Methodology & Transparency
Full transparency about what data we collect, why we collect it, how it is anonymized, and how we will analyze and publish findings.
This study is independent, non-commercial research. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by, funded by, or endorsed by PSIA (Professional Ski Instructors of America), AASI (American Association of Snowboard Instructors), or any of their regional divisions, affiliates, or chapter organizations. No compensation is received from any ski resort, employer, certification body, or industry organization.
The study has no institutional affiliation. It is operated independently by researchers with a professional interest in measurement reliability and fair assessment standards in ski and snowboard instructor certification.
This is an observational, self-report study. Participants voluntarily submit structured data about their own exam experience. Data collection covers the 2024–25 and 2025–26 PSIA/AASI exam seasons.
We are not conducting an experiment and are not manipulating any variables. Our goal is to describe the distribution of exam outcomes and rubric scores across disciplines, levels, divisions, and seasons — and to identify patterns that may indicate systematic inconsistency in how exam standards are applied.
| Data field | Purpose | Published? |
|---|---|---|
| Discipline & credential level | Stratify outcomes by exam type | Aggregated |
| Exam season (2024–25 / 2025–26) | Identify temporal trends | Aggregated |
| Exam outcome (pass / fail / partial) | Core dependent variable | Aggregated |
| Division / region | Identify geographic variability | Aggregated |
| Attempt number | Track repeat attempt outcomes | Aggregated |
| Rubric scores per item | Assess applied scoring consistency | Aggregated means only |
| Exam format & conditions | Control variables | Aggregated |
| Group size & examiner count | Structural exam variables | Aggregated |
| Demo quality & feedback delivery | Process quality indicators | Aggregated |
| Teaching experience range | Control for candidate background | Aggregated |
| Home resort | Identify patterns by mountain | Aggregated (min. n≥15) |
| Employer / ski school | Identify patterns by employer | Aggregated (min. n≥15) |
| Candidate notes (free text) | Qualitative context | Never published |
| Email address (optional) | Study updates only | Never published |
| Uploaded assessment sheet | Verify self-reported scores | Never published |
Before any analysis or publication, all submissions are reviewed to remove or generalize any information that could identify an individual candidate or examiner. Free-text fields (candidate notes, examiner feedback summaries) are reviewed manually and are never published verbatim. Uploaded assessment sheets are used solely for internal score verification and are stored in an access-controlled location outside the public web root.
Published findings will contain only aggregated statistics (means, distributions, counts, percentages). No individual submission record will ever be published.
Publishing preliminary pass/fail rates or score distributions before data collection closes would introduce response bias: candidates who see early results may be more or less likely to submit based on whether the results match their expectations, and may anchor their self-reported scores to published distributions. To protect the integrity of the dataset, outcome data will remain private until the collection period ends.
We will publish participation counts (once a meaningful threshold is reached) but no outcome statistics until the study is complete.
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