Equivalent Pass/Fail Decisions

In competency testing, it is sometimes difficult to properly equate scores of different forms of a test and thereby assure equivalent cutting scores. Under such circumstances, it is possible to set standards separately for each test form and then scale the judgments of the standard setters to achieve equivalent pass/fail decisions. Data from standard setters and examinees for a medical certifying examination were reanalyzed. Cutting score equivalents were derived by applying a linear procedure to the standard‐setting results. These were compared against criteria along with the cutting score equivalents derived from typical examination equating procedures. Results indicated that the cutting score equivalents produced by the experts were closer to the criteria than standards derived from examinee performance, especially when the number of examinees used in equating was small. The root mean square error estimate was about 1 item on a 189‐item test.