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90_HB2322
215 ILCS 5/494.2 from Ch. 73, par. 1065.41-2
Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Requires the
analysis of data collected regarding the scoring of insurance
producer examinations to be performed with the methodology
recommended in the Final Report of the Illinois Insurance
Producer's Licensing Examination Advisory Committee dated
November 19, 1991. Removes the authority of the Director of
Insurance to select a different methodology.
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1 AN ACT to amend the Illinois Insurance Code by changing
2 Section 494.2.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Illinois Insurance Code is amended by
6 changing Section 494.2 as follows:
7 (215 ILCS 5/494.2) (from Ch. 73, par. 1065.41-2)
8 Sec. 494.2. Insurance producers; examination statistics.
9 (a) The use of examinations for the purpose of
10 determining qualifications of persons to be licensed as
11 insurance producers has a direct and far-reaching effect on
12 persons seeking such licenses, on insurance companies, and on
13 the public. It is in the public interest and it will further
14 the public welfare to insure that such examinations for
15 licensing not have the effect of unlawfully discriminating
16 against applicants for licensing as insurance producers on
17 the basis of race, color, national origin, or sex.
18 (b) As used in this Section, the following words have
19 the meanings ascribed herein.
20 Examination. "Examination" means the examination in each
21 line of insurance administered pursuant to Section 494.1 of
22 this Code.
23 Examinee. "Examinee" means each person who takes an
24 examination.
25 Part. "Part" means each portion of an examination for
26 which a score is calculated.
27 Operational item. "Operational item" means a test
28 question considered in determining an examinee's score.
29 Test form. "Test form" means the test booklet or
30 instrument used for each part of each examination.
31 Pretest item. "Pretest item" means a prospective test
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1 question which is included in a test form in order to assess
2 its performance, but which is not considered in determining
3 an examinee's score.
4 Minority group or examinees. "Minority group" or
5 "minority examinees" means African American, American Indian,
6 Asian, and Hispanic examinees.
7 Correct-answer rate. "Correct-answer rate" for an item
8 means the number of examinees who provided the correct answer
9 on an item divided by the number of examinees who answered
10 the item.
11 Correlation. "Correlation" means a statistical measure
12 of the relationship between performance on an item and
13 performance on a part of the examination.
14 (c) The Director shall ask each examinee to self-report
15 on a voluntary basis on the answer sheet, application form,
16 or by other appropriate means, the following information:
17 (1) race or ethnicity (African American; white;
18 American Indian; Asian; Hispanic; or other);
19 (2) education (8th grade or less; less than 12th
20 grade; high school diploma or G.E.D.; some college, but
21 no 4 year degree; or 4 year degree or more); and
22 (3) sex (male or female).
23 The Director shall advise all examinees that they are not
24 required to provide such information, that they will not be
25 penalized for not doing so, and that the Director will use
26 the information provided exclusively for research and
27 statistical purposes and to improve the quality and fairness
28 of the examinations.
29 (d) No later than May 1, 1993, and no later than May 1
30 of each year thereafter, the Director shall prepare, publicly
31 announce, and publish an Examination Report of summary
32 statistical information relating to each examination
33 administered during the preceding calendar year. Each
34 Examination Report shall show with respect to each
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1 examination:
2 (1) For all examinees combined and separately by
3 race or ethnicity, by educational level, by sex, by
4 educational level within race or ethnicity, by education
5 level within sex, and by race or ethnicity within sex:
6 (A) number of examinees;
7 (B) percentage and number of examinees who
8 passed each part;
9 (C) percentage and number of examinees who
10 passed all parts;
11 (D) mean scaled scores on each part; and
12 (E) standard deviation of scaled scores on
13 each part.
14 (2) For male examinees, female examinees, African
15 American examinees, white examinees, American Indian
16 examinees, Asian examinees, and Hispanic examinees,
17 respectively, with a high school diploma or G.E.D., the
18 distribution of scaled scores on each part.
19 No later than May 1, 1993, and no later than May 1 of
20 each year thereafter, the Director shall prepare and make
21 available on request an Item Report of summary statistical
22 information relating to each operational item on each test
23 form administered during the preceding calendar year. Each
24 Item Report shall show, for each operational item, for all
25 examinees combined and separately for African American
26 examinees, white examinees, American Indian examinees, Asian
27 examinees, Hispanic examinees, and other examinees, the
28 correct-answer rates and correlations.
29 The Director shall not be required to report separate
30 statistical information for any group or subgroup comprising
31 fewer than 50 examinees.
32 (e) The Director shall obtain a regular analysis of the
33 data collected under this Section, and any other relevant
34 information, for purposes of the development of new test
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1 forms. Any such analysis shall continue the implementation of
2 the item selection methodology as recommended in the Final
3 Report of the Illinois Insurance Producer's Licensing
4 Examination Advisory Committee dated November 19, 1991, and
5 filed with the Department unless some other methodology is
6 determined by the Director to be as effective in minimizing
7 differences between white and minority examinee pass-fail
8 rates.
9 (f) The Director has the discretion to set cutoff scores
10 for the examinations, provided that scaled scores on test
11 forms administered after July 1, 1993, shall be made
12 comparable to scaled scores on test forms administered in
13 1991 by use of professionally acceptable methods so as to
14 minimize changes in passing rates related to the presence or
15 absence of or changes in equating or scaling equations or
16 methods or content outlines. Each calendar year, the scaled
17 cutoff score for each part of each examination shall
18 fluctuate by no more than the standard error of measurement
19 from the scaled cutoff score employed during the preceding
20 year.
21 (g) No later than May 1, 1995, and no later than May 1
22 of every fourth year thereafter, the Director shall release
23 to the public and make generally available one representative
24 test form and set of answer keys for each part of each
25 examination.
26 (h) The Director shall maintain, for a period of 3 years
27 after then are prepared or used, all registration forms, test
28 forms, answer sheets, operational items and pretest items,
29 item analyses, and other statistical analyses relating to the
30 examinations. All personal identifying information regarding
31 examinees and the content of test items shall be maintained
32 confidentially as necessary for purposes of protecting the
33 personal privacy of examinees and the maintenance of test
34 security.
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1 (i) In administering the examinations, the Director
2 shall make such accommodations for disabled examinees as are
3 reasonably warranted by the particular disability involved,
4 including the provision of additional time if necessary to
5 complete an examination or special assistance in taking an
6 examination.
7 (Source: P.A. 87-1216.)