BOARD OF EXAMINERS In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board of Examiners (BOE) continued to hold, virtually, regular monthly meetings of the Registration Executive Committee (REC) and the PolicyWorking Group. In addition, APEGA’s registration staff organized and held virtual workshops in June and November for Registration Committee members. The BOE continued to systematically update registration procedures, policies, and bulletins. Of concern to the public members on the BOE was the competency-based assessment (CBA) model in use, specifically the variation in the ratings provided by applicants, validators, and examiners. Final-assessment decisions are based on the ratings provided by the examiners, and the workshops were beneficial to the examiners in furthering their knowledge of the intricacies of CBA. Furthermore, the REC was very deliberate in ensuring its decisions across applicants were fair and consistent. As we have pointed out in previous annual reports, since CBA yields quantitative data, analyses that provide evidence for validity, reliability, and fairness and that determine whether CBA meets acceptable testing practices should be conducted. No such analyses have been conducted to date. However, the Registration Department is working on a plan, spanning several years, to review the current CBA model and to implement a revised model.
We support this action and the requirement that all applicants must successfully complete the CBA. However, such is not the case for the assessment of an applicant’s academics. There is no single assessment all applicants must complete to attest to their academic knowledge and its application to practise. As we have stated in previous reports, efforts should be made to develop a standardized assessment of academics. Our comments above are based on the fact that assessments and the procedures used to make these assessments are never perfect but in a state of constant evolution. In this regard, it is our observation that registration staff is following the practice of constantly reviewing and updating the assessments for registering engineering and geoscience applicants. In conclusion, the Registration staff and the BOE continue to perform their duties diligently, focusing on the fundamental principle of public safety.
Leslie Beard Allan Mah Ernest Skakun, PhD Public Members
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