The CPON^® Examination tests knowledge which is vital for an oncology nurse to function competently in a pediatric practice role. Pediatric oncology nursing certification is a validation of an individual's knowledge in pediatric cancer nursing practice.

Development of the Test
The content of the CPON^® Test is based on the CPON^® Test Blueprint. A role delineation study of pediatric oncology nurses was conducted in 2003. The results of this study describe the professional roles and practice behaviors of pediatric oncology nurses.

Description of the Test
The CPON^® Test Blueprint is composed of ten major subject areas, each with a percentage assigned to it. Each major subject area is represented in every test with the appropriate percentage of questions. However, not all content sub-areas on the CPON^® Test Blueprint are included on every form of the CPON^® Test. Candidates will have a three hour testing session.

Pretest Questions
The test consists of 165 multiple choice items. One hundred twenty five of the items on each test count toward the scoring of the test. The remaining 40 items are newly developed items that are being pretested. Candidates do not know which items make up the scored portion of the test and which are pretest items. The purpose of pretesting items is to determine if they are statistically sound and fair. Extensive statistical analyses are performed on each newly developed item to determine how well it "performs". Items that have poor statistics are not used on future tests. They are either discarded or rewritten by the CPON^® Test Development Committee and pretested again. Items that perform well statistically when pretested are added to the total question pool and used on future test forms as questions that count toward scoring.