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FORMER NBCE PRESIDENT NAMED TO VERMONT BOARD 

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JANUARY 2012

Greeley, Co.— Dr. Vernon R. Temple, former president of National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE), has recently been appointed to the Vermont Board of Chiropractic Examiners by Gov. Peter Shumlin. 

The re-appointment of Dr. Temple continues a long history of service on the Vermont board.  In the 1980s, he was appointed by Gov. Madeleine Kunin, and in the 1990s, by Gov. Howard Dean. 
Dr. Temple previously served as chairman of the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards as well as president of the NBCE.  Dr. Temple's service on the NBCE board began in 2000 when he was elected as District III Director, where he served until 2006.  In May 2006, he was elected president of the NBCE and continued in that role through May 2010.  

Dr. Temple commented that he’s, “honored to once again serve the State of Vermont in the field of public protection.”  He added that his experience with both the FCLB and the NBCE brings additional dimensions that he hopes will benefit the state’s responsibilities in professional licensure and discipline. 

Headquartered in Greeley, Colo., the NBCE is the international testing organization for the chiropractic profession. Established in 1963, the NBCE develops, administers and scores legally defensible, standardized written and practical examinations for candidates seeking chiropractic licensure throughout the United States and in many foreign countries.

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NBCE Director of Testing Participates In Test Security Webinar

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SEPTEMBER 2011

Greeley, Co.--National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) Assistant Executive Director and Director of Testing Dr. Mark G. Christensen recently participated as one of four panel members in a webinar to educate testing organizations about the prevention and mitigation of cheating. 

The webinar host, Caveon Test Security, highlighted the testing experiences from three leading testing programs, including the NBCE.  The focus of the webinar was on designing pre- and post-security programs to ensure organizational integrity in fair and valid testing.  Participants from nearly 90 organizations registered for the webinar. 

Dr. Christensen specifically spoke about the value of data forensics, the use of statistical models to detect test-taker patterns that provide strong evidence that some examinees did not respond to test questions independent of other examinees.  A psychometrician by training, Dr. Christensen has led the written testing programs at the NBCE for more than 28 years.

Dr. Christensen

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NBCE Awarded Excellence in Community Design

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SEPTEMBER 2011
The National Board of Chiropractic Examiners' (NBCE) Horace C. Elliott Center was honored by the City of Greeley as a recipient of the 8th annual City of Greeley Excellence in Community Design Award.

The Greeley Planning Commission established this award in 2004 to recognize local building projects on an annual basis. These building projects demonstrate outstanding construction, design and execution. Some of the criteria include:

Awards are presented to architects, builders, landscape designers and others who have achieved excellence in a local project. The winners are selected by a seven-member panel of judges from the Greeley community.

The award ceremony was conducted at the City of Greeley's September 6th City Council Meeting with
Pamela Kurtz, NBCE Director of Administration, accepting the award on behalf of the NBCE.

The City of Greeley Excellence in Community Design Award.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(left to right) Larry E. Steel, Steel and Associates; Sue Elliott; John Betz, NBCE Facility Coordinator;
Pamela Kurtz, NBCE Director of Administration

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NBCE Hosts CBCN Standard Setting Meeting

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AUGUST 2011

Greeley, Co.--The National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) conducted a standard setting committee meeting on August 26-27 along with seven representatives of the Chiropractic Board of Clinical Nutrition (CBCN). This was a very high energy and productive two-day meeting in which a recommendation was made for the passing or cut score for the CBCN examination.

The CBCN originally requested assistance in developing a test for their certification. A test committee met in May 2011 to select two 200-item exams. The initial exam was administered
on August 5-13 with 30 examinees taking the exam at ACT testing centers located in cities throughout the United Sates; one person took the exam in Korea.

Having an appropriate committee recommend a cut score after having participated in a legally defensible and psychometrically sound standard setting procedure is one of the most important steps in test development and validation.

NBCE enjoyed working with the CBCN and looks forward to continued involvement with this specialty board.

 

CBCN

The group included (starting with back row, L to R):
BACK: Dr. John Hyland, NBCE Senior Chiropractic Specialist, Dr. Ladislao Santiago,
Dr. Raymond Bayley, Dr. Christopher Bump, Dr. Jeffrey Weber, Dr. Mark G. Christensen,
Assistant Executive Vice President and Director of Testing,
FRONT: Dr. Russell Thomas Roselle, Dr. Gary Post, Dr. Mark Manning

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NBCE District V Director Honored

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June 2011

Greeley, Co.— National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) board member Dr. Norman Ouzts, Jr., has been awarded the President’s Cup Award by the South Carolina Chiropractic Association (SCCA) at their annual meeting in Myrtle Beach. Dr. Ouzts was honored for dedication, loyalty, commitment, and professionalism in his service to the association, including past service as president, board member, and chair of the legislative committee.

Additionally, at the June annual meeting of the SCCA, Dr. Ouzts was elected as District 7 Director(which covers a seven county area) for the 2011-2012 term.

The NBCE proudly salutes Dr. Ouzts, who was re-elected in May 2011 to serve as Vice President of its Board of Directors. He continues in his role as NBCE District Director.

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Former Board Member Receives Paul M. Tullio Award for Distinguished Service to the NBCE

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May 2011

GREELEY, Colo.— Kenneth W. Padgett, D.C., of Waterloo, New York, and Naples, Florida, was presented with the Paul M. Tullio Award for Distinguished Service to the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE). The award was presented at the NBCE Annual Business Meeting and Delegates Luncheon in Marco Island, Florida.

The Tullio Award memorializes a leader in chiropractic, whose contributions in testing, licensing and legislative issues have benefitted the profession. Dr. Tullio, who passed away in 2000, demonstrated a passionate commitment to financial and organizational stability that helped the NBCE achieve its reputation as the premier testing organization for chiropractic. He was a devoted board member who clearly saw the need for setting aside a percentage of revenues to shield the organization from fluctuations in the economy and in chiropractic college student enrollments.

The 2011 Tullio Award winner, Dr. Kenneth W. Padgett, has served in many leadership roles throughout his career: president and chancellor of New York Chiropractic College, president of the Association of Chiropractic Colleges, president of the American Chiropractic Association, and president of the Association for Chiropractic History.

In presenting the award, NBCE District II Director Dr. Donna Craft recalled,

"Dr Padgett has been honored numerous times during his career. In 2000, the ACA named him Chiropractor of the Year….that same year the FCLB presented him with the George Arvidson Award for Meritorious Service to Chiropractic. The ACA awarded Dr. Padgett with Meritorious Service Awards to Humanity and Chiropractic in 1975, 1979, 1982, and 1986. At the New York Chiropractic College, a building now carries his name, attesting to his strong positive influence at that school and in chiropractic education.

At the NBCE, Dr. Padgett demonstrated his devotion to fiscal responsibility. The NBCE develops its budget plan based on college enrollment numbers; this is the backbone of our four-year financial planning. Dr. Padgett was instrumental in initiating a collaborative effort between the colleges and the NBCE to make certain that the numbers we receive are accurate. This long-term relationship continues to this day."

Dr. Padgett's election as an At-Large Director in 2001 represented the first-time the NBCE board voted to bring the experience of a chiropractic college past president to its leadership.


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IBCE Funds Research Awards

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May 2011

GREELEY, Colo.— The International Board of Chiropractic Examiners (IBCE), recently funded research awards at the World Federation of Chiropractic's 11th Biennial Congress held in Rio de Janeiro in April 2011. The awards, totaling $10,000, sponsored the congress keynote speaker, five regional poster awards and a first and second prize poster award, which were presented by IBCE Council Chairperson Dr. N. Edwin Weathersby.

The keynote lecture was presented by Dr. Scott Haldeman. Poster awards included one award for each region, as follows.

  1. Asian region: "Effects of manipulative therapy on the expressions of NADP-diaphorase and nitric oxide synthase in the spinal morotor neurons after right knee joint immobilization in the guinesHH-diaphorase and nitric oxide synthase in the spinal motor neurons after right knee joint immobilization in the guinea pig," by HanSunk Jung, JooHyun Ham, SoonJeong Jeong, and JooHan Kang of HanSeo University and MinSun Lee of SunMoon University.
  2. Pacific Region: "An approach using fast rate stimulation to investigate changes in cerebellar processing," by Heidi Haavik, New Zealand College of Chiropractic and Bernadette Murphy, University of Ontario Institute of Technology.
  3. Latin American Region: "Effect of high velocity-low amplitude treatment on superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities in erythrocytes from men with neck pain," by Carolina Kolberg, Andréa Horst, Maira Moraes, Angela Kolberg, and Wania Aparecida Partata, all from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
  4. North American Region: "Differential tissue strain estimation across strata of tissues under intrinsic motion," by John Triano, Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, Helene Langevin, University of Vermont, Elisa Konofagou, Columbia University.
  5. European Region: "Back function preoperatively, 3 months and 1 year after spondylodesis in patients with degenerative or isthmic spondylolisthesis," by Marko Neva and Sami Tarnanen, Tampere University Hospital, Finland; Lissa Pekkanen, Jyväskylä Central Hospital, Finland; and Arja Häkkinen, University of Jyväskylä, Finland.

The first prize poster was awarded to Silvano Mior, Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College; Rhonda Cockerill, David Cassidy, Jan Barnsley, and Pierre Côté of the University of Toronto for their poster entitled, "Assessing the association between measures of quality and integration and patients participation in inter-professional patient-centered collaborative care."

The second prize poster was awarded to Lauren Terhorst and Michael Schneider, University of Pittsburgh; Lee Goozdich, Private Practice of Chiropractic; and Kevin Kim and Carol Stilley, University of Pittsburgh for their poster entitled, "Complementary and Alternative Medicine for the Treatment of Pain in Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials."

The International Board of Chiropractic Examiners is a non-profit organization dedicated to the international standardization of chiropractic education and testing. Its trade name has been registered for use in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, European Community, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States.

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Correction to Previous Release: NBCE Seats Board and Elects Executive Committee at Annual Meeting

May 2011

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The National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) held its annual meeting on May 2-6, 2011, in Marco Island, Fla., to seat new board members and to elect the officers who make up the executive committee.

In the release dated May 13, it was stated that "Dr. Oliver Smith (TX) was elected to complete the remaining two years of the term of Dr. Richard Cole (TN)." In fact, Dr. Cole's one-year term ended in May 2011. In a separate action, Dr. Smith was elected to a two-year term as Director-at-Large.

We apologize for the misstatement.

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NBCE Seats Board and Elects Executive Committee at Annual Meeting

May 2011

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The National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) held its annual meeting on May 2-6, 2011, in Marco Island, Fla., to seat new board members and to elect the officers who make up the executive committee.

Dr. Ron Tripp (OK) was seated as the new District IV Director, replacing Dr. Theodore Scott (UT). The remaining district directors will continue their terms on the NBCE board. They are Dr. Robin Lecy (SD) in District I, Dr. Donna Craft (MI) in District II, Dr. Paul Morin (ME) in District III and Dr. Norman Ouzts, Jr. (SC) in District V.

The board also has four at-large positions; Dr. Daniel Saint-Germain (Quebec) was elected to a one-year term. Dr. Oliver Smith (TX) was elected to complete the remaining two years of the term of Dr. Richard Cole (TN).  Dr. Salvatore LaRusso (FL) and Dr. N. Edwin Weathersby (AZ) will both continue in their at-large positions on the board.

The other two positions are appointed by the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Board. The FCLB appointed directors are the FCLB president and vice president Dr. Lawrence O’Connor (NJ) and Dr. LeRoy Otto (MN).

Once the 11-member board was complete, the Executive Committee was chosen. Dr. N. Edwin Weathersby (AZ) was elected president of the board. Dr. Norman Ouzts, Jr. (SC) was re-elected vice-president. Dr. Oliver Smith (TX) was elected secretary.  Dr. Paul Morin (ME) was elected treasurer.

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Dr. Tripp Elected as District IV Director

May 2011

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Ron Tripp, D.C., of Norman, Okla., was elected to serve a three-year term as District IV Director of the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE), replacing Dr. Theodore Scott of Utah.

The election took place at the NBCE Annual State Delegates Business Meeting on May 6, 2011, in Marco Island, Fla. The district includes the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah.

Dr. Tripp is a graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa, and currently practices in Norman, Okla. He is the president of the Oklahoma Board of Chiropractic Examiners. He is also the former District IV director and former chairman of the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards (FCLB). He was given the FCLB’s highest honor, the George W. Arvidson Award, in 2010.

In addition to his distinguished career in chiropractic, Dr. Tripp is highly accomplished in the sports of judo and sambo and served as president of United States Judo, United States Olympic Committee from 2000-2008.

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Dr. Smith Elected as At-Large Director

May 2011

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Oliver R. Smith, Jr., D.C., of El Paso, Texas, has been elected to a two-year term as an at-large director of the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE). He was also elected as secretary of the NBCE Executive Committee. The elections took place at the NBCE annual meeting in Marco Island, Florida, May 2-6, 2011.

Dr. Smith has served for six years on the NBCE board, four of those as an FCLB representative. Dr. Smith previously served as FCLB president (from 2007-2009). Dr. Smith was also president of the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners from 1995-2001. He served as president of the Texas Chiropractic Association from 1984-1984 and was a member of the Texas State Board of Health from 1987-1993.

Dr. Smith graduated from Texas Chiropractic College in 1975. He has been a member of the Texas Chiropractic Association since the year of his graduation.  Dr. Smith currently practices chiropractic in El Paso with his son, a third generation doctor of chiropractic.

Dr. Smith was awarded Texas Young Chiropractor of the Year in 1981-1982 and received the Ambassador’s Award from the city of El Paso in 1988. He received the Keeler Plaque as the outstanding Doctor of Chiropractic in Texas in 1997. He also received the George Arvidson Award while president of the FCLB.

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Dr. Otto Named to NBCE Board

May 2011

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LeRoy Otto, D.C., of Lake City, Minn., was appointed by the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards (FCLB) to serve on the board of the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE).  Dr. Otto was elected and will serve as vice president of the FCLB at its annual meeting on May 6, 2011, in Marco Island, Fla.

Dr. Otto is a graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa, and currently has practices in Lake City and Redwing, Minn. His previous work with the NBCE includes serving as a member of the NBCE Part III and Part IV Test Committee. He also served as the chief examiner at an NBCE Part IV test site.

Dr. Otto is a former member of the Minnesota Board of Chiropractic Examiners. He has worked with the International Chiropractic Association, and served as co-chair of its International Relations Committee.

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Ethics and Boundaries Examination Introduction and Retake Policy

April 2011

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In 2011, the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) introduced changes in the format of its Ethics and Boundaries (E&B) Examination. The former multiple-choice format has been replaced with a computer-based essay test that was developed in collaboration with state board examiners familiar with regulatory concerns.

Computer-Based Essay Format
The new format contains essay topics and scenarios in the areas of boundary violations, fraud, doctor's duties and office protocols, and unprofessional conduct. State boards will be able to customize the topic selection to fit the unique circumstances of each individual to be examined.

Grading Criteria
Specific grading criteria have been developed for this examination. For each of the five essay responses, the examinee must demonstrate understanding of the boundary or ethical issue in question.

Examinations are scored based on the relevance and thoroughness of responses with less emphasis on grammar, punctuation or spelling. Each examination is graded by multiple trained graders to ensure valid and reliable scoring.

Examination Retake Policy for E&B
Each essay scenario has 16 points maximum, with 4 points each available for introductory opinion statements, examples and explanations, consequences and solutions. An examinee scoring below 12 points on three or more scenarios must retake the entire examination from topics originally designated by the state board, with new scenarios randomly selected.

An examinee scoring 12 points or above on three or more essay scenarios may retake only failed portions of the examination, from topics originally designated by the state board, with new scenarios randomly selected; each scenario would carry a $300 registration fee, with a maximum of only two scenarios to be retaken.

Additional information can be found on the NBCE website along with an interactive sample essay writing exercise. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact the NBCE at 800-964-6223 or by e-mail at nbce@nbce.org.

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Setting Cut Scores: How the NBCE Determines Passing Scores

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Introduction

In many professions, the fair and accurate assessment of a candidate seeking licensure holds significant importance for the public as well as for the candidate.

Providing exams that accurately identify those candidates who do or do not meet entry-level standards for safe and effective practice is the work of the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE). The NBCE follows testing standards that were developed by the American Educational Research Association, the American Psychological Association, and the National Council on Measurement in Education in determining the passing scores for their licensing exams. Our continual adherence to these professional testing standards has given us a strong record of success in this area.

Cut Scores (or Passing Scores)

The first step we use in determining the cut score is to gather a team of chiropractic experts. The experts then define what competent entry-level chiropractors should know and do in practice to effectively address patient health conditions and to protect the welfare of their patients. The cut score is based on these experts’ judgments. In essence the experts determine what minimum score is necessary to demonstrate adequate knowledge, skills and abilities required for entry-level practice. In the experts’ opinion those who score below the cut score are not qualified for practice and are more likely to make serious errors due to insufficient knowledge or skills. This standard setting requires a structured process with clear documentation; the NBCE uses a version of the most widely accepted process, known as the Angoff method.

In addition to setting the cut score, the NBCE prepares exams based on documented evidence of test validity and reliability to ensure the accurate measurement of a candidate’s knowledge, skills and ability.

Test Validity

Test validity means that a test score can be interpreted as an accurate evaluation of the knowledge, skills and abilities the test is designed to measure.

Test validity is critical for states to be able to base their licensure decisions on NBCE test results. The NBCE accumulates evidence of test validity in a variety of ways.

What evidence does the NBCE have that Parts I and II test scores are valid indications of a person’s ability in the basic and clinical sciences? The evidence of test validity comes from several sources:

The validity of the Parts III and IV exams is directly related to how well scores in those exams measure a person’s knowledge, skills and abilities required for safe and effective practice. Evidence of the validity of the Part III and IV exams stems from several sources:

Test Reliability

Credentialing examinations must also be reliable, meaning that they provide
a consistent measure on repeated administrations of the test. Many issues can influence reliability including too few questions to adequately address the knowledge, skills and abilities in the test domain; exams that are too difficult or too easy; inadequate overall exam length; and factors unique to performance testing, such as rater inconsistency, etc. In order to ensure that our exams fairly and accurately assess candidates’ knowledge, skills and abilities, the NBCE psychometrician performs a statistical analysis of the difficulty and relevance of each question. The relevance of right versus wrong answers is estimated. The statistical performance of each question is determined and documented over time so that if an item shows a significant change in difficulty and/or relevance, the question is retired. Finally, the NBCE psychometrician calculates the overall reliability for each examination.

Cut Scores Effect on State Boards

It has been the practice of the NBCE to set rigorous standards that meet or exceed state-legislated requirements for an acceptable level of achievement. The NBCE complies with Standard 14.17 of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing developed by the American Educational Research Association, the American Psychological Association, and the National Council on Measurement in Education. Standard 14.17 states, “The level of performance required for passing a credentialing test should depend on the knowledge and skills necessary for acceptable performance in the occupation or profession and should not be adjusted to regulate the number or proportion of persons passing the test.”

As a result, state boards and the public should feel confident that examinees whose performance falls below the recommended cut scores (NBCE has standardized the cut score for each of its examinations at 375) are at higher risk of making serious errors due to a lack of knowledge or skills and should therefore be denied practice privileges.

Although individual state boards have the right to specify their own minimum passing scores on a licensing test, departure from the psychometrically sound and legally defensible standards established by the NBCE may result in an increase of false positive errors or false negative errors. In other words, decreasing the standard below 375 may result in more incompetent candidates being declared eligible for licensure; conversely, increasing the standard above 375 may result in the denial of licensure to candidates who in truth have competence to practice safely and effectively.

Summary

Consistent with what has been stated in this report, establishing appropriate and legally defensible cut scores, calculating reliability coefficients, and documenting evidence for the validity of examinations are complex and demanding procedures and processes. The NBCE is confident that our approaches and methods are thorough and appropriate to validly determine who is ready for practice.

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