ABSTRACT

Purpose : Despite the expansion of computer-based testing (CBT) for all healthcare professions in Korea, little is known about the applicability of CBT to the National Examination for Speech-Language Pathologists. This study aimed to examine the equivalence and relationship of test performance between CBT and PBT by Korean speech-language pathologists.Methods : Ninety-three speech-language pathologists (41 first-level and 52 second-level) participated in this study, and all subjects performed both PBT and CBT. The test consisted of four periods, and students were randomly divided into Groups A and B. The two groups were crossover-designed to take PBT and CBT. All items were five-item, multiple-choice questions.Results : The total score was not significantly different between PBT and CBT in the first -level certificate test. In contrast, the total score in the second-level certificate test was significantly higher in CBT than in PBT. Item discrimination and difficulty did not differ substantially between the two test modes. CBT total scores were positively correlated with PBT (r = 0.852).Conclusions : In this study, there was no performance difference between the two test modes for the first-level certificate examination, and CBT was superior for the second-level certificate examination. Therefore, this study suggests that CBT can be comparable with PBT. CBT can help students reflect and improve their performance on the national examination and may provide a rationale for switching to CBT mode.