Certification Integrity ⎯ What AACN Certification Corp. Does

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Seek and Maintain Certification Exam Accreditation

  • AACN Certification Corporation creates exams with accreditation standards as a guide. Accreditation of our exams is obtained through the Accreditation Board for Specialty Nursing Certification (ABSNC).

Assure Exams Are Psychometrically Sound and Legally Defensible

  • Conduct periodic studies of practice to make sure exams are evidence-based.
  • Select qualified, clinically current, RN item writers who hold the appropriate credential for the exam for which they are writing. Item writers represent the diversity of target practitioners for the exam.
  • Train item writers on how to eliminate unintended cues and bias when writing exam items.
  • Validate all items with at least one current reference that is widely available to candidates.
  • Approve all items with consensus of a national panel of content experts - RNs who hold an appropriate credential. Panelists agree that each item tests the correct knowledge area and relates to specific content on the test plan. The panel ensures there is only one correct answer and that all distractors are plausible but factually incorrect. Panelists have different experiential levels, including recent certification - so they understand the experience of target practitioners for the exam.
  • Use the Angoff method to rate item difficulty based on target practitioners to help ensure we equate different test forms for difficulty.
  • Pretest items to determine how well target practitioners will perform on the exam.
  • Work with our testing service, PSI, to continuously analyze all exams.
  • Review all exam candidate comments and feedback from their testing experience.

Assure Confidentiality and Honor Statements are Signed

  • All certification and customer care staff sign confidentiality agreements.
  • All volunteers involved in exam development sign confidentiality agreements.
  • All candidates sign honor statements agreeing that they:
    • Meet eligibility requirements for the credential,
    • Understand the importance of ethical standards,
    • Will act in a manner congruent with the ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses, and
    • Will keep exam content confidential.

Make Exam Information Available to the Public

  • Exam handbooks contain detailed content outlines (test plans), percentage weightings and exam bibliographies listing references used by item writers to validate correct answers.

Audit New and Renewing Candidates

  • A certain percentage of new and renewing certificants are audited on a random basis to verify clinical/practice hours, RN or APRN license status and continuing education (CE/CERP) requirements.

Deliberate Using an Internal Review Panel

  • An internal review panel decides on outlier situations that may result in requests for additional information, audits or recommendations for alternate status options or revocation of certification.
  • If the panel does not reach an agreement, we turn to an external appeals panel and/or the board of directors for review and decisions.

Monitor Use of Credentials

  • Investigate allegations of inappropriate use of credentials and decide if action is needed. If you report an allegation, please note that we do not report back to you regarding the case, and we keep your name and communication confidential.
  • Consult with those who may be using a credential inappropriately, such as CCRN, CMC (that should be displayed as "CCRN-CMC", separated by a dash).
  • Determine potential action regarding those who use a credential but do not meet the eligibility requirements.
  • Mail a certified cease and desist letter, as a legal warning, to those identified as using a credential inappropriately.

Upholding the Value of Certification — What AACN Certification Corp. Does Not Do

  • AACN Certification Corporation differentiates between a national certification exam and a teaching tool and does not:
    • Discuss item-specific exam content with candidates.
    • Provide feedback to candidates about items they answered incorrectly.
    • Provide rationale for correct or incorrect answers.
    • Use active exam items as samples in handbooks or practice exams.
  • AACN Certification Corporation also does not:
    • Plan or offer exam review courses. Exam information is made available to the public in our exam handbooks, which are accessible online at no charge.
    • Allow nurses who fail an exam to test more than 4 times in a 12-month period – to limit exam item exposure.
    • Allow currently certified nurses (e.g., those who teach review courses) to take an exam at any time other than their next scheduled renewal time.
    • Allow nurses who hold Inactive, Retired or Alumnus status to use these designations on their name badge or on the credential line of their business card or resume. (Those who hold Alumnus status may use the title ("Alumnus CCRN" or “Alumnus PCCN”) below their name on a business card or resume and in professional social media profiles such as LinkedIn.)