title: Assessment of the Mexican Board of Pediatric Surgery Certification System.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the quality of the Mexican Board of Pediatric Surgery (MBPS) certifying system, using contemporary international guidelines.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective assessment of evidence collected during the design and implementation processes of 2 consecutive applications of the MBPS certifying examination, using Cizek's checklist for evaluating credential-testing programs. It includes the relevant guidelines from the American Education Research Association, the American Psychological Association, the National Council on Measurement in Education, and the National Commission for Certifying Agencies. Four independent and previously trained raters used the checklist. They underwent a 2-week training using frame-of-reference and performance dimensions methodologies.
  
  
  METHODS
  Certification examinations of MBPS.
  
  
  METHODS
  The 2013 and 2014 MBPS certification examinations, with 111 evidence items of the processes, followed for the assessment of 86 examinees.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The checklist internal consistency was 0.89. Absolute interrater agreement was 0.34 for the 2013 and 0.66 for the 2014 editions of the examination. The 2013 examination complied with 55 (64%) of the checklist 86 items, in 2014 with 72 (84%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In 2014, the certifying system reached a quality of 84%. For optimal fulfillment of its social responsibility, the MBPS is required to maintain its level of quality and attempt to improve its performance.
authors.affiliation: Mexican Board of Pediatric Surgery, Mexico City, Mexico. Electronic address: juandporras@yahoo.com.mx.
authors.forename: Juan D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Porras-Hernandez
authors.affiliation: Mexican Board of Pediatric Surgery, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Jose R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Mora-Fol
authors.affiliation: Mexican Board of Pediatric Surgery, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lezama-Del Valle
authors.affiliation: Mexican Board of Pediatric Surgery, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Guillermo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yanowsky-Reyes
authors.affiliation: Mexican Board of Pediatric Surgery, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Hector
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Perez-Lorenzana
authors.affiliation: Mexican Board of Pediatric Surgery, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Arturo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ortega-Salgado
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Surgery, Hospital Civil Fray Antonio Alcalde, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Aguirre-Jauregui
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Surgery, Hospital Infantil de Mexico Federico Gomez, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bracho-Blanchet
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Melchor
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sanchez-Mendiola
mesh_terms: D002568:Certification; D057189:Checklist; D013502:General Surgery / Q000592:standards*; D006075:Governing Board / Q000592:standards*; D008800:Mexico; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000592:standards*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: Medical Knowledge; Practice-Based Learning and Improvement; Systems-Based Practice; certification; high-stakes testing; pediatric surgery; quality assurance; specialty board; summative assessment