Taking the NAPLEX: A Basic Guide
Hard to believe that the end of the 2021-2022 academic year is on the horizon. For many P4 students, it’s an emotional rollercoaster: After all these years of preparing, the finish line is in sight, and your pharmacy career is just beginning. Taking the NAPLEX is one of the final steps you need to take, […]
Read More ›Pharmacists, Here’s How We Develop the Exams You Take
This is the third in a series of posts that explore the rigorous process of building NABP’s examinations. Here, we explain how tests are developed. A previous blog post provided a primer on test validity; however, much of the validity evidence is collected throughout the test development process. Although there are several frameworks for principled assessment design systems, such as evidenced-centered design (eg, […]
Read More ›The Science Behind the Score: The New NAPLEX Candidate Performance Report
This is the second in a series of posts that explore the rigorous process of building NABP’s examinations. Here we explain the creation of the new NAPLEX candidate performance report. The Value of Subscores Before we describe our process of creating our new NAPLEX candidate performance report, it is important to discuss exactly how the […]
Read More ›A Brief Primer on Test Validity Theory
This is the first in a series of posts that explores the rigorous process of building NABP’s examinations. First up: Laying the foundation for an exam’s validity through the interpretation and use argument. The validity of an examination, or assessment, is the most fundamental consideration in the development and evaluation of assessments. Validity is the […]
Read More ›Rigorous process to set exam passing standard shows it’s more than just a number
In a previous blog post, we noted that the NAPLEX blueprint is changing in 2021 and a standard setting panel was conducted this past summer. The purpose of standard setting is to determine a point along a score scale that classifies individuals into specific proficiency categories. For example, a fourth-grade reading test may be designed […]
Read More ›NAPLEX Blueprint Improvements Coming in January 2021
The North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination® (NAPLEX®) is blossoming with changes, but fear not, these changes are only routine improvements to the exam. Every five years we reevaluate the competency statements using licensure testing best practices. Pursuant to our most recent review, new competency statements will go into effect in January 2021. In November 2019, […]
Read More ›That’s Not Cheating…Or Is It?
When examining candidates for state licensure eligibility via the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination® (NAPLEX®) and Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination® (MPJE®) or evaluating the knowledge of internationally educated pharmacists through the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination® (FPGEE®), we take exam misconduct seriously. Most of the time, exam misconduct is obvious, but some instances may not […]
Read More ›Exam Writers Help Assess Future Pharmacists’ Real-World Skills
The NAPLEX, MPJE, FPGEE, and PCOA travel a long road before they reach a test taker’s desk. Our examination development committees meticulously write and then scrupulously edit each question, hoping to create a group of exams that prepare future pharmacists for any situation they might encounter on the job. “I think that is our core […]
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