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Implementation of the JSO Certification Exam

AUSTIN, Texas – The Juvenile Justice Training Academy has been working diligently over the last year with the Regional Training Officers, Chapter 344 subgroup of the TJJD Advisory Council, and other statewide stakeholders to develop an automated competency exam for applicants seeking certification as a juvenile supervision officer. Anyone hired on or after September 1, 2017 as a juvenile supervision officer will be required to successfully pass the automated JSO certification exam prior to being certified by TJJD.

TJJD piloted the juvenile supervision officer certification exam over a six-month period. Three different versions of exam questions were piloted, each for a two-month period. The pilot exams consisted of a total of 150 possible questions that may be used on the certification exam. During the six-month pilot, a total of 626 people took the test, equating to 58% of the total number of new JSO certification applications received from last fiscal year. The average score was 85% and the average length of time to take the exam was just over 20 minutes. TJJD was able to gather data to adequately address all major issues with the exam up front in order to minimize potential issues in the data or processing of exams once the exam went live.

The exam will be comprised of 60 total questions. There will be 20 standard questions that were determined to be the most important by TJJD and the regional training officers. An additional 40 questions will be randomly generated with at least three questions from each mandatory topic. One of the best ways to prepare staff for the exam will be to ensure that your department is using the most current training material and curriculum from TJJD’s Training Resource webpage. In addition, TJJD will be developing a Study Guide to assist officers in preparation of the exam.

If an employee takes JPO/JSO Basic through CMIT, the exam will be proctored by staff at CMIT on the final day of basic training. Departments providing their own training will be proctoring the exam. When an applicant takes the exam, the score will be sent to the applicant and TJJD. Departments and facilities are encouraged to make it a standard practice of having the applicants print a copy of their certificate upon completion of the exam. TJJD will soon be sending additional information out to the designated department or facility proctors. If your department or facility has not yet assigned an individual to be the official proctor for your headquarters, please contact the TJJD Training Division.

Applicants will have three attempts to pass the exam. If an applicant is unable to successfully pass the exam after three attempts, the individual may not take the exam again until 180 days have elapsed since the date the individual last took the exam; and the individual has repeated the training topics required in §344.622 after the date the individual last took the exam. Credit toward certification is granted only for the training hours in those topics that are completed after the date the individual last failed the exam.

There is no fee associated with taking the exam. TJJD has developed a number of resources to assist with implementing the JSO certification exam. All information may be found on the Training Academy’s website. As with any new process, this is a work in progress. TJJD will continue to analyze the data as people take the exam to ensure the fidelity and appropriateness of the test questions and the exam meets our intended goals.

For more information, please contact Kristy Almager at 512.490.7125 or Kristy.Almager@tjjd.texas.gov or Chris Ellison at 512.490.7245 or Chris.Ellison@tjjd.texas.gov.
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