1. Job Analysis

A periodic Job Analysis defines child life practice by identifying the domain, tasks, and necessary knowledge and skills for entry-level competency. This process determines content areas and their relative emphasis, validated through a survey of child life practitioners, resulting in the Exam Content Outline.

The Job Analysis is critical for consumer protection, as it defines the competencies required for effective practice. To ensure the exam remains current and relevant, CLCC conducts Job Analysis approximately every five years.

2. Item Writing & Review

Item Writers develop new exam questions aligned with the Exam Content Outline for inclusion in the Item Bank. Each question must reference at least one approved publication, with page numbers provided to validate the correct answer.

Questions must have a single, indisputable correct answer, with distractors (incorrect options) that are plausible but clearly wrong. While degrees of correctness may test professional judgment, the key (correct answer) must be the most accurate option.

Item Reviewers evaluate questions using stringent criteria to ensure:

• content reflects best practices and is well-documented;

• items are clearly written and easily understood;

• the correct answer is clearly identified;

• distractors are plausible but incorrect; and

• items do not unfairly disadvantage any group of examinees.

After development and review, items undergo psychometric and editorial evaluations before being added to the Item Bank for potential use on future exams.

3. Exam Assembly

The Item Bank houses all questions for the certification exam. A test development specialist selects items from the bank to create draft exams based on the Exam Content Outline.

Draft exams are reviewed by psychometric experts to ensure integrity. Performance data is collected for all exam items to evaluate their difficulty and ability to differentiate between qualified and unqualified candidates. Items identified as problematic through statistical analysis are revised or removed.

Subject matter experts review draft exams for technical accuracy. The Exam Assembly Committee meets annually via web conferences, facilitated by the testing partner, to finalize exam forms. Drafts are reviewed, updated, and refined between sessions based on committee discussions.

Despite prior evaluations for psychometric soundness, fairness, and content validity, each question undergoes a final review using the same rigorous process before being presented to candidates. Editorial reviews complete the process before the forms are finalized.

4. Scoring

The Child Life Professional Certification Exam includes 150 questions, of which 25 are unscored pretest items. These items are piloted to ensure they effectively measure candidate proficiency before being used as scored questions in future exams. Statistical analysis of candidate responses verifies their relevance and quality.

Each exam form is equated to ensure fairness, adjusting for variations in difficulty between different versions. This process allows candidates to receive preliminary results at the testing center. While rare, scores may change following statistical analysis, with final results posted in the candidate’s profile.

As a criterion-referenced exam, the purpose is to confirm whether candidates meet a minimum standard of competence, as defined by subject matter experts. Scores are not intended to rank individuals but to measure their understanding of the knowledge outlined in the Practice Analysis Study.

Candidates who pass the exam are informed only that they have passed, without a numerical score, to prevent improper ranking by stakeholders. Those who do not pass receive a scaled score and a percentage breakdown for each domain, which highlights strengths and weaknesses but is not predictive of future performance. Domain scores are less reliable due to variability in item difficulty and are provided for descriptive purposes only.

The overall scaled score is the most accurate representation of exam performance, reflecting alignment with the established passing standard.