 15 questions • Provide Foodservice – 10% or 17 questions • Provide Nutrition Education – 6.5% or 11 questions • Hire and Supervise – 9.0% or 16 questions • Develop Personnel and Communications – 8.3% or • Coordinate Professional Interaction • Manage Supplies, equipment use, sanitation, and safety • Manage Production • Manage Business Operations Dietary Managers Association

11. II. Certification ExamB. How is content developed? • CBDM Item Writers Committee • 2-day training from ACT in Iowa City • ACT assigns areas needing questions from the exam blueprint • Item Writers submit questions to ACT • Proofed by ACT staff Dietary Managers Association

12. II. Certification ExamB. How is content developed? • Sample criteria for a well-written question: • Single question • Four plausible, mutually exclusive options • Free from jargon, slang, non-standard abbreviations • Does not require a value judgment or arbitrary decision • Concerns a topic that is significant Dietary Managers Association

13. II. Certification ExamB. How is content developed? • CBDM Standards Committee reviews for: • Critical to practice • Accuracy, currency • Entry level • ACT tests all new questions for reliability and validity • Only questions with “good” statistics go into the exam bank Dietary Managers Association

14. II. Certification ExamB. How is content developed? • What is a “good” question? • Valid – question measures what CDMs need to know • Difficulty – each question has a difficulty rating; questions that are too difficult or too easy do not adequately test examinees’ knowledge or skill Dietary Managers Association

15. II. Certification ExamC. How is test assembled • ACT’s computer randomly pulls questions from the CBDM test bank • Questions are pulled from bank according to the assigned percentages on the exam blueprint • Gather Nutrition Data is 8.5%, so there will be approximately 15 questions on the Certification exam devoted to this section Dietary Managers Association

16. II. Certification ExamD. How is Passing Score Determined? • Criterion Referenced • Experts (CBDM members who are educators or practicing CDMs) develop a criterion referenced standard • Ie. They determine what constitutes effective practice Dietary Managers Association

17. II. Certification ExamD. How is Passing Score Determined? • Criterion-Referenced Procedures • Most commonly used is Angoff • Each expert examines every test item • Estimates how many examinees will respond correctly (examinees whose level of knowledge is acceptable for entry-level practice) • When estimate for all items are summed and averaged, the results is the suggested standard for passing the test. Dietary Managers Association

18. II. Certification ExamD. How is Passing Score Determined? • Angoff Method • When estimate for all items are summed and averaged, the result is the suggested standard for passing the test. Dietary Managers Association

19. SUMMARY • How can you best prepare your students? • Focus on the Exam Blueprint • Share the Exam Blueprint • Have students write their own questions using the Exam Blueprint • Get involved in the Item Writers and Standards Committees Dietary Managers Association

20. QUESTIONS?? Dietary Managers Association