The National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) has issued a formal apology following a series of computer-based testing malfunctions that impacted two separate examinations (March and June 2016) and caused "widespread confusion and frustration" to the nearly 1,500 examinees taking the tests.
In its apology, the board of directors "[takes] full responsibility for the disruption to students in their journey toward their chiropractic careers. ... Most importantly, we take responsibility for repairing the CBT system, for meeting the NBCE's long-standing goal of reliable computer testing available for all students, and for making as many amends to recent examinees as possible."
In the apology letter, the board also notes it has "suspended offering CBT exams until we are certain that we can deliver them successfully at the highest level of reliability achievable. In the interim we will administer exams in the paper-and-pencil format"; and outlines steps the NBCE is taking to rectify the situation for all parties concerned, particularly examinees forced to suffer through repeated testing malfunctions:
- We have offered free retests to all affected examinees.
- An NBCE customer-service team of eight staff has conducted hundreds of phone calls, text notifications, emails and online chat sessions with examinees in order to notify them and provide details of the free-retest offer.
- Of the 1,495 total CBT examinees affected (March – 281 and June – 1,214), we have rescheduled all but 42 of those who failed and were eligible for a free retake. All 42 have been notified of their free retake opportunity but have chosen to reschedule at a later time.
- To fully understand the CBT system malfunction, the NBCE has hired Patina Solutions, a national consulting firm based in Milwaukee with experience in information technology strategic analysis and development.
- In the aim of increased transparency, we have also hired Denver-based Vanguard Communications, a 22-year-old healthcare consulting firm with experience in helping organizations improve public communications."
To read the NBCE board's apology letter in its entirety, visit www.nbce.org/news/. To learn more about the March and June testing snafus, read our original article in the Sept 1., 2016 edition: "NBCE Fumbles Computerized Testing Process."
