Consultant Services for Veterinary Surgeon Certifying Examination

Since the early 1990s, HumRRO has assisted the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) with examination development, administration, scoring and score interpretation (i.e., setting pass scores and providing feedback to examinees) for its board certification program. The certification procedures include a written multiple-choice test, a case-based examination that focuses on several unfolding medical cases, and a practical examination that focuses on different types of medical tools and procedures

Over the years, HumRRO has periodically performed a job analysis study to define and update the requirements for a board-certifiable veterinary surgeon.

Each job analysis study involves four steps:

1. generate a task list and revise the knowledge rubric from the existing test blueprint;
2. collect importance ratings for tasks and knowledges using a survey approach (web-based since 2006);
3. analyze the job analysis results; and
4. document job analysis procedures and results.

In 2004, HumRRO assisted ACVS in creating the case-based examination which replaced an existing oral examination. In this examination, slides or videos are used to portray specific aspects of a case, with a series of questions associated with each slide or video. Progressive slides or videos reveal different aspects of the case. The case-based approach preserved the oral examination's content by leading candidates through individual cases while allowing all candidates to be tested simultaneously, thus reducing the administrative burden on test administrators while simultaneously ensuring a standardized testing environment for candidates.

HumRRO also developed an innovative method for establishing cut-off scores on the case-based and practical examination components. The method utilizes expert judgments but also takes into account the unique nature of these testing methods.

Annually, HumRRO prepares, administers, and scores the written examination, and facilitates a series of meetings with subject matter experts to develop and score the case-based and practical examinations.