Technical b r Report - International Military Testing Association

and skill requirements for each technician in the program< and are used
as the standards for all elements of the program.
I
t
We began our task by searching for the most appropriate types of test
instruments to test the PPP requirements. Review of the many reference
sources on the subject lead us to thc"decision that the four-alternative,
multiple-choice question would be the zest satisfactory for testing
)mowledgc items. Since the questions Gould be acquired from many
different sources, i.e., equipnent manufacturers and various Navy
school instructors, a specification was developed to insure test item
standardization. Along with the question, the test item writer is
required to provide various information to relate the question to the
PPP/TPS standards (Figure 1). For the skill items contained in the
PPP/TPS, it was determined that performance tests would be the most
desirable test instruments, but were impractical for a large scale
testing program. However, Decision Development System (DDS) exercises,
I
reported on at the 1970 and 1972 MTA nettings, cobld be keyed to the
w
PPP/TPS standards and appeared to be a satisfactoky means of testing
the tschnician's application of knowledge. We decided tc utilize the
DDS as the skill test instrument.
The next task was to develop tests from the PPP/T bS
requirements which
would measure each technician's knowledge and skill
1
level. The problem
that became apparent in this area was the wide range of requirements
Eor each technician. In the case of the Fire C"ntro1 Technician, for
i
example, there are 28 primary equipment profile tables, 10 secondary
eq.fpment profile tables, and two system profile tables. Each profile
contains approximately 35 knowledge and skill items with varying
192