National Certification Initial Recognition ARRT Primary Exams Handbook

National Certification Initial Recognition: ARRT Primary Exams

Handbook & Application l Certification Eligibility Requirements l Application Procedures and Follow-up l Examination Appointment l Exam Administration Day l After the Exam l Initial Certification Review important information in the Hyperlinks

Certification Eligibility l Ethics – – All candidates must comply with the ARRT Rules and Regulations and Standards of Ethics Questions on Application: l “Have you ever been convicted of a misdemeanor, felony, or a similar offense in a military court-martial? ” (Exceptions: speeding and parking violations) l “Have you had any professional license, permit, registration, or certification denied, revoked, suspended, placed on probation, under consent agreement or consent order, voluntarily surrendered, or subjected to any conditions or disciplinary actions by a regulatory authority or certification board (other than ARRT)? l “Have you ever been suspended, dismissed, or expelled from an educational program that you attended in order to meet ARRT certification requirements? ” l Untruthful response is a serious infraction

Certification Eligibility l Education – – – Successfully completed a program of formal education that is accredited within the past three years (RA programs must have “recognition status from ARRT) Demonstrate competency in didactic coursework and ARRT specified list of clinical procedures Have an earned associate (or more advanced) degree l After three years you must “re-qualify” – Complete educational requirements and demonstrate clinical competency

Certification Eligibility l Examination – “Primary exams consist of questions designed to measure the knowledge and cognitive skills underlying the performance of the major tasks typically required within the profession. ” l – Pilot questions are unscored questions embedded in the test used to evaluate new test questions ARRT owns copyright for the exams

Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) “This exam is confidential and is protected by trade secret law. It is made available to you, the examinee, solely for the purpose of assessing qualifications in the discipline referenced in the title of this exam. You are expressly prohibited from disclosing, publishing, reproducing, or transmitting this exam, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, verbal or written, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the prior express written permission of ARRT. ” Appears after tutorial and you must respond within 2 minutes or exam will end a re-application form and fee required.

Application Procedures l l Agreement of Candidates Application Form – Names and IDs must match l l Read criteria l l l – 6 month limit – $200. 00 $175. 00 re-apply Application Timing – At the earliest, mail up to three months prior to graduation (February 15, 2016) Application process and any review must be completed within three years or need to re-qualify Allow four weeks to receive your Candidate Status Report (CSR) Examination Window Application Fees – l – 6 month limit Photo Requirements – – Within 90 days of program completion date (May 14, 2016) l l Forfeit fee if you don’t schedule or take exam Testing Centers – – – Pearson VUE centers www. pearsonvue. com/arrt Special accommodations

ARRT Follow-up l Acknowledgement of Receipt – – CSR mailed within four weeks For faster acknowledgement l l l Mail application to ARRT using U. S. postal “return receipt requested” Include a self-addressed, postage-paid postcard for ARRT to mail back. Application Review – – – Incomplete applications Finding of Ineligibility Must notify ARRT of change in Ethics eligibility

Candidate Status Report (CSR) l l l Candidate identification information Permanent six-digit ARRT ID number Examination window dates – After date expires: l l l Verifying Education – l Candidate must graduate with academic degree for eligibility Information Change? – l CSR no longer valid Re-application form and fee required Notify ARRT immediately and before scheduling your exam Changing an Exam Window – – Request change from ARRT via mail or fax prior to expiration If exam is scheduled, notify before scheduled exam date

Examination Appointment l l Pearson VUE schedules appointments on a first-come, first-served basis. Following receipt of your CSR: – – Call Pearson VUE center or Schedule exam appointment online at www. pearsonvue. com/arrt (includes a brief delay) l Schedule appointment early to get an exam date prior to window expiration – Cancel or re-schedule up to 24 hours prior to exam time and requires a $10 fee. Failure to show for scheduled exam results in forfeit of application fee

Exam Administration Day l l l ARRT exam is computerized testing Be prepared for cool or warm temperatures Follow Procedures – Arrive early, 15 minutes late may result in forfeit of appointment (application fees not refunded) – Need two forms of ID, provide signature, palm vein scanned, and photographed – Short orientation provided – Assigned a workstation

Exam Administration Day l l l Center provides erasable note board, and pen Both scientific and basic four-function calculators provided on computer or can be requested (don’t bring your own) Time for exam is based on number of questions – – All primary exams are 3. 5 hours (4 hours total) Clock is NOT stopped for voluntary breaks

Exam Administration Day l l Test Center Restrictions Misconduct will result in dismissal from test center Notify test center personnel of any technical difficulties Prepare for inclement weather – Missing exam due to bad weather (if center open) will result in re-application and fee

Taking the Exam l l l Questions presented in random order A variety of question formats are used You must answer a question before receiving the next – – l Make an educated guess and flag a question for later review Wrong answers are not counted against you Use time economically – Time remaining is displayed on computer screen

Item Formats Standard multiple-choice l Combined response l Negatively worded l Select multiple l Illustration l Hot Spot l Sorted List l

Item Scoring l ARRT uses scaled scores – l Range from 1 -99, 75 needed to pass Scaled scores – – Take into account the difficulty of a particular exam compared to earlier versions of same exam A score of 75 does not mean 75% were answered correctly l – A scaled score of 75 could mean that 65% were answered correctly Section scores are scaled (1 -9. 9) and provide information only to the examinee

Q A What’s New? ARRT is increasing the Radiography exam cut score, effective January 1, 2013 • Cut score establishes passing standard: achieving or surpassing the cut score determines passing • Periodic standard-setting exercise determines whether passing standards continue to reflect appropriate expectations for professional performance • Expectations for professional performance at entry level change over time: what was good enough at one point in time may no longer be good enough today • Increasing professional expectations lead to increased cut score

Q A Cut score vs. scaled score? The changed cut score is raising the bar, but is still reported as a scaled score of 75 • Each candidate’s individual performance against the cut score is translated into a scaled score • Scaled scores maintain the standard across different forms of the exam and the passage of time, so all candidates are rated on the same scale • Like transforming a temperature from Fahrenheit to Celsius, the scale used to report the temperature doesn’t affect the underlying physical property, just how it’s communicated

Q A How will this affect pass rates? Only those at or near the former standard would be at risk under the new standard • Candidates who previously passed with scaled scores of 75 or 76 would not have passed under the new standard • Candidates with scaled scores of 77 and above would have passed under the new standard • Candidates who scored outside these ranges would experience no change in passing prospects

After the Exam l l l A Preliminary scaled score will be given at the completion of the exam but it is not the final score ARRT may withhold or cancel scores for security issues Final scores and certification results are mailed to the candidates address on file with the ARRT – 2 -4 weeks for results Program Directors would like to know your results when you get them.

After the Exam l l l Candidates may appeal scoring Submit a re-application form and fee if exam is failed Candidates are allowed three attempts to pass the primary exam within a three-year period from the initial window start date l Failing to pass will result in loss of eligibility status

Please! If you fail the exam at the first attempt, contact your Program Director immediately to discuss strategies before you schedule a second attempt.

Initial Certification l l Your certification confers the right to use the title “Registered Technologist” and its abbreviation “R. T. ” in connection with your name. You should also use the initial to indicate the specific category or categories for which registration is held. R. T. (N) R. T. (R) R. T. (T) Certification beginning in 2011 will be time limited to 10 years and require continuing qualifications requirements (CQR).

Continuing Qualifications Requirement l l Required for primary and post-primary certifications obtained after 1 -1 -11. Manage CQR through ARRT online Portal – l l Monitor progress, complete CQR which will be individualized Begins 7 years from certification date and have 3 years to complete If CQR is not completed, discontinuation of the RT certification

Continuing Qualifications Requirement l Purpose: – – l Reassess and improve current practice knowledge Advancement of skills in evolving technologies Components: – – Professional Profile Self-assessment l l – l Evaluate strengths and weaknesses Assess qualifications Targeted CE Review information about CQR on the ARRT Website

NMTCB l Program Director will discuss the details about the NMTCB Exam. Information provided on a USB drive. – – – l Examination fee $175. 00 Following graduation and receipt of authorization letter, you have a 3 month window to schedule exam. Exam offered through ACT Centers (www. act. org/actcenters) Uses Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT) – Adapts questions to the knowledge of the individual to determine how well the candidate knows the material. l l Computer selects questions randomly Examinees may have more or less questions to answer based on their level of performance

ARRT Resources l l Visit the ARRT website for more information about the certification and registration process at www. arrt. org Helpful videos (www. arrt. org/videos) – – Continuing Qualifications Requirements (CQR) Applying for certification What to expect exam day Exam security: what’s ok and what’s not

Topics Discussed Later l Renewal of Registration l Continuing Education Requirements l State Licensure l Professional Organizations