Security, Validity, and Relevance in American Board of Radiology Radiation Oncology Qualifying Examinations: The Science, Art, and Judgment of Examination Development

The 24 member boards of the American Board of Medical Specialties strive to assure continued faith in the value and credibility of initial certification among stakeholders, including residents, candidates, diplomates, regulators, legislators, and perhaps most critically, the public. This assurance demands scrupulous adherence to 3 critical foundational elements of the certification process: examination security, validity, and relevance. Here, we will briefly comment on examination security, but focus on the latter 2 elements, psychometric validity and temporal relevance, specifically regarding development of the radiation oncology (RO) initial certification qualifying examination (QE).