Specialist I, Assessment Development
Fully Remote • OSC Utah - Salt Lake City, UT 84111
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Description
The Assessment Developer I designs and improves valid, reliable, and secure assessments aligned with program outcomes and institutional goals. This role requires knowledge of concept-based curriculum, competency-based education (CBE), and assessment best practices. Working with faculty, academic leadership, SMEs, and psychometricians, the developer creates formative and summative assessments—from multiple-choice to simulations—ensuring alignment with UDL, backward design, and accreditor standards (NWCCU, CCNE, CNEA). They also support secure testing, implement innovative technologies, and train faculty on effective assessment design and evaluation.
Key Responsibilities
Assessment Design and Development
Design and develop concept-based, competency-driven assessments that support institutional and programmatic outcomes across nursing programs and within the professional development space.
Create varied assessment types, including traditional item formats, authentic assessments, adaptive tests, and technology-enhanced items to accommodate diverse learner needs and performance contexts.
Develop and refine detailed scoring rubrics and performance evaluation criteria to ensure fair, transparent, and consistent grading practices.
Ensure that assessments are mapped to learning outcomes, program competencies, and relevant clinical or simulation-based experiences.
Integrate UDL principles and accessibility standards into all assessment tools and deliverables.
Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement
Partner with SMEs, faculty, psychometricians, and curriculum design teams to validate and pilot new assessments, ensuring psychometric rigor and real-world relevance.
Participate in blueprinting sessions and assessment mapping reviews to support alignment with instructional content and learner engagement strategies.
Incorporate feedback from peer reviews, data analytics, and learner performance trends to iteratively improve assessment quality.
Quality Assurance and Accreditation Alignment
Ensure all assessments meet internal standards for quality, rigor, and defensibility, including alignment with accreditation standards and guidelines.
Apply item analysis and post-assessment review processes to monitor assessment performance and inform continuous improvement.
Maintain compliance with assessment security protocols, including secure item banks, test delivery systems, and audit trails for high-stakes assessments.
Faculty Development and Capacity Building
Contribute to faculty and curriculum team training on assessment design, rubric calibration, and data-informed evaluation practices.
Develop tools, templates, and guides to support assessment literacy and alignment across programs.
Qualifications
Preferred Qualifications – Assessment Specialist (Nursing Education Focus)
Educational Background: Master’s degree (or Bachelor’s with equivalent experience) in a relevant field such as Educational Assessment, Curriculum & Instruction, Psychometrics, Instructional & Assessment Design, or a related assessment discipline. Nursing-focused experience required.
Professional Experience: Minimum of two years of progressive experience in assessment design and development, ideally in higher education, licensure, nursing, or competency-based education (CBE) environments.
Assessment Development Expertise: Demonstrated expertise in designing concept- and competency-based assessments aligned to program outcomes using backward design and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles. Skilled in both formative and summative models, including performance-based and rubric-aligned assessments.
Project & Stakeholder Management: Proven ability to manage multiple concurrent assessment projects across development cycles. Experience collaborating cross-functionally with faculty, SMEs, instructional designers, and directors of assessment to ensure alignment, quality, and timely delivery.
Innovation & Psychometrics: Experience prototyping and validating new assessment types, including adaptive testing, simulation-based assessments, and next-generation question formats. Familiarity with item-level psychometric analysis (e.g., item difficulty, discrimination, reliability metrics).
Compliance & Accreditation Literacy: Working knowledge of assessment-related standards from accrediting and regulatory bodies such as NWCCU, CCNE, ACEN, QSEN, and the AACN Essentials. Committed to ethical, secure, and equitable assessment practices.
Data-Driven Decision-Making: Skilled in analyzing assessment data to evaluate learner performance, drive continuous improvement, and support program evaluation. Familiar with tools and dashboards used for assessment reporting and improvement cycles.
Technology Proficiency: Proficient in using Learning Management Systems (LMS), particularly Canvas, to implement, administer, and analyze assessments