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New York, NY, December 1997 - Professional Examination Service (PES) is pleased to announce the selection of Benjamin Shimberg, Ph.D., as the recipient of the 1997 Award for Scientific Contributions to Credentialing. Established in 1995, the award recognizes scientific or technical research that has contributed to improved measurement practices related to credentialing and to the enhancement of the public-protection function of credentialing examinations. Shimberg retired as a Senior Research Scientist at the Educational Testing Service's Center for Occupational and Professional Assessment in 1988, following a distinguished career of 35 years with the organization. He is widely recognized as an authority on professional licensing and certification, and has authored several books and numerous research papers on a broad range of credentialing issues. The award honors Shimberg for significant contributions in the areas of job analysis, competency assessment, examination validity, and continuing competency. In his research, Shimberg has argued that validity in credentialing assessment should be based not only on demonstrating that a test measures what an individual is required to know in order to perform competently in an occupation but also on providing evidence that possessing some specified level of knowledge makes a real difference in the practitioner's ability to do the job in a safe and effective manner. Similarly, he has emphasized the need for continuing competency as distinct from continuing education, and has raised the question of whether mandatory continuing education provides adequate assurance that practitioners have maintained standards of competency. His extensive contributions to the scientific literature have been characterized by a commitment to enhancing the public-protection function of credentialing examinations. Shimberg is the noted author of Occupational Licensing: A Public Perspective, and co-author of Occupational Licensing: Practices and Policies and De-Mystifying Occupational and Professional Regulation. He was instrumental in founding the Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation, and currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Citizen Advocacy Center, an organization dedicated to strengthening the role of public members on health-related regulatory boards. Three members of the PES Board of Directors served as judges for the 1997 Award for Scientific Contributions to Credentialing: Ronald K. Hambleton, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Education and Psychology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and Vice Chair of the PES Board of Directors; Michael T. Kane, Ph.D., Professor of Kinesiology at the University of Wisconsin; and Barbara S. Plake, Ph.D., W.C. Meierhenry Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Director of the Oscar and Luella Buros Center for Testing. Professional Examination Service is a not-for-profit testing organization whose mission is to promote the understanding and use of sound credentialing practices. PES achieves its mission by providing comprehensive services and making contributions to credentialing stakeholders in the areas of assessment practice, educational activities, scientific research, and policy development. Recognition for scientific and technical contributions to credentialing is one of several annual PES awards. For more information about the PES awards program and other public service activities, please contact: Karen Cullen, Public Service Activities Manager, Professional Examination Service, 475 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115-0089, (212) 367-4276, fax: (212) 367-4266, e-mail: mission@proexam.org. © Copyright 1997-2006 Professional Examination Service.
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