Standard Setting Group

Chair and Deputy of the Standard Setting Group
Appointment

  • Appointed by the EECC board chair in consultation with the chair of ESC Education Committee
  • Appointment as SSG chair is normally for two years and may be renewed
  • The chair assumes the role of past-chair when they are replaced by the chair-elect


Requirements

  • Active member of the EECC question writing group
  • Active membership of the EECC SSG for a minimum of 2 years
  • Detailed understanding of all aspects of Psychometrics and the Standards Setting process
  • Good understanding of all aspects of the EECC
  • Good leadership, verbal, and written communication skills
  • Dedicated time to attend EECC in-person and on-line meetings and to respond in a timely fashion to contacts from other members of the EECC team and external enquiries


Responsibilities

  • Responsible for the overall performance of the SSG
  • Attends EECC board meetings
  • Attends EECC leadership team meetings
  • Contributes to the strategic vision of the EECC as a member of the leadership team
  • Chairs one online SSG meeting per year
  • Maintains an appropriate number of active SSG members by reviewing participation, selecting new members and retiring inactive members, in consultation with the EECC chair and leadership team
  • Develops and updates the strategy for the SSG, including the standards setting guide
  • Develops the agendas for SSG meetings in consultation with the EECC chair and leadership team
  • Ensures that SSG members are aware of their responsibilities
  • Works with the ESC team to ensure that SSG members review and score the required number of MCQs in the appropriate format by the date requested
  • Facilitates discussion of items at the standard setting group meeting, taking into account the pre-meeting scores of the members, to ensure sufficient involvement of both high and low scorers, and thereby allow the group to revise their scores following this discussion in accordance with the Standards Setting Guide
  • To review the performance of the Standard Setting meeting, along with item performance from previous exams
  • Validates the final selection of 120 questions ensuring the EECC blueprint is respected
  • To perform the required validation in the online tool so the exam can be finalised in the online system
  • To receive the raw data 2 to 4 days after the EECC exam is sat
  • To forward the raw data to the statistician at the EECC academic partner for the analysis
  • To review the initial data analysis to identify MCQs which may be performing poorly
  • To present the data on potentially poorly performing MCQs to the Standard Setting Group via teleconference web meeting and leads discussion on the exclusion of items from the exam
  • To instruct the statistician on any items to exclude prior to a rerun of the analysis
  • In collaboration with the statistician prepares the data and its analysis for presentation
  • To oversee the academic process for determining the pass mark
  • To provide a report to the EECC board meeting and answer any questions from members to allow a pass mark to be agreed
  • To validate the final results and send them to ESC team so the information may be disseminated to the National Societies (which in turn share the results with their respective candidates)
  • To provide advice to the Chair of the Question Writing Group on topics to be prioritised in calls for new questions
  • If the chair is temporarily unable to perform their duties, the past-chair or chair-elect will normally deputise


Members
Appointment

  • There are normally 8-12 members, including at least one cardiology trainee, proposed by national societies, and appointed by the EECC board chair in consultation with the Chair of the Standards Setting Group
  • Tenure is for 2 years which may be renewed


Requirements

  • Full understanding of best-of-five multiple choice examinations and the Standards Setting process


Responsibilities

  • To perform the pre-standard setting process using the on-line tools before the SSG meetings
  • To attend the Group meeting once each year
  • To assess all questions with by the Group and agree the final standards setting
  • Members who do not attend two consecutive meetings will normally be asked to retire from the SSG


Meetings

  • The Group will meet routinely once each year in March
  • By agreement with the EECC Chair and Standards Setting Group Chair, representatives of National Cardiology Societies may attend the Standards Setting Meeting to observe


Standard Setting Guide

  • To be developed


EEGC Final Review

  • Every question in the exam is checked for accuracy by the Chair of the Standards Setting Group and the EECC Board Chair or appointed representatives. Any corrections are discussed and forwarded to the exam provider 4 weeks before the exam date