CON Professional Graduate Test Construction and Delivery

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UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER COLLEGE OF NURSING
Professional Graduate Test Construction and Delivery	Policy: 1311
Faculty Policies	Originating Date: April 2026
Responsible Reviewing Agency: Professional Graduate Affairs Committee Responsible Approving Agency: General Faculty Organization Related Documents: Policy 2311 - Professional Graduate Testing UNMC Accommodation Policy (ADA Policy)

Purpose

Establishes criteria for testing construction and delivery.

Scope

This policy applies to professional graduate faculty.

Policy

Testing processes have been established to ensure consistency in testing practices for didactic course content.

Exam Construction

• All professional graduate courses that include tests/exams as part of summative evaluation must administer exams with no fewer than 50 multiple-choice questions per test.
• Course coordinators may determine the weight of test/exam scores within the final course grade; however, exams must comprise no less than 20% and no more than 50% of the total course grade.
• Faculty must develop and share with students an exam blueprint outlining tested concepts and approximate question distribution at least one week prior to the exam.
• Faculty must provide a rationale for each exam question within the approved testing platform.
• Exam questions shall be retired after five years of use or earlier if psychometric analysis does not support continued use. See test question review table below.
• Questions must align with board-style formatting, including:
  • No true/false questions
  • Avoid negatively worded stems
  • Avoid absolute terms (e.g., “always,” “never”)
• Questions must be free of bias, stereotyping, slang or prejudicial language.
• Faculty must design and deliver exams in a manner that minimizes opportunities for unauthorized use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as the use of application-based questions, appropriate time limits, randomized item delivery, and approved remote proctoring settings.

Exam Administration

• Exams must be administered using the approved remote proctoring platform.
• Faculty must set up exams to match the program’s designated three-hour testing window, ensuring that students receive the entire allotted time to complete the exam.
• Faculty are responsible for ensuring exam settings are accurate, including:
  • Availability window
  • Time limits
  • Attempt rules
  • Proctoring requirements
• Faculty must clearly communicate to students in advance:
  • Exam timing and availability window
  • Testing expectations and procedures
  • Permitted and prohibited materials
• Faculty shall coordinate accommodation needs in alignment with approved student accommodations.

Pre-Exam Responsibilities

• Exams must be prepared, reviewed, and published in the testing platform in advance to ensure system readiness.
• Faculty must inform students of exam expectations and ensure clarity regarding:
  • Testing procedures
  • Allowed materials
  • Proctoring requirements
• Faculty must inform students of any approved testing materials (e.g., calculators, scratch paper) in advance, if permitted.

Post-Exam

• Course coordinator must review exam performance using psychometric analysis, including:
  • Item difficulty
  • Point biserial correlation
  • Discrimination index
• Faculty must determine whether scoring adjustments are warranted based on analysis. Adjustments are not automatic and must be justified.
• Faculty must make any necessary updates to exam items within the testing platform following analysis.
• Faculty must transfer exam scores to the learning management system in a timely manner.
• Faculty must provide structured feedback and/or remediation guidance for students who do not meet exam performance expectations.
• Faculty may delay exam review access if students are testing at different times or if a make-up exam is pending.

Test Question Review Table Using Point Biserial, Discrimination Index, and Difficulty

Item Difficulty	Point Biserial < 0.10	Point Biserial 0.10-0.29	Point Biserial > 0.30	Questions that were 100%
80-99% Easy	Poor Discrimination but students deemed easy	Fair Discrimination but students deemed easy	KEEP: Good discrimination
50-80% Average	Poor Discrimination; Average Difficulty; May review	Fair Discrimination: Average Difficulty; May review	KEEP: Good discrimination
30-50%	Add the disc index to the difficulty, if <0.06 poor discrimination; Review Required	Add the disc index to the difficulty, if 0.6-0.8 fair discrimination; May review	Add the disc index to the difficulty, if > 0.80 good discrimination; KEEP
<30% Difficult	Poor discrimination; Review Required	Fair discrimination; May Review	KEEP; Good discrimination	QUESTIONS GIVEN BACK

Make-Up Exams

• Faculty have discretion in approving and scheduling make-up exams.
• Make-up exams may be administered in an alternate format (e.g., essay, short answer, or multiple-choice) but must be equivalent in point value to the original exam.
• Faculty are responsible for ensuring that make-up exams maintain academic rigor and integrity consistent with the original assessment.