When It Comes to Item Writers, More Is More

The benefits of remote, asynchronous content creation are many, but as a company focused on increasing the creation and availability of high-quality exams, we believe one of the most important is enabling an inclusive, representative pool of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), leading to a better designed (and stronger, more legally defensible!) exam.

Likely the most common cause of legal disputes over assessments is whether they are fair to test takers of all backgrounds. Fairness and equity are key in the quest for reducing bias in your exam builds. Exams are built to assess a candidate’s knowledge, skills, and abilities irrespective of their gender, age, geographic location physical abilities, or any other factors. The test should not disadvantage any examinee, or group of examinees, on any basis other than the examinee's lack of the knowledge relevant to the competence or skill being measured by the exam.

Casting a wide net and drawing from constituents with varied backgrounds will increase the likelihood that your exam is suitable for all qualified examinees irrespective of race, religion, gender, or age. But how can you do that, particularly in today’s fast-paced, digital, and remote-work-focused world? How can you ensure that SMEs are representative of constituents who might not be available to travel to your on-site meetings (single parents or caretakers, those with a disability preventing travel, those living a far distance from airports, etc.)?

This is what Certiverse is designed to do. Our fully remote, asynchronous solution supports diversity and inclusion by improving access to the test development process. With Certiverse, SMEs log on to provide their input regardless of their current time zone, location, or the amount of free time they can devote to their assigned tasks. With step-by-step instruction and writing & reviewing tips built in to the Certiverse platform using natural language processing, SMEs are empowered to complete their tasks accurately and swiftly without having to attend in-person meetings or long online trainings.

If you’re ready to build exams that represent a wider range of perspectives and experiences, contact Certiverse to show you how!