Statewide Evaluation of the Commercial Drivers License Written ...

STATE OF CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES

STATEWIDE EVALUATION OF THE COMMERCIAL DRIVERS LICENSE

WRITTEN KNOWLEDGE TESTS

March 2008

Research and Development Branch Licensing Operations Division

? California Department of Motor Vehicles, 2008

RSS-08-225

Authors: Chyan V. Wu and Sukhvir S. Brar

REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE

Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188

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1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank)

2. REPORT DATE

3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED

March 2008

Final Report

4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE

5. FUNDING NUMBERS

Statewide Evaluation of Commercial Drivers License Written

Knowledge Tests

6. AUTHOR(S)

Chyan V. Wu and Sukhvir S. Brar

7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES)

California Department of Motor Vehicles Research and Development Section P.O. Box 932382 Sacramento, CA 94232-3820

9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES)

8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER

CAL-DMV-RSS-08-225

10. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY REPORT NUMBER

11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

12a. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE

13. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words) This report presents the results of an evaluation of the written knowledge tests administered to applicants for a commercial driver license or endorsement. The report presents the fail rate, mean number of errors, and internal-consistency reliability coefficient for each test form, as well as the pass rate, item-choice selection rates, and item-total correlation for each test question on each test form. Items that need to be reviewed for possible rewording or replacement are identified. Additional recommendations for improving the testing process are also provided. The results are based on 8,576 test sheets completed in all California Department of Motor Vehicle field offices from November 27, 2007 to December 31, 2007.

14. SUBJECT TERMS written test, fail rates, reliability, item analysis

17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

OF REPORT

Unclassified

NSN 7540-01-280-5500

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OF THIS PAGE

Unclassified

19. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

OF ABSTRACT

Unclassified

15. NUMBER OF PAGES

56

16. PRICE CODE

20. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT

None

Standard Form 298 (2-89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. Z39-18 298-10

2008 STATEWIDE EVALUATION OF CDL WRITTEN TESTS

PREFACE This report is issued as an internal monograph of the Department of Motor Vehicles Research and Development Branch rather than an official report of the State of California. The findings and opinions may not represent the views and policies of the State of California.

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2008 STATEWIDE EVALUATION OF CDL WRITTEN TESTS

ACKNOWLDEGEMENTS This project was conducted under the general direction of David DeYoung, Research Chief, and the supervision of Robert Hagge, Research Manager II. Staff in the Issuance Branch, supervised by Marzella Fears, Supervisor I, key-entered the data from the completed written test forms. Debbie McKenzie, Associate Government Program Analyst, helped prepare tables and type and proofread the report. Thanks are also extended to David Storzbach and Herbert Brown, both Manager IIIs in Field Operations Division, for their assistance in planning data collection and arranging contacts with field office staff. David Wold, Manager I in the West Sacramento Commercial Driver License Office, and Torricel Taylor, Manager II, provided invaluable consultation during the evaluation.

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2008 STATEWIDE EVALUATION OF CDL WRITTEN TESTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Objective

The purpose of this evaluation was to identify any deficiencies in the commercial driver license (CDL) written tests and to make recommendations on how the tests can be improved.

Methods

? Completed CDL tests were collected statewide from November 27, 2006 through February 9, 2007. Tests completed on or after January 1, 2007 were subsequently excluded because most of them were a newer revision than needed for the evaluation.

? The test fail rate, mean number of incorrect items, and internal-consistency reliability coefficient were computed for each test form separately for original and renewal applicants on their first test attempt. Test fail rate and mean number of incorrect items were also computed for each test attempt on all forms combined.

? Item statistics were computed for each test form for original and renewal applicants on their first test attempt.

Results

? The General Knowledge test was failed by 39.5% of original applicants and 58.0% of renewal applicants on the first test attempt. The first-attempt fail rates for the other tests vary widely, ranging from 24.8% (Tank Vehicle) to 78.3% (Air Brakes) for original applicants and from 15.5% (Air Brakes) to 62.5% (Combination Vehicles) for renewal applicants.

? The test fail rates for both applicant groups generally do not decrease appreciably over multiple test attempts.

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