Regulations Governing Score Conversion for National Examinations
Dates of Promulgation
Establishment of the complete text of 9 articles, promulgated on November 9, 2015 as per Examination Yuan Kao-Tai-Zu-(1)-Yi-Zi Order No. 10400045331.
The text of these Regulations is as follows:
Article 1
These Regulations are established as per Article 9, Paragraph 3 of the Examination Affairs Act.
Article 2
To enhance the fairness of national examinations and ensure the reasonableness of score calculations, written examination scores may, where appropriate, be converted in accordance with these Regulations.
Article 3
The terms used in these Regulations are defined as follows:
1.Raw Score: The score assigned by members of the Board of Examiners or graders to essay-type questions, or the score assigned by computer to multiple-choice questions; i.e., the unconverted score.
2.Standard Score: A score derived by dividing the difference between a candidate’s raw score for a subject or a question and the mean score by the standard deviation, followed by a conversion. A standard score is used to indicate the candidate’s relative standing among all candidates who took the subject or answered the question.
3.Significant Difference: A difference between numerical values that is determined to be statistically significant through statistical testing at a confidence level exceeding 95%.
Article 4
After grading is completed, if situations prescribed in Articles 5 to 7 in these Regulations arise, the Board of Examiners may authorize the Chair of the Board of Examiners to call a score conversion review meeting with team conveners or Members of the Board of Examiners in accordance with Article 9, Paragraph 2 of the Examination Affairs Act.
Board of Examiners Meeting Regulations shall apply mutatis mutandis to the conduct of the score conversion review meeting. Scholars and experts in the field of testing and assessment shall be invited to provide consultative opinions.
If the Chair of the Board of Examiners determines that the reference formulas in Articles 5 to 7 are not applicable, alternative methods or no conversion may be adopted.
The results of the score conversion review meeting shall be submitted to the Board of Examiners for resolution. Scores shall be calculated as follows:
1.If conversion is not approved, scores shall be calculated based on raw scores.
2.If partial conversion is approved, scores shall be calculated using raw scores for non-converted subjects and standard scores for converted subjects.
3.If full conversion is approved, scores shall be calculated entirely on the basis of standard scores.
Article 5
When the mean scores assigned by different graders for the same test question differ significantly from the mean of the mean scores assigned by all graders, the scores of all candidates who took that test question may be converted using the following formula:
Standard score=[(Candidate' s score on the test question-Mean score assigned by the candidate’s grader for that test question)/(Standard deviation of the scores assigned by the candidate’s grader for that test question)×Mean of the standard deviations of the scores assigned by all graders]+Mean of the mean scores assigned by all graders
Article 6
When the mean scores of different elective subjects differ significantly from the mean of the means scores of all elective subjects, the scores of all candidates who took the elective subjects may be converted using the following formula:
Standard score=[(Candidate's score on the elective subject-Mean score of the elective subject)/(Standard deviation of the scores for the elective subject)×Mean of the standard deviations of the scores of all candidates who took the elective subject]+Mean of the mean scores of all candidates who took the elective subjects
Article 7
If the mean score of a subject in a given year differs significantly from the mean of historical scores, scores of all exam takers attending the exam may be converted using the following formula:
Standard score=[(Candidate's score for the subject-Mean score for the subject)/(Standard deviation of the scores for the subject)×Mean of the standard deviations of the scores for all candidates who took the subject over the most recent five years]+Mean of the mean scores for all candidates who took the subject over the most recent five years
The historical scores in the preceding paragraph refer to the scores for the same subject in the same type of examination in each year. Where a professional and technical examination is administered more than once in a given year, examinations administered in the same session each year with comparable candidate backgrounds shall be regarded as the same type of examination.
Where an examination has been administered for more than five years, the determination of whether a significant difference exists may be based on the most recent five years. If, during those five years, the mean score for the subject in a particular year differs significantly from the historical mean score, the scores for that year may be excluded from the calculation. Where an examination has been administered for fewer than five years, the determination of whether a significant difference exists may be based on the actual number of years during which the examination has been administered.
Article 8
For score conversion in written examinations, no raw scores shall be converted where fewer than thirty candidates take the subject.
Any score conversion conducted in accordance with these Regulations shall remain within the scoring range prescribed for the subject or question.
Article 9
These Regulations shall take effect upon promulgation.