The Impact of Assessment and Testing

A good protocol includes extensive research into the job content and items that hold true to accepted industry standards. Subject-matter experts work closely throughout the entire development process to ensure the assessment’s relevancy. Good assessments need to mimic real-world, practical applications to prove the learning program’s worth in the workplace. And you have the ability to update your own assessment content, design and functionality. Conveniently. You can expect, with confidence, that the assessment accurately reflects and measures the required knowledge, skills and abilities dictated by your job requirements that, in turn, are correlated with the learning program.

Technology-based assessments provide this reliability and make learning’s impact instantly available to the organization. These assessments give the learner instant feedback, too—about their personal progress. These “progress reports” not only impact the validation of competency levels, but also identify any need for more training. These tests can be conducted anywhere in the world, in any time zone, in any language. This kind of customization includes exam design types—from multiple-choice question types to video simulations of real work experiences.

The recent pilot of the computer-based Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam included work scenarios that have a significant impact on the accounting industry. The pilot participants agreed that the computer-based version offers more relevant content and an overall better testing experience. One pilot participant commented, “Given what CPAs are expected to do in business today, taking the CPA exam on the computer makes a lot of sense. It reflects the way we have to think and access information in the real world.”