National Home Inspection Exam News

NHIE moves to “scale scoring”

On June 1, 2002, the National Home Inspector Examination (NHIE) started using “scale scoring.” The new score range is from 200 to 800, with 500 being the passing point.

With scale scoring all versions of the NHIE, regardless of construction, have the same passing point. Using the same passing point for all tests eliminates confusion that can arise when test versions with slightly different passing scores produce what appears to be a split decision.  

Also, the use of scale scoring allows us to take advantage of the public understanding of the scoring system in use with exams such as the SAT. The only difference between SAT and NHIE scoring will be the passing point. The SAT does not have a defined pass point, though some colleges and universities set minimum admission criteria that resemble a passing point. The NHIE has a passing point because its purpose is to identify candidates who have attained adequate knowledge to qualify for licensing.

The score report provided to candidates June 1 and after will reflect this change in scoring structure, but will continue to show a bar graph indicating performance in the various content areas of the NHIE.

NHIE a valid, reliable home inspector examination

We remind you that, to our knowledge, the National Home Inspector Examination is the only home inspector competence assessment tool that is developed and maintained according to joint standards established by the American Psychological Association, the National Council on Measurement and Education, and the American Education Research Association. The processes used to prepare and score the Examination are in accordance with applicable psychometric concepts to assure validity, reliability and legal defensibility.

Annual item review and test assembly

Twenty-one home inspectors from all over the nation participated as subject matter experts in EBPHI’s annual item writing meeting in Chicago in January. The six states that have adopted the NHIE for competency assessment, Arizona, Connecticut, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Wisconsin, were all represented. Various practice specialties and reasonable geographic representation were also considered.

The follow-up test assembly meeting was in April, again with subject matter expert home inspectors. The annual item writing and test assembly processes are conducted under the guidance of CASTLE Worldwide, Inc., a full service psychometric consulting firm.

For complete information about the National Home Inspector Examination, go to our Web site at www.homeinspectionexam.org.