Current through all regulations passed and filed through December 16, 2024
The director may approve an entity to be an examination
provider.
(A) To be eligible for
approval as an examination provider, the applicant shall do the following:
(1) Submit an application
in a
format acceptable to the director.
(2) In accordance with division (O) of
section 3745.11 of the Revised Code, pay
the agency an application fee.
(3)
Demonstrate the development of multiple classifications of water treatment,
water distribution, wastewater collection and wastewater treatment/water reclamation examinations for the purpose of
assessing the entry-level skills necessary for each professional operator
classification. The examinations shall meet the requirements listed in
paragraph (B) of this rule.
(4) Be
the responsible body for overseeing the development and scoring of the
examinations.
(5) Demonstrate the
ability to proctor and enforce requirements for conduct during the examinations
that are consistent with the provisions in rule
3745-7-18 of the Administrative
Code.
(6) Provide security
guidelines for protecting the confidentiality and integrity of examination
development, examination questions and the grading of examinations.
(7) Demonstrate the ability to enforce the
security guidelines documented in paragraph (A)(6) of this rule.
(8) Document policy for the amount of time
required before an examinee may retake an examination. Such policy shall at a
minimum require an applicant to wait thirty days prior to retaking an
examination.
(9) Demonstrate an
ability to provide computerized examinations at a minimum of four locations
throughout the state of Ohio. The examinations shall be available at each
location on multiple days and varying times throughout the year.
(10) Demonstrate an ability to provide the
examinee with immediate feedback and allow the examinee to provide feedback
regarding questions on the examination they have taken. The feedback shall
include the score achieved on the examination and identify core competencies or
"Need to Know Criteria" where the examinee scored poorly. Examinees shall have
the ability to print a hard copy of the examination results which identifies
the examinee, examination classification, score and provider name.
(11) Demonstrate the ability to provide
examinations for examinees who document a disability that necessitates special
accommodation.
(12) Document the
application process and that applicants are required to meet minimum
eligibility requirements for taking examinations that are equivalent or more
stringent than those contained in rule
3745-7-06 of the Administrative
Code.
(13) Submit copies of the
question database and examinations to be used for each classification to the
Ohio EPA. The professional operator certification advisory council and agency
staff will determine the equivalency of the examinations to the Ohio EPA's
previously administered examinations and consistency with professional
standards. Examination questions and databases shall be treated as trade
secrets and be exempt from the public records provisions of Chapter 149. of the
Revised Code.
(14) Demonstrate that
questions and examinations are available for the Ohio EPA's class I and class
II water distribution and wastewater collection system classifications, as well
as class A, class I, class II and class III water supply and wastewater
treatment/water reclamation classifications.
These examinations shall meet the criteria established in paragraph (B) of this
rule.
(B) The applicant
shall demonstrate the examinations meet the following:
(1) The purpose of the examination shall be
to test a professional operator's knowledge of entry-level standards of
practice that shall be common to each water and wastewater professional
operator classification.
(2) Be
developed based on a job analysis and survey process (updated at least every
five years) conducted with individuals representative of the classification for
the examination. The job analysis and survey process shall identify the core
competencies and "Need to Know Criteria" for each classification.
(3) Incorporate items based on "Need to Know
Criteria" which serve as an outline for each examination classification. The
content of the examinations shall be weighted so as to represent the most
critical job duties performed by a professional operator in each
classification.
(4) Consist of
questions which have been developed and validated in a manner consistent with
the professional standards contained in the most recent version of "Standards
for Educational and Psychological Testing (2014)".
(5) Have been reviewed by a psychometrician
to ensure consistency with psychometric principles regarding examination
validation and cut score development.
(6) The examinations and questions undergo
statistical review following the administration of the examinations to ensure
they are performing as intended. The procedures, process and the details
associated with actions taken based on the statistical review shall be
provided.
(C) Approval of
an examination provider shall be based upon the criteria in paragraph A of this
rule and an examination equivalency review by the Ohio EPA and the professional
operator certification advisory council.
(D) Upon approval by the director, the
approved examination provider shall do the following:
(1) Begin giving examinations to Ohio
professional operators within one year of the director's approval.
(2) Upon delivering the first Ohio based
examination, provide monthly reports to the professional operator certification
program documenting analysis of the examination questions and the amount of
fees collected during the month from professional operators seeking
certification in Ohio. The monthly report shall be submitted within ten
business days of the end of the reporting month.
(3) Upon delivering the first Ohio based
examination, provide a weekly report of individuals taking the examinations,
the classification of the examination, and their scores in a format approved by
the director.
(4) Pay an annual fee
in accordance with division (O) of section
3745.11 of the Revised Code. The
fee shall be submitted no later than forty-five days after the end of the
preceding calendar year. The fee shall be based on the amount of fees collected
in the preceding calendar year from professional operator taking examinations
who intend to seek certification in Ohio.
(5) At a minimum of every three years,
question databases and examinations for each classification will be reviewed by
the agency. Reviews may be conducted more frequently at the discretion of the
director.
(E) Written
examinations developed by or for the agency may include trial test questions
for the purpose of evaluating the statistical or psychometric qualities of new
or revised questions prior to their use in an examination. Trial test questions
will not be identified to the candidates as trial test questions on the
examination.
(1) The maximum number of trial
test questions included in a single examination shall not exceed twenty per
cent of the total number of questions on examination.
(2) Trial test questions shall not be counted
toward a candidate's score on the examination.
(F) Failure to maintain the standards under
which the provider was approved or meet the criteria above may result in the
withdrawal of the director's approval and invalidation of examination scores.
[Comment: This rule incorporates, by reference the "Standards
for Educational and
Psychological Testing (2014)." At the effective date
of this rule, a copy may be obtained from "American Educational Research
Association, 1430 K Street NW, Suite 1200, Washington, DC 20005," (202)
238-3200, http://www.aera.net. The
reference is available for review at "Ohio EPA, Lazarus Government Center, 50
West Town Street, Suite 700, Columbus, OH 43215."]