ML19351A245

Informs Commission of Final Rept on NRC Pilot Testing of Generic Fundamentals Exam Section of Operator Licensing Written Exam

ML19351A245
Person / Time
Issue date:	09/18/1989
From:	Taylor J NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO)
To:
References
TASK-PII, TASK-SE SECY-89-292, NUDOCS 8909220208
Download: ML19351A245 (4)

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e POLICY ISSUE September 18. 1989 (lnforrngtlOD)

SECY-89-292 M:

The Commissioners From:

James M. Taylor Acting Executive Director for Operations

Subject:

FINAL REPORT ON NRC PILOT TESTING OF THE GENERIC FUNDAMENTALS EXAMINATION SECTION (GFES) 0F THE OPERATOR LICENSING WRITTEN EXAMINATION

Purpose:

To inform the Commission of the results of the two pilot generic fundamentals examinations and the full-scale implementation of the program.

Background:

The staff administered the first pilot generic fundamentals examination section (GFES) to boiling-water reactor (BWR) operator licensing volunteers on September 23, 1988. The second pilot examination was administered to both BWR and pressurized-water reactor (PWR) license candidates on June 28, 1989. The proposal for this examination was described to the Commission in SECY-88-113.

The results of the first pilot examination were reported in SECY-89-024.

Discussion:

The staff used the " Examiners' Handbook for Developing Operator Licensing Examinations," NUREG/BR-0122, in conjunction with the "KnowledgeandAbilitiesCatalog)forNuclearPowerPlant Operators:

Boiling [ Pressurized Water Reactors," NUREG-1123 (1122), to determine the depth of the examination and the areas to be covered. The sampling plan from the examiners handbook ensured that each subject received the correct emphasis on the examination. The Knowledge and Abilities Catalog provided the detailed subject areas and importance values from which questions were constructed.

To ensure that the questions used were well written and technically correct, the staff developed a bank of questions using professionally accepted development and review techniques.

The Institute of Nuclear Power Operations also provided both a PWR and a BWR " Generic Fundamentals Test item CONTACT:

Paul V. Doyle, Jr., NRR 49-21047 hIot

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Catalog."

These catalogs were based,l questions developed as appropriate, on NUREG-1122 and NUREG-1123. Additiona from the !NP0 catalogs were reviewed by regional and headquarters staff. One of the significant resource benefits i

of this process was that the questions were developed using a multiple choice format with one correct answer and three distractors, which allowed the use of an optical scanner for rapid grading and generation of individual item statistics.

l The staff administered the first pilot examination to 209 i

BWR candidates from 19 facilities.

The second pilot test was administered to 364 PWR and 161 BWR candidates from 58 j

facilities. A sussiary of the candidates' examination results is presented below.

First Pilot Second Pilot BWR PWR BWR Overall Average Score 83.3 88.8 87.7 Reactor Operator Average Score 82.0 87.2 84.5 Senior Operator Average Score 84,8 91.2 90.9 Number of Failures 8

6 6

The staff encountered no significant logistical problems in the administration and grading of these pilot examinations.

This change to the administration of the written licensing examination will reduce the resource demand on NRC examiners in preparing the written examination while allowing candidates i

to take the fundamentals portion of the examination closer to when they received instruction on these topics.

Voluntary feedback from the candidates has been largely positive, indicating that the industry finds the GFES to be a good measure of components, reactor theory, and thermodynamics knowledge.

The feedback also indicates that the industry agrees that a i

passing score on the GFES should be required of all non-licensed operators before receiving an NRC license.

On the basis of the examination results and feedback from the l'

the administration of the GFES of the operator licensing written two pilot examinations, the staff is moving forward to implement examination.

The following paragraphs describe implementation of this program.

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The Commissioners 3-On October 1,1989 the NRC will modify the steps to be taken to apply for an R0 or an SRO license tc operate a PWR or BWR reactor. Candidates scheduled to take an initial NRC-administered RO or SR0 written licensing examination on or af ter October 1,1989, will be required to demonstrate proficiency in the material tested by the GFES before being administered the site specific examination section ($$ES) of the written licensing examination.

The applicant will be able to demonstrate this proficiency by having passed either of the two examinations listed below, for the reactor type for which a license is sought.

(1) An NRC-administered GFES (including GFES Pilot) for a PWR or BWR.

(2) An NRC written licensing examination for a PWR or BWR administered between February 1,1982, and October 1,1989, completion of which resulted in being licensed as an R0 or SRO.

The NRC will establish within the Operator Licensing Examiner Standards (NUREG-1021) eligibility requirements for taking the GFES. NUREG-1021 will require that personnel wishing to register for the GFES must be enrolled in a facility-sponsored training program, the completion of which will satisfy the eligibility requirements for an R0 or a SRO license.

Implementation of the GFES will not affect the operating i

test portion of the licensing examination process. Applicants for RO or SRO licenses will be required to document successful completion of the GFES on their application or document the date he or she passed the fundamentals section of an NRC-administered written licensing examination administered between February 1, i

1982, and October 1, 1989.

7 The NRC will administer the GFES for BWR and PWR candidates three times annually, on the Wednesday of the first full week in February, June, and October. The next GFES will be administered l

on Wednesday, October 4, 1989, in five regional locations.

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Generally, the fundamentals section (Section 1 for an R0 i

examination or Section 4 for an SR0 examination) will not be i

administered in conjunction with the site-specific written i

examination af ter October 1,1989, i

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A n9 Exeeative Director i

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DISTRIBUTION:

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'$,,,,,, J October 18, 1989 OFFICE OF THE Fi

$ECRETARY MEMORANDUM FORT Teresa Neville, Acting Chief Public Document Room r

THRUt Sandy Showman, Chi Correspondence and.R _jc s Branch TROM:

(lNN ew Bates, Chief Operations Branch

SUBJECT:

RELEASE OF DOCUMENTS TO PDR Attached for placement in the PDR are copies oft SECY-85-288 - NRC's Approach to Training Evaluation Based on the Policy Statement on Training and Qualification of Nuclear Power Plant Personnel SECY-89-203 - Semiannual Status Report on the Effective-ness of Industry's Operator Licensing Training Programs SECY-89-264 - Quarterly Status Report on the NRC Requalif-ication Program SECY-89-292 - Final Report on NRC Pilot Testing of the Generic Fundamentals Examination Section (GGFES) of the Operator Licensing Written Examination These documents are being placed in the PDR with Commissioners' offices and EDO's concurrence.

Attachments:

As stated cc:

EDO GPA ACRS DCS - P1-124 7

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