When one considers the importance and social significance of licensing and certification examinations, it is amazing that the enterprise operates with virtually no societal oversight. The "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing" and the "Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education" of the American Psychological…

The purpose of licensing and certification tests is to protect the public. This purpose determines test content, difficulty of the items, test format, use of test scores in decision making, and ways of setting standards. Currently being explored are methods to ensure continued competence, and legal considerations related to antidiscrimination…

Examines many issues in the debate concerning mandatory licensing of engineers. Political, safety, and financial considerations are discussed. (CP)

Deals with some of the lessons considered to have been learned from the studies of licensing and certification of the Center for Occupational and Professional Assessment, ETS, New Jersey, when one considers what educators can learn from testing in and for noneducational occupations. (Author/JM)

Self-regulation of agencies administering professional licensing and certification tests is questioned on social and legal grounds. Topics include test validity concerns of applicants, extension of "truth in testing" legislation, explicitness of standards, and whether construct validity should be the primary requirement for selecting a…

The problems, issues, concerns, and preferred solutions concerning occupational licensing are discussed in this guide designed for state policymakers confronting decisions regarding the credentialing of various occupations and professions. Chapter 1 focuses on the guidelines for occupational regulation. Three issues are discussed: deciding whether…

This document contains two letters. The first letter, which might have been written by a cosmetology licensing board member to his mother, illustrates the changing climate toward occupational regulations and how it might affect the attitudes of a board member. The second letter, the mother's reply, attempts to put some of the changes into a…

To carry out this study, personal interviews were conducted with licensing personnel in the geographically diverse states of New York, California, Florida, Illinois, and Texas. The nonprofessional occupations (those requiring not more than two years of post-high school training) examined for licensing requirements in at least one of the five…

Self-regulation by autonomous occupationally-dominated boards creates an inherent conflict of interest. Consumers are wondering whether what they get by way of protection is worth the economic and social costs. Perhaps the weakest links in the regulatory chain are enforcement and discipline. Few practitioners are suspended or have their licenses…

An overview of some recent trends in occupational licensing is described and some of the current problems in licensing and regulation are discussed. Issues which are covered include: the proliferation of occupations which seek licensing and the opposition to these new groups by already established related occupations; the composition of licensing…

This paper provides an overview of the occupational regulation system, particularly licensure, in order that vocational educators may provide input into the regulative process and adequate information to students. The purpose and background of the licensure regulation process are traced. The function and workings of licensing boards are discussed.…

State regulation of occupational licensing is becoming the subject of nationwide debate. The issues being questioned and suggestions for their solutions include the following: (1) Is it necessary to regulate occupations, and, if it is, to what extent? Regulation is required only if its need is well-documented, and it should be kept to the minimum…