The Development of Professional Competency Test in Knowledge and Cognitive Skill for Computer Innovation and Digital Industry Thamasan Suwanroj*, Orawan Saeung, Punnee Leekitchwatana, and Kanaporn Kaewkamjan Abstract—This research aimed to 1) analyze the content of professional competencies, 2) create the professional competency test, and 3) check the quality of the professional competency test. The operation method was composed of three steps: 1) five experts (set 1) analyzed the qualitative data of the professional competencies, 2) five experts (set 2) built the professional competency test, and 3) experts (set 3) checked the quality of the professional competency test, and then two trials of the test were performed. The research showed that 1) the content analysis of professional competencies found ten indicators: six for knowledge and four for cognitive skills, including 100 issues of the required measurement list. A test with 100 items covered the course descriptions of seventeen subjects in five curriculum groups. 2) The creation result found the professional competency test, five multiple-choice questions. The respondents got one point when they answered correctly and no point when they answered incorrectly. The test comprised 100 items in two aspects: 57 items for knowledge and 43 for cognitive skills. 3) The result of the quality check revealed that the professional competency test was good. It had a good level of content validity (IOC = 0.80-1.00). Its difficulty was appropriate (p = 0.25-0.78). The discrimination was good (r = 0.44-0.96). There was validity with a good level of internal consistency (α = 0.87), and it had good construct validity ( 2 - Sig = 0.25, RMSEA = 0.03, RMR = 0.02 and AGFI = 0.97), (ρc = 0.97-0.98). This test can be used as a quality tool to measure the professional competency test in knowledge and cognitive skills for Computer Innovation and Digital Industry. Index Terms—Test, professional competency test in knowledge and cognitive skills, knowledge and cognitive skills, qualification framework of learning outcomes. I. INTRODUCTION Students' competencies are the central issue of the desired outcomes related to students at all levels of Thai education. They were specified in the 2018 National Education Standard and approved by the cabinet on October 2, 2018. The cabinet states that government sectors and public departments relating to educational management must bring the National Education Qualifications to determine educational institutions' educational qualifications and curriculum in each level and type of education. Moreover, educational institutions must encourage, supervise, and check the evaluation and educational quality assessment [1], [2]. The announcement of the Ministry of Education about the Manuscript received June 18, 2022; revised July 21, 2022; accepted August 4, 2022. Thamasan Suwanroj, Orawan Saeung, and Kanaporn Kaewkamjan are with Nakhon Si Thammarat Rajabhat University, Thailand. Punnee Leekitchwatana is with King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Thailand. *Correspondence: thamasan_suw@nstru.ac.th Higher Education Qualifications for higher education in 2018 specified that educational institutions need to have a curriculum and provide the learning to emphasize students' development. There must be the administration under the obligations and visions of each educational institution and a quality assessment system to follow up, check, evaluate, and improve educational management at the curriculum, faculty, and institution levels with effectiveness and efficiency. Moreover, supervision is required to manage the education and operation following obligations under the regulations of the Ministry. The educational quality assessment must be done continually in keeping with the National Higher Education Qualifications, Thai Qualifications Framework for Higher Education, and other qualifications specified by the Ministry of Education [1], [2]. Nakhon Si Thammarat Rajabhat University (NSTRU) is a public educational institution established to develop the locality, focus on academic services, and inherit and maintain art and culture. NSTRU provides bachelor's, master's, doctorate, and graduate diploma curriculums. One of the bachelor's degrees is the Bachelor of Science, Major in Computer Innovation and Digital Industry. This major is vital for the social and industrial sectors, the important sectors to strengthen the country, as it produces workforce graduates in the digital field. Thus, the graduate production system of this curriculum must follow the Professional Qualification Framework specified in the curriculum, and the major must to build confidence in the curriculum’s production to organizations: graduate users. However, the university specifies to evaluate the professional competencies of the students under the Thai Qualifications Framework for Higher Education in 2009, which consists of five competency domains: 1) ethics and morals, 2) knowledge, 3) cognitive skills, 4) interpersonal skills and responsibility, and 5) numerical analytical, communication and information technology skills [3], [4]. As the instructors in this curriculum, the research team sees the importance of evaluating students' competencies, particularly knowledge and cognitive skills. The university usually operates the competency evaluation for the fourth-year students, the final year before graduating. It is the preparation of the students before they enter the establishment. However, not many appropriate instruments could pass the quality check in measuring competencies. The research team wanted to use the instrument for data collection to assess the competency accurately and reliably. Therefore, the research team was interested in developing a high-quality professional competency instrument for knowledge and cognitive skills, which resulted in setting the objectives of the research as follows: International Journal of Information and Education Technology, Vol. 13, No. 1, January 2023 121 doi: 10.18178/ijiet.2023.13.1.1787