PSI Test Development Cycle - Exam Review (ER) Meeting - Final Review (FR) Meeting - Preliminary Item Analysis (PIA) Meeting - Post-Test Equating (EQ) Meeting

Sep 20, 2026

PSI Test Development Cycle documentation outlines key governance meetings across the lifecycle of a test form. It covers an Exam Review (ER) meeting with online committee feedback and a ~4-week homework window, a Final Review (FR) meeting when substantial item replacements occur, and a Preliminary Item Analysis (PIA) meeting using item and test statistics to decide scoring. It also details Post-Test Equating (EQ) to compute an equivalent cut score, followed by Board approval via virtual meeting or email.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages3

Reading Time8 min

AccessFree to download

Exam Review (ER) Meeting

Final Review (FR) Meeting

Preliminary Item Analysis (PIA) Meeting

Post-Test Equating (EQ) Meeting

Exam Review (ER) Meeting – After PSI develops the test form, the form will be sent out for an online review to each exam committee member. Committee members will be asked to respond to the items and provide comments. Approximately 4-weeks will be given for this pre-meeting homework. At the in-person exam review meeting, PSI will address any item with key disagreement (e.g., 50% of the committee got the item wrong) and/or comments on the items (e.g.,“this item is no longer accurate”) . Final Review (FR) Meeting – If there were a significant amount of items replaced at the ER meeting, PSI will send out the form for online review a second time. This purpose of this final review is to ensure that no replacement items are enemies (i.e., two or more items that do not belong on the same exam) with other items on the exam. This is also a final check of the form to catch anything that may have been missed during the first online review and at the ER meeting. This meeting with the exam committee or exam co-chairs is virtual and 2-3 hours is often sufficient. If minimal items were replaced at the ER meeting, this final review is not necessary. Preliminary Item Analysis (PIA) Meeting – After the administration of a form, item and test statistics are generated. Items are flagged that display statistics outside of established thresholds (e.g., item is very difficult) . All items will be reviewed but there is a focus on new items that have not been used before. A 2-hour virtual meeting with the exam committee or exam co-chairs is often sufficient to review the items and make decisions regarding scoring (e.g., giving credit to all candidates for an item) . Post-Test Equating (EQ) Meeting – After final scoring is conducted based on any key changes from the PIA meeting, PSI will conduct a posttest equating analysis of the test form to find the equivalent cut score comparing it to the previous form (i.e., base form) . Once the cut score is calculated, a memo highlighting the results will be sent to the Board. The Board will review the memo and approve the cut score at a short virtual meeting (30 minutes or less). Alternatively, Board approval can be sent via email.

FAQs

What happens during the Exam Review (ER) meeting after PSI develops the test form?

PSI sends the form for an online review to each exam committee member. Members respond to items, provide comments, and approximately four weeks are given for this pre-meeting homework.

When is the Final Review (FR) meeting necessary?

It is typically required if a significant amount of items were replaced at the ER meeting. The goal is to confirm that replacement items belong on the exam and to catch anything missed in the first review.

How does PSI conduct Post-Test Equating (EQ) and how is the cut score approved?

After final scoring, PSI performs a posttest equating analysis to find the equivalent cut score compared with the base form. A memo with results is sent to the Board, which approves the cut score at a short virtual meeting (30 minutes or less) or via email.

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by River Wang