Preparation and Validation Process of the Certifying Examinations

Preparation and validation of the certifying examinations in Veterinary Anatomic Pathology and Veterinary Clinical Pathology begin with selection of the Examination Committee members. Members are selected on the basis of experience, expertise, areas of interest, and access to examination materials. Geographic distribution and employment sector (university, government, private industry) are also considered in selection of Committee members. New members (proctors) serve a one-year apprenticeship before potentially advancing to regular committee member status. Only those proctors who demonstrate a solid commitment to preparation of the examination are advanced to regular membership. Regular committee members serve from three to five years. Staggered turnover provides year-to-year continuity and balance for the preparation and administration of the examination. Separate committees prepare the Veterinary Anatomic Pathology and the Veterinary Clinical Pathology examinations. Each has a chairperson, one of whom is also designated as the general chairperson who coordinates all activities. Both committees participate in preparation of the general pathology section which is common to both examinations. The clinical pathology committee members also prepare questions for the the clinical pathology module of the veterinary pathology section of the examination in Veterinary Anatomic Pathology.
From late fall until early spring, committee members, including proctors, compose written questions and select projection images, electron micrographs and glass microscopic slides for the various sections of the examinations. Questions are also solicited from the ACVP membership atlarge.

At certain deadlines from January to April , written questions with references for each multiple choice section of the examination are sent from all committee members to specific members who are designated as section leaders. The section leaders then organize the submitted questions for review by the committee members. Comments from committee members are returned to the section leader who assesses responses, validates references, edits questions and considers correctness of the answers, suitability of foils and relevance of the subject. A pool of questions, containing more than required, is selected to produce a balanced draft examination. The section leader may introduce questions of proven quality and discrimination from previous examinations to ensure overall balance. At a meeting in June, committee members again review each question. The questions ultimately selected for each section of the examination represent a total committee effort. The section leader assembles the final examination section, carefully reviews it and submits it to the relevant chairperson. Before printing, the chairpersons review the entire examination.

Projection images, glass microscopic slides, electron micrographs or other diagnostic techniques with related questions are prepared by a process similar to that used for preparation of multiple choice sections. The visual materials are collected from committee members by the appropriate section leaders. The section leader reviews these materials for quality, and for relevance and balance of subject. At the June meeting, images are projected and glass microscopic slides are examined by all members of the appropriate committee. Since 2005, all projected images have been digital.

Grading of multiple-choice questions is done by machine. The computer-generated item analysis, including the discriminatory and difficulty coefficients of each question, as well as any apparent problem related to individual questions, is considered by the appropriate committee before final determination of candidate scores. Questions relating to projection images, electron micrographs, and glass microscopic slides (both examinations) and the essay subsection of the Clinical Biochemistry section (Veterinary Clinical Pathology examination) are graded by committee members. All responses to a given question are assigned to one committee member to ensure uniformity of results. The submitter of a glass microscopic slide or electron micrograph includes salient features and diagnoses at the time of submission. The committee develops point allocations for each glass slide or electron micrograph. The committee member assigned each item, in conjunction with a reviewer and with oversight by the section leader, is then responsible for designating points for specific parts of each answer for final grading.

During the entire examination process, candidates are identified only by number. Scoring calculations for all sections of the examinations are checked at least twice before they are accepted as final. The chairpersons of the Veterinary Anatomic Pathology and Veterinary Clinical Pathology committees then report scores to the ACVP Council. All discussion and decisions are completed before Council votes and before candidate numbers are decoded. After the Council accepts the chairpersons' reports by majority vote, the validity of the examination and its individual questions becomes irrevocable. Examination committee members never learn the names of candidates that correspond to candidate numbers.

The pass-fail line is determined prior to the examination. For each examination section, a grade of 60% or higher is a passing mark. For sections with subsections or modules, only the total score for the section is used to determine whether a candidate passes. A candidate who takes all four sections of either examination and achieves a score of 60% or more on each section passes. A candidate who passes two or more sections must repeat only those section(s) not passed. A candidate repeating one or two sections and achieving a score of 60% or more on each repeated section(s) passes. A candidate who does not pass all sections after the two permitted additional attempts within a 4-year period must repeat the entire examination. These candidates and those who pass one or no section of the examination, when all four sections are attempted, must re-take the entire examination and submit a study plan with their application. There is currently no limit on time or number of attempts to repeat all sections of the examination. Limits are imposed only on endeavors to repeat one or two sections of the examination. Any candidate who fails a certifying examination may request that scores of failed sections be re-totaled to verify the accuracy of the results as reported. Such requests must be received by the ACVP Executive Offices, accompanied by $50 in US funds, within 30 days of the notification of the results of the examination to the candidate.

Each year the examination is analyzed before final composition to ensure that any changes in the proportions of species, subject or discipline are gradual and that there are not sharp fluctuations in content from year to year. Immediately after the examination, the committee chairpersons present to ACVP Council the analysis of the examination, including categorization by species, subject and discipline. This is compared with historical analyses to determine what changes, if any, are occurring in the examination. There is also an analysis of the difficulty and discrimination coefficients of examination questions. The Council advises the examination committee, in general, on the composition of future examinations. The examination results are also reviewed for the general membership at the ACVP Annual Meeting. Council ensures that major changes in the examination content or process do not occur before announcement on the ACVP website or in information that is provided to prospective candidates.

Revised January 2011