I attended a workshop by Leon Gross, the psychometrician who helps 
design and score the exam. They run statistical tests on all the 
questions and responses, throw out questions that people who scored high 
were more likely to get wrong than those who scored low, throw out 
questions whose translation turned out to be poor, etc.  It takes a 
detailed analysis of every question in context of how each quartile or 
quintile (fourth or fifth, I forget how they break it down) of scorers 
did, in each language, and then they even compare how scorers did on 
each question in different languages to help detect translation 
problems. That's why it takes so long.
Even with computers, it's a daunting task.

Catherine Watson Genna BS, IBCLC  NYC  cwgenna.com


On 7/27/2011 7:09 AM, Elizabeth Brooks wrote:
> If you want to know why it takes IBLCE so long to score the exam .... why
> not ask them (www.iblce.org)?  After all, that is the very reason they
> exist: to produce, provide, score and evaluate a test that certifies the
> successful participant can provide human lactation and breastfeeding support
> and care.
> I suspect their answer will discuss the time-consuming difficulties inherent
> in retrieving some paper-based tests in over a dozen languages from around
> the world; getting the translations (if needed) to suit the test-scorer's
> language; evaluating the comments from everyone on every test as to which
> questions were bad ones and should be thrown out; going back and re-scoring
> after throwing out the baddies; alerting everyone at the same time.
>
> -- Liz Brooks JD IBCLC FILCA
> Wyndmoor, PA, USA
>
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