An Alternative Methodology for Appraising the Job Relatedness of NTE Program Tests

Early NTE test-appraisal studies focused only on the extent to which the content covered on a test matched the content of teacher education curricula. Recently, there has been a shift in emphasis from adequacy of preparation, which is now seen by many as irrelevant to establishing the appropriateness of a teacher licensure examination, to job relatedness. The procedures used to collect and analyze job-relatedness judgments in many studies, however, seem designed to yield positive results. Alternative procedures are described in this article. They involve (a) focusing the judgments to be made on necessity for successful job performance, (b) asking for a total-test judgment, and (c) computing an average per-item score. These procedures pose a more rigorous test of a licensure examination's job relatedness. They incorporate the legal and professional requirements for appraising licensure tests, and they yield richer, more meaningful data regarding the appropriateness of using a test as a licensure requirement.