April 2014
Governors of the National Dental Hygiene Certification Board (NDHCB):
Kellie HildebrandtPresident- Saskatchewan Dental Hygienists Association (SDHA)
Cindy HoldenVice-President - Newfoundland and Labrador Dental Board (NLDB)
Cindy McLeanPublic Member
Heather BiggarCollege of Dental Hygienists of British Columbia (CDHBC)
Stephanie GordonCollege of Dental Hygienists of Manitoba (CDHM)
Patricia GrantCollege of Dental Hygienists of Nova Scotia (CDHNS)
Alison MacDougallDental Council of Prince Edward Island(DCPEI)
Frédéric DuguayCommission on Dental Accreditation of Canada (CDAC)
Diane ThériaultNew Brunswick College of Dental Hygienists (NBCDH)
Brenda WalkerCollege of Registered Dental Hygienists of Alberta (CRDHA)
Lisa TaylorCollege of Dental Hygienists of Ontario (CDHO)
Carol YakiwchukCanadian Dental Hygienists Association (CDHA)
Staff:
Doris LavoieExecutive Director
Donna AwreyAdministrative Assistant
Donna ChapmanOffice Support
Sylvie MartelDental Hygiene Advisor
1. NDHCB Annual General and Board of Governors Meetings
The 2013NDHCB Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held on April 20, 2013. Two in-person Board meetings were held:in Ottawa April19-20, 2013and in TorontoOctober 2, 2013. The Board also had two teleconferences on December 2, 2013and March 26, 2014. Kellie Hildebrandt and Cindy Holden arestill respectively President and Vice-President of the NDHCB(since January 1st, 2012).
Our Ends currently read:
The National Dental Hygiene Certification Board exists so that Canadian Regulators, acting in the public interest, have reliable and valid testing mechanisms for assessing current dental hygiene competencies.
This is further defined, in order of priority as:
- Canadian Regulators trust our testing mechanisms for assessing entry level competencies.
1.1.They will recognize that examinations measure current dental hygiene knowledge, judgement and skills.
- Examination candidates/applicants are able to participate in the examination process within a reasonable amount of time and at a reasonable cost.
2.1.They will be provided with clear, defensible criteria for eligibility to ‘sit’ the exam.
2.2.They will have adequate exam parameters.
2.3.They will receive an exam that is free of bias.
2.4.They will have feedback that identifies areas for improvement.
- Educators, accreditors of dental hygiene educational programs, dental hygiene professionals and dental hygiene professional organizationswill recognize and champion the quality, validity and reliability of national dental hygiene certification.
2. National Dental Hygiene Certification Examination Development
2.1Item Writing and Group Reviews
Multiple Item Writing training/group review sessions were held over the past couple of years to expand our Item bank.We recently changed vendors for all our psychometric services and our current a pool of about 40Dental hygiene item writers from across the countrywere trained via webinar to write new items using our new online platform. Our item bank currently sits at around1,800operational items and another 1,000 in various development stages.
2.2NDHCE Examination Committee
With Yardstick, an Edmonton based company with offices in Toronto, now delivering all our testing needs (psychometric services, exam delivery and exam scoring/reporting) staff has been very busy facilitating the transition of all our examination material from our old platform to Yardstick’s. The new contract also calls for automatic assembly of the exam which means that the Exam Committee’s primary task has now shifted to ensuring that our current item bank is balanced and calibrated properly according to our latest Blueprint which reflects the latest National competencies for dental hygiene.
2.3Working Group on the Validation of the French Translation of the Exam
The Working Group on the Validation of the French Translation of the Exam,comprised of experienced bilingual Dental Hygienists,metto review and validate the translation of all examcontent.As we are now using the whole item bank to automatically generate our multiple exam forms, 100% of all items in our item bank need to have a proper French translation.
2.4Online Preparation Test
The NDHCB is offering two distinct versions of its online prep test. To date, over 5,000 individuals have taken at least one of thesetwo 75 item bilingual online tests in preparation for their NDHCE. The Prep Tests are available through our websiteare administered by Yardstick Software, a Canadian company. Theyprovide candidates with detailed feedback about their performance by offering extensive rationales for the various answer options with direct reference to textbook sources and NDHCB Blueprint competencies. A new version of the Prep Test is scheduled to be launched in January 2015.
2.5Computer Based Testing (CBT)
The NDHCEwasoffered in electronic form through Yardstick-certifiedcomputerized testing centresfor all candidates. Exam items were deliveredusing a method called “panel assembly”andcandidates received 180 scored items randomlypre-selected from a pool of 245 operational items, as well as 20 non-scored items “seeded” as experimentalsfor statistical purposes. The4hour long NDHCE (2 sessions of 2 hours with a 15 minute break in between) was offered electronically three times last year over 1-3 day “windows” in January,May and September.All computerized testing centres are located within a one hour drive (100 km) of any accredited Canadian DH school that is fielding candidates in a specific exam.
We have recently established strict parameters that now allow Yardstick to automatically assemble multiple forms of the NDHCE based on our whole item pool. Automatically assembled exams are scheduled to be delivered starting with the May 2014 exam.
2.6Online Applications
About 96% ofNDHCE candidates now access an interactive online application form to register for the exam that includes online payment by credit card, uploaded digital picturesof themselves for ID purposes and overall better accuracy of the information collected since they type it in themselves and it is transferred directly to our database. Following the application deadline, Canadian dental hygiene program directors receive access codes and are asked to verify the identity and eligibility of their students/new graduates online. This eliminates the need for manual signatures on behalf of students and transcripts and diplomas for graduates of accredited schools who are applying for the exam.
2.7Quality Assurance (QA) Test
The NDHCBhas developeda Quality Assuranceassessment toolfor the College of Dental Hygienists of British Columbia (CDHBC). This 75 item QA assessment tool(delivered randomly from a pool of 110pre-selected items) is now administered every year through the internet (non-proctored) to 20% of all RDHs in BC. Delivery of the exam has started in January 2013and every BC RDH is on a 5-year schedule to take/retake it.The test will also be renewed/replaced every 2 years with new content.Version 2 of the QA Test will be 100% bilingual and will be offered as of January 2015.
Since the NDHCB owns thisQA assessment tool, it can also be offered to other regulatory jurisdictions that might have a need for a similar program.
3. National Dental Hygiene Certification Examination (NDHCE) Administration
3.1NDHCE Results & Projections
A compilation of the NDHCE results over the past fewyearsshowsthat the total number of candidates per year has significantlydecreased from a few years ago when a number of non-accredited Canadian dental hygiene schools were still open (all non-accredited and a few accredited ones have now closed):
2009 / 2010 / 2011 / 2012 / 2013# / %Pass / # / %Pass / # / %Pass / # / %Pass / # / %Pass
January / 415 / 67% / 340 / 72% / 297 / 73% / 272 / 74% / 200 / 77%
May / 1069 / 92% / 1,117 / 92% / 921 / 90% / 978 / 85% / 575 / 85%
September / 529 / 79% / 452 / 74% / 365 / 78% / 315 / 67% / 210 / 68%
Total/Avg / 2,013 / 83% / 1,909 / 84% / 1583 / 84% / 1565 / 79% / 985 / 80%
With the new stricter regulations for private programs adopted in 2010by the Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities (MTCU) in Ontario, allnon-accredited dental hygiene programs have now closed.A total of 18 DH programs currently remain in Ontario (12 public and 6 privately owned), down from a high of 39 distinct programs a few years ago. It is estimated thatthe number of NDHCE candidates should stabilize at around 1,100 per year over the next few years.
3.2Evaluation of Graduates from Non-Accredited Dental Hygiene Programs
In 2013, wereceived eligibility applications from 5foreign trained individuals. 2 were approved but the othersare still missing some documentsbefore we can complete their evaluation. So far, in 2014, we have received 4 new applications for eligibility evaluation from foreign trained applicants. One is currently under evaluation and the other 3 are still missing some supporting documentation before they go for assessment.
3.3NDHCE Testing Accommodations
The NDHCB offers candidates with disabilities information on the testing accommodations that are available. Testing accommodations can include extra time, a separate room, and in some cases, an audio version or a paper version of the exam. This information is directly available on the NDHCB website. Among those who wrote in2013,we received and granted 19requests for special accommodations (7 in January,6 in May and 6 in September).
3.4Datesof 2014NDHCE Administrations
May 20-22, 2014
September 22-23, 2014
3.5Exam Security
Caveon Test Security, LLC was hired to conduct a “web patrol service” to monitor websites, blogs, Facebook and Twitter traffic and determine if our exam content and material had been exposed or discussed on the internet.
Respectfully submitted,
Doris Lavoie, BSc, MSc, MSW, CAE
Executive DirectorM:\NDHCB\REPORTS\NDHCB Report\2008\NDHCB_Report_2008_update.doc
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