The American Medical Certification Association (AMCA) is dedicated to advancing the allied health care industry by providing nationally recognized certification exams. With a diverse portfolio of 11 certification exams, including 5 NCCA-accredited certification exams, AMCA empowers over 25,000 global candidates annually to affirm their competencies in their respective fields. AMCA offers both paper-based and computer-based exams, which can be taken at designated test centers or remotely.
The Situation and Action Plan
Since its inception, AMCA’s primary goal has been to continuously grow and evolve within the health care certification industry. In 2018, however, the release of new National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) standards threatened to derail AMCA’s goal. While accreditation can be the catalyst for growth by increasing credibility, trust, and opportunities within the health care industry, AMCA’s existing exam delivery platform lacked the necessary reporting capabilities to meet the new standards. This not only jeopardized AMCA’s existing accreditation but also made it challenging to obtain new accreditations.
Danielle Sadighi, AMCA’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing, says, “We already had five NCCA-accredited exams, but the new standards presented challenges our current testing platform was not going to be able to supply.”
To address this challenge, AMCA launched a systematic, three-step plan:
- Consult with industry experts, including Seacrest and the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE), for compliance and strategic guidance
- Transition to a different exam delivery platform with more robust reporting capabilities to meet accreditation requirements
- Establish a dedicated, internal compliance team to help navigate the accreditation process
After a rigorous RFP and vendor selection process, AMCA chose the Meazure Learning psychometric team and Meazure Exam Platform to complement its existing use of the ProctorU Platform for all computer-based exams. In addition to the team’s expertise, AMCA was drawn to the collaborative approach they offered. Sadighi says: “We relate with everyone [on the Psychometric team] and really [feel] like they . . . work with us and teach us.”
Now armed with a solid plan and trusted vendor, AMCA was poised to take action.
End-to-End Solutions and Impressive Outcomes
The strategic collaboration between AMCA and Meazure Learning ushered in a full-service approach to exam development and delivery, with the Meazure Exam Platform and ProctorU Platform serving as the connecting threads.
Test Development and Psychometric Services
To ensure AMCA’s exams met industry and new accreditation requirements, Meazure Learning guided the recently formed compliance team through the entire test design, validation, and analysis process. Some of the key milestones included:
- Competency and job task analysis
- Exam blueprint development
- SME management
- Item development, validation, and review
- Item banking and exam assembly
- Standard setting
- Item- and test-level statistical analysis
- Automated scoring and reporting
Test Development and Delivery Software: As part of this process, AMCA transitioned to the Meazure Exam Platform for test development, item banking, and delivery. This integrated approach of developing, banking, and administering exams through a single platform has allowed the psychometric team to create detailed summaries of the entire process, which is a crucial element of accreditation reporting.
Practice Exams: As AMCA’s item bank grew and items came out of circulation, the Meazure Exam Platform allowed for the easy transition of retired content to practice tests, helping bolster candidate preparedness and reduce exam-day anxiety.
AMCA and Meazure Learning review the steps in this process annually to ensure exam security, keep up with industry trends, and maintain accreditation.
Administration and Delivery Solutions
Before migrating to the Meazure Exam Platform for test development and delivery, the processes for publishing, administering, scoring, and reporting on exams required a lot of manual work by AMCA staff. Today, AMCA leverages multiple solutions to optimize operational and exam procedural efficiencies.
Exam Publishing: Because the item bank and exam delivery functions are integrated into a single platform, there is no need to take the extra step of “publishing” forms once they’re assembled. This gives AMCA the ability to be nimbler when updates to items or forms are required.
Automated Scoring and Credential Management: With Meazure Learning’s help, AMCA configured automated exam scoring and integrated the Meazure Exam Platform with its credential management system, streamlining the entire scoring and credentialing process for candidates. Says Sadighi, “The automation is absolutely what [our] candidates want. They want to hit ‘submit’ and get the item analysis or competency breakdown right away.” This efficiency has enabled candidates to complete their exams, attain certification, and receive their transcripts—all within a single day.
“The automation is absolutely what [our] candidates want. They want to hit ‘submit’ and get the item analysis or competency breakdown right away.”
—Danielle Sadighi, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, American Medical Certification Association
Reporting: One of the key hurdles faced by credentialing programs during the accreditation process is the ability to meet reporting requirements. To address this challenge, AMCA and Meazure Learning configured the Meazure Exam Platform and ProctorU Platform in a way that makes it easy for them to access the development, administration, candidate, and score reports they need to obtain and maintain accreditation.
Hybrid Delivery and Proctoring Modality: Before partnering with Meazure Learning, all AMCA exams were administered in person at approved test sites. However, candidates can now choose to take their exams in person or remotely through the ProctorU Platform. This flexibility has resulted in a smoother journey for candidates and helped AMCA expand its certification programs to a larger number of candidates than previously possible. Additionally, the platform data related to candidates’ experiences has been a catalyst for a streamlined remote proctoring process and greater exam integrity for the programs.
Test Site Administrator Training: Historically, test site and proctor training for AMCA exams was complex due to the manual processes required to administer an exam. That changed after migrating to the Meazure Exam Platform. Sadighi states, “Our company has gone from . . . 500 test sites to 1,600 without having to double or triple the staff. And that’s only because the [Meazure Exam Platform] was [configured] right, making sure it’s efficient and easy to use.”
ACCREDITATION SUCCESS
AMCA has successfully accredited exams according to NCCA standards.
RICHER CANDIDATE DATA
Surveys within the ProctorU Platform have provided AMCA with valuable insights into candidate testing sessions.
ELEVATED CANDIDATE SATISFACTION
Practice exams have improved candidate preparedness, and platform automation has streamlined the certification process.
ORGANIZATIONAL GROWTH
The Meazure Exam Platform’s user-friendly design and configuration flexibility have led to a monthly growth rate of 30%.
Conclusion
AMCA’s partnership with Meazure Learning underscores the significance of collaboration and ease of use in the certification industry. This partnership has not only supported AMCA’s growth but also holds broader implications for medical certification on a global scale.
For more information on how Meazure Learning can assist your certification program, visit our test program consultation web page.
“[Meazure Learning’s] platforms significantly contributed to the
—Danielle Sadighi, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, American Medical Certification Association
enhancement of our company’s performance and overall success.”