Behind the CPRP Exam

Behind the CPRP exam
Parks & Recreation, Feb, 2005 by Tim Leiwig

Ever wonder how the Certified Park & Recreation Professional (CPRP) exam is developed? In order to answer that question, it is best to start with a little background. Members of the National Certified Park and Recreation Professional Examination Committee are appointed by the National Certification Board. It is an independent body of the National Certification Board that has several responsibilities including developing questions, evaluating test results, assisting in updating criteria for the examination, monitoring materials and advising the certification Board of concerns or issues related to the test.

The committee consists of 12 members, typically six educators and six practitioners, representing all regions of the country. Each member of the committee has expertise in one or more areas, including the management of park and recreation services, programming, operations or therapeutic recreation. Each committee member must hold a current CPRP certification and may be appointed to a maximum of two, three-year terms.

There are specific content areas within each of the above categories from which items/questions are developed. These content areas were identified as a result of a national job analysis that identified job responsibilities common to entry-level positions within the leisure services profession.

While developing test items, a three-level classification system is utilized to identify the level of thinking required to respond to an item. The three levels are recall, application and analysis.

Recall items primarily test the recognition or recall of specific facts, generalizations, concepts, principles, processes, procedures and/or theories.

Application items primarily test simple interpretation or application of limited data. These types of questions require more than simple recall, but less problem-solving. This includes questions that require translation into another form of specific verbal, tabular or graphic data, and recognition of the elements and relationships among such data.

Analysis items primarily test the evaluation of data, problem solving, or the fitting together of a variety of elements into a meaningful whole. Questions at this level will typically require examinees to make value judgments concerning the effectiveness, appropriateness, or best course of action for a particular situation.

New items are developed based on theories, practices and procedures that should be familiar to entry-level leisure services professionals. As new items are written, they are reviewed by the committee. Such a review ordinarily involves verification of the correct answer; that the subject matter is valid within the profession; suggestions for better wording if needed; and suggestions for better distracters. New items/questions that are accepted will be placed on a pretest.

As a candidate takes the exam, they first receive 10 practice questions, which are not scored, in order to familiarize them with the computer. This is followed by 150 test items. There are 25 pretest questions, which do not count towards the candidate's score, mixed in with the 125 questions that are scored. The pretest questions allow the committee to see how the item performed. If the item performed well, it could be placed on a future test. If it did not perform well, it would go back to the committee for revision or to be deleted.

The items/questions are also statistically validated. Pretest items are reviewed to ensure an appropriate level of difficulty and a high level of "discrimination." An item that discriminates well tends to be answered correctly by higher-scoring candidates and incorrectly by lower-scoring candidates. The four options (ABCD) are also analyzed to ensure that multiple correct answers are not present.

With the advent of computerized testing, each candidate taking the exam may receive a different mix of questions on their test, although each test will have the same number of items in each content area as well as the same distribution of items across cognitive levels.

There are not only several steps required in the development of an item, but there are numerous checks and balances to ensure the items are valid and current to our profession. Every effort is made to have a secure testing process and to ensure that candidates are being tested in the content areas that impact the profession.

If you would like to take the test and have qualified, it is recommended that you download the Candidate Handbook for this examination and purchase the Official Study Guide, both which can be obtained through the NRPA. These documents and their references are helpful in preparing for the test.

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