Resources for educators.

The ARRT provides information to radiologic science educators through various publications. Some of these are targeted at a wide audience (eg, the Annual Report to Registered Technologists) and some are targeted specifically for educators (eg, Educator Update). An awareness of the latter resources will help educators take advantage of the information available through the ARRT.

Resources Published Annually Or Semiannually

The Educator Update is distributed to all educators each year in the spring and the fall. The timing corresponds to the 2 ARRT board meetings at which policy decisions are made. Articles typically focus on those activities and policy changes of interest to educators. For instance, the Educator Update for March 2007 included articles on the inclusion of Situation Judgment Test items (SJTs) on the exam as well as other new item formats.

The Annual Report of Examinations provides detailed information on trends in the number of candidates for certification, performance statistics and the interpretation of scores. Technical reports for examinations also are produced and include more detailed information on the psychometric properties of the exams. Copies of the technical reports are available upon request.

Certification Handbooks are updated and distributed annually for each category of certification. The handbooks contain information that candidates need to apply for certification and also serve as a convenient resource for educators. The clinical eligibility requirements that must be met are included, as are the content specifications that indicate what will be covered on the examination.

Resources Published Periodically

The ARRT's Item Writing Manual was developed specifically for use in training subject matter experts to write questions for ARRT exams. However, the information is equally appropriate for educators who want to create high-quality questions for classroom tests.

Practice analysis project reports provide a detailed description of how the ARRT determines current practice patterns and translates that information into clinical eligibility requirements and content specifications for the exams. A separate practice analysis report is produced for each certification category.

In addition to the brochures the ARRT produces for the general professional community, brochures of interest primarily to candidates for certification and educators are available. Among the brochures available are How Tests are Developed, Settle the Score and National Certification and State Licensing.

Web Site

The ARRT's Educator Guide originally was provided in hard-copy form, but the need for frequent updates made it more suited to an online publication. To access the guide, go to www.arrt.org > Educators > Educator Guide > Introduction. The guide includes news, eligibility requirements and application procedures.

The ARRT's newest online resource is the program director Web site (www.arrt. org > Educators > Program Director Site). This site provides static information, data specific to the program such as program demographics and communication options and an interactive component that allows program directors to tailor exam performance reports to their needs. Access is restricted to the program director of the particular educational program through a password-protected log on.

The static information on the Web site includes definitions of various terms used by the ARRT, the exam content specifications and competency requirements. Demographic information for each program includes the program's address, the type of program and the name of the program director. An option to update the information is included as well.

The site provides the option to verify program completion for graduates online. This will eventually replace the hard copy that the ARRT sends to programs to document that candidates who applied for certification prior to graduation have completed the program before sitting for the exam. A tutorial on using this function walks the program director through the process for completing the verification.

Perhaps the most exciting feature of this site is the ability to produce reports on exam performance for program graduates tailored to the program's needs. The program director can select the time frame desired based on when the candidates graduated or when the candidates sat for the exam. Lists of program graduates who have passed the exam, reports summarizing exam performance, comparisons of program performance statistics to national averages and reports of application status can be generated on demand.

The ARRT continues to add functionality to the program director Web site, and a request for feedback is included as a feature of the site. It is anticipated that the site will continue to evolve as feedback is received.

Jerry Reid, Ph.D., is the regular contributing columnist for RE:Registry, which addresses issues concerning the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists. Dr. Reid is executive director of the Registry. Questions or comments may be sent to his attention at the ARRT, 1255 Northland Drive, St. Paul, MN 55120-1155.