ASBOG
®
PROFESSIONAL GEOLOGISTS CANDIDATE HANDBOOK
8
Copyright © 2016 by the National Association of State Boards of Geology
(ASBOG
®
)
RELEASE OF CANDIDATE SCORES
ASBOG
®
releases the examination results (by secure, traceable means) only to its State Member Board Examination
Administrators (or its authorized testing service) within sixty (60) days following receipt of all of the examination
materials back in the ASBOG
®
office. Candidates shall contact their State Member Board Examination Administrator (or
its authorized testing service) to acquire any information regarding examination scores. Under no circumstances does
ASBOG
®
: (1) release examination results directly to the candidate(s); (2) transmit results by e-mail or fax; or (3) release
results over the telephone. Further, ASBOG
®
supports the following testing standard regarding the confidential nature of
candidate examination scores: "Test results identified by the names of individual test takers, or by other personally
identifying information, should be released only to persons with a legitimate, professional interest in the test taker or who
are covered by the informed consent of the test taker or a legal representative, unless otherwise required by law."
(Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (1999), published by the American Educational Research
Association, the American Psychological Association, and the National Council on Measurement in Education, Standard
8.5, p. 87.)
STATISTICAL ANALYSES
Statistical analyses are conducted on each form of the FG and PG Examinations. The statistics are valuable in evaluating
the performance of the examinations (i.e., estimated reliability, mean, standard error of measurement etc.). The statistical
results indicate whether the examinations are reliable and performing well.
The statistical analyses are also useful for isolating items that possess unusual statistical properties (i.e., very difficult,
negative correlations). Items that possess negative correlations reveal that candidates with high test scores did poorer on
these items compared to candidates with low test scores. Any items that exhibit negative correlations are reviewed by the
COE before scores are finalized and mailed to the State Member Board Examination Administrators.
Sample questions for the FG and PG Examinations are presented in Appendix 3 and 4, respectively. The sample
questions do not make up
complete examinations; however, they do represent the general content areas and formats.
They are presented herein as
a guide for your preparation for the examinations. The FG and PG Examinations measure
some of the same competencies
related to the practice of geology, but construction of the questions differs between
the two levels. FG questions are
designed primarily to recall factual information; the PG questions are focused on
candidates' competencies to apply the
basic principles of geology, based mainly on work experience.
EXAMINATION PROCTORED REVIEW AND/OR MANUAL REGRADE
ASBOG
®
does not independently conduct or provide for post-examination “manual re-grades” or proctored
“reviews.” If
a State Member Board is not mandated by law to provide these services, then it is up to the
individual State Member
Board to establish a policy for such services (i.e., to provide them or not) if they so desire.
In this light, it is the State Member
Board’s call ASBOG
®
only responds to such requests from the State Member
Board Examination Administrators to assist them
if they are tasked to provide these services. Any request for a
“manual re-grade” or proctored “review” by a candidate shall
be made directly to the State Member Board
Examination Administrator in writing. The State Member Board
Examination Administrator shall then submit a written request to
ASBOG
®
within thirty (30) calendar days after the
release of the examination results to the Examination
Administrator, accompanied by the prescribed fee(s). The
prescribed fee(s) for a post-examination “manual re-grade” or proctored “review” shall be paid directly to ASBOG
®
by the
requesting candidate, or the State Member Board
Examination Administrator, and
must accompany the written request.
The State Member Board
Examination Administrator will set the deadline for receipt of such requests from that Member
Board's candidates in order to meet the 30-day turn-around to ASBOG
®
. Only one
post-examination “manual re-grade”
and/or proctored “review” shall be allowed for each candidate per part, per
examination administration.
1.
Manual Re-grades
•
What you get if you request a “manual re-grade”: First, the purpose of the “manual re-grade” is to verify the
accuracy of
a candidate's machine-graded score. The request for a “manual re-grade” does not guarantee that
the candidate will
receive additional credit and/or a revised grade. Again, the exclusive purpose of the
“manual re-grade” is to check
the accuracy of the candidate's machine-graded score.