Fairness and Accommodation


 



As an accredited certification program, the NPCP must address fairness throughout all aspects of the program’s functions. Fairness is addressed in test accessibility, delivery, and exam development.

 

Accreditation

The NPCP is accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). This means that the NPCP has provided evidence that the processes applied in all aspects of test creation and administration meet NCCA standards. NCCA standards address fairness in credentialing programs.

Fairness as referenced by the NCCA

  • The principle that all applicants and candidates will be treated in an equitable and consistent manner throughout the entire certification process
  • A nondiscrimination and fairness policy
  • Policies related to fairness should describe adequate protection against discrimination in access to certification under all applicable jurisdictional laws and regulations
  • The certification program should ensure the fairness of the examination for all populations. If the program detects potential for unfairness, it should take steps to understand its causes and, if possible, remedy it

 

Accessibility

No applicant for NPCP certification will be denied on the basis of race, national origin, color, creed, religion, sex, age, disability, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation.

 

Delivery

Reasonable accommodations are provided for candidates who have any sort of impairment e.g., walking, talking, hearing, reading, performing manual tasks, etc. To apply for reasonable accommodations, the candidate must submit documentation provided by an appropriate licensed professional on the professional’s letterhead. The documentation must include a diagnosis of the disability and specific recommendations for accommodations. Reasonable accommodations are considered based on the candidate’s request, disability, documentation submitted, and appropriateness of the request. Reasonable accommodations do not include steps that fundamentally alter the purpose or nature of the examination.

 

Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)

Fairness in exam construction relies heavily on the participation of many professionals representing a broad spectrum of schools, regions, and in the case of Pilates, lineages in every step of exam development. Also critical is the oversight of the process by psychometricians and test development professionals. Throughout the process, these best practices guide the exam construction.

Best practices include:

  • Standardization of item development
  • Rigorous item review and approval processes
  • Ongoing data collection and analysis of exam and item results
  • Documentation of test development processes and ongoing evaluation

 

To review exam construction, click relevant steps below:

Job Task Analysis

Item Writing

Exam Review

Exam Question Analysis

Passing Point Determination Study

STEP #1
Role Delineation Study

In order to develop a content‐valid examination, the knowledge and skills necessary for competent practice in the profession must be determined. The process for identifying these competency areas is referred to as a Role Delineation Study (or Job Task Analysis), and these processes require the input from Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from the field that represent different regions and schools. It is through the work of these SMEs and a dedicated psychometrician that the various domains and tasks related to the field are identified

The identifications of the group are later shared with a larger audience of practitioners for validation. Once completed, the role delineation study serves as the blueprint for examination construction.




STEP #2
Item Writing

The next step in the exam construction is Item Writing (or question writing) for the exam. Item Writers are chosen by the Chair of the Commission and must be current NPCP Certified Pilates Teachers with 5 years teaching experience and represent similar demographic characteristics as the candidate population. Using the exam blueprint and under the supervision of a dedicated psychometrician, Item Writers work to create the necessary number of questions to create or replenish new or existing forms (exams).

The NPCP developed two forms with 150 items (125 scored, 25 unscored). This examination is designed to assess minimally acceptable knowledge of the duties performed by Pilates teachers.




STEP #3
Passing Point Determination

A high‐quality examination must have a defensible passing score. That is, the score that separates passing examinees from failing examinees must be determined in a systematic and reasonable way.

To achieve this, a group of SMEs is chosen by the Certification Commission that includes individuals whose careers and professional qualifications indicated strong knowledge of Pilates teaching. Under the supervision of a dedicated psychometrician, the group works to establish data that the psychometricians can analyze and use to determine the passing point for the exam.