Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist® Credentialing Audit Executive Summary

In August, the AG Bell Academy for Listening and Spoken Language® (the Academy) contracted with Thomson Prometric to audit the Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist® (Cert. AVT®) credentialing program. As outlined in its mission statement, the Academy was founded to ensure that individuals and families have access to qualified listening and spoken language professionals. In general, the Academy will develop and manage certification programs for professionals who provide services to children and adults who are deaf or hard of hearing. In order for those programs to gain wider professional recognition and public support, they need to conform to recognized guidelines.

The audit, which consisted of a two-day site visit to evaluate program documentation, focused on identifying changes required to align the credential with National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) standards and guidelines. NCCA is the accreditation body of the National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA), the leader in setting quality standards for credentialing organizations.

Since the continued growth and recognition of the Cert. AVT® designation is the Academy's first priority, the Cert. AVT® credential was evaluated according to NCCA quality standards.

The NCCA Mission

NCCA helps to ensure the health, welfare and safety of the public through the accreditation of a variety of certification programs and organizations that assess professional competency. The NCCA uses a peer review process to:

• Establish accreditation standards
• Evaluate compliance with the standards
• Recognize organizations/programs which demonstrate compliance
• Serve as a resource on quality certification

Certification programs may apply and be accredited by the NCCA if they demonstrate compliance with each accreditation standard. NCCA standards exceed the requirements set forth by the American Psychological Association and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The Audit Process

The audit format conformed to a comprehensive list of critical features essential for quality credentialing programs that make up the NCCA standards. The review of these standards is organized according to four major areas of the NCCA application and accreditation process:

(1) Purpose, Governance and Resources
(2) Responsibilities to Stakeholders
(3) Assessment Instruments
(4) Recertification

The following audit report is organized according to these four major areas as they apply to the Cert. AVT® program.

Audit Summary of Findings

Standards 1-5: Purpose, Governance, and Resources

Recommendations related to governance emphasized the need for independence, fairness and written policies and procedures within the Academy. The audit noted that the program's stringent eligibility requirements and resources required by candidates may hinder the growth and sustainability of the Cert. AVT® program. Recommendations emphasized that all eligibility requirements be evaluated based on information gathered from a new job analysis.

The audit report also recommended the creation of a policies and procedures manual with the following components: (1) the composition and rotation of the Auditory-Verbal Certification Committee; (2) test development policies and procedures; (3) test administration policies and procedures; (4) quality control procedures; (5) credential use and misuse policies and disciplinary procedures including appeals; and (6) confidentiality, data retention and security policies and procedures.

Standards 6-9: Responsibilities to Stakeholders

Eligibility criteria need to be supported by evidence from a recent job analysis, and the process used to evaluate examination candidate eligibility needs to be documented and published to ensure fairness and validity.

Standards 10-18: Assessment Instruments

Recommendations focused on the need to conduct a current job analysis, the results of which should be documented in a single report made available to the public. Job analysis results should be used to inform Academy decisions regarding specific eligibility requirements, the types of features scored in any performance requirement and the specifications for the written examination.

Accreditation will require a new examination. In addition, the Academy needs to develop policies and procedures that describe how examinations are to be developed, reviewed, scored, stored, reported and validated for quality and accuracy.

Standards 19-20: Recertification

The Academy needs to create policies and procedures for recertification and publish them in a clear and unambiguous manner that can be understood by the public.

The audit also recommended extending the renewal period for recertification given the level of effort required to obtain the credential. The Cert. AVT® credential should be more accessible by the public, the stakeholders and the potential candidates.

Conclusion

Overall, the audit found that the Cert. AVT® credential was designed to meet rigorous standards and continues to have substantial value for the general public as well as for the constituents for whom it is designed. To ensure that the credential accurately reflects the current needs of the profession, specific timelines have been developed for meeting each audit recommendation.

The initial Cert. AVT® job analysis was performed in 1992, and the profession has changed substantially since that time. The results of the audit indicate the need for a new job skills analysis to identify the essential knowledge and skills needed by today's professionals who deliver services to infants and children with hearing loss and their families. The analysis will not only provide key findings on how to strengthen the current Cert. AVT® credential, but it is expected that the analysis will also provide information needed for the Academy to launch new certification program(s).

The results of the analysis also will likely result in changes to the eligibility requirements, recertification requirements and an updated test as early as 2008. Changes to eligibility requirements and the certification process will not affect professionals who earned the Cert. AVT® under the current process.

Most importantly, the audit provides the Academy with a roadmap on how to advance and strengthen the Cert. AVT® credential to withstand external scrutiny and provide public recognition of the knowledge, skills and commitment to excellence valued by today's professionals.