Who are we? NCCT is an independent, third-party organization that has certified more than 200,000 individuals by examination throughout the U.S. since 1989. NCCT was established as an independent certifying agency in order to avoid any allegiance to a specific organization or association. In this way, NCCT is able to work with many organizations, but can remain independent of any outside allegiances, bias, or agenda. A major component of the NCCT mission is to validate the competence of candidates by examination-- not only for the employers who hire them, but also for the public good. Our organization does NOT provide credentials on the basis of experience only. Every candidate must meet NCCT requirements and must pass a criterion-referenced examination to earn a credential from us.

While some certifying agencies might offer automatic, lifetime certification to applicants who pass a single exam, NCCT does not. NCCT certificants are required to complete a minimum of 14 clock hours of continuing education on an annual basis to maintain active status, which we believe provides employers and the public with assurance of their commitment to remain up to date in their professions.

NCCT examinations are job-related, criterion-referenced tests designed to assess a candidate’s performance against predetermined standards. These standards are created by a role delineation process (a job analysis survey) that insures that NCCT standards meet the expectations of all stakeholders. Thus, NCCT solicits input from practitioners, employers, instructors, schools/colleges, programs, organizations, accrediting bodies, and other regulatory agencies before determining the breadth and depth of content to be tested. Role delineation determines the significant job tasks to test, and at what domain and level of learning they should be tested. Test specifications and content outlines are determined before the actual examination questions are ever prepared. Even after tests are created, they are assessed regularly to meet psychometric standards for test validity.