R392-101-5. Test Approval

(1) A person seeking approval of an examination shall provide the following background information to the Department:

(a) The person's name, address, telephone number and contact person.

(b) A description of the usage of the examination including the time period in use, number of examinations already administered, and any government or other agencies already approving the examination.

(c) A copy of the examination's pool of questions. Each question shall be:

(i) Cross-referenced to the corresponding content area in R392-101-3, and

(ii) Documented with the correct answer and the source from which the correct answer was determined.

(d) A sample copy of the official certificate issued to persons who pass the examination.

(2) An examination must meet the following requirements in order to be approved:

(a) It must contain at least 50 multiple choice questions, drawn from a pool of at least three times the number of questions given in the examination.

(b) All questions shall be multiple choice with 4 choices.

(c) At least 85% of the questions must be in the content categories of R392-101-3 and shall be apportioned to them as follows:

(i) Identify foodborne illness shall constitute 6-20% percent of the total examination questions,

(ii) Identify time/temperature relationship with foodborne illness shall constitute 6-20% percent of the total examination questions,

(iii) Describe the relationship between personal hygiene and food safety shall constitute 6-20% percent of the total examination questions,

(iv) Describe methods for preventing food contamination from purchasing to serving shall constitute 6-20% percent of the total examination questions,

(v) Identify correct procedures for cleaning and sanitizing equipment and utensils shall constitute 6-20% percent of the total examination questions,

(vi) Recognize problems and potential solutions associated with facility, equipment and layout shall constitute 6-20% percent of the total examination questions,

(vii) Recognize problems and potential solutions associated with temperature control, preventing cross contamination, housekeeping and maintenance shall constitute 6-20% percent of the total examination questions.

(d) The person seeking approval shall demonstrate that the same version of the examination will not be used more than 6 months and that at least 10% of the questions will be randomly selected and changed between versions.

(e) The person seeking approval shall demonstrate that a system for updating the pool of questions at least every three years is in place.

(f) The examination questions must be grammatically correct and contain no misspellings.

(g) The distractors must be relevant to the examination question and represent a plausible alternative.

(3) The Department shall review the materials submitted by an applicant in R392-101-5(1) and (2). The Department shall approve examinations that meet the requirements. If an examination is approved the Department shall notify the examination developer of the approval in writing. If the Department does not approve an examination, it shall notify the examination developer in writing of the reasons why.

(4) The Department shall maintain a current list of approved examinations.

(5) A person may not represent an examination as Department of Health approved, or other similar language, if the examination is not listed according to R392-101-5(4).