WASHINGTON - The National Council for Interior Design Qualification Inc. (NCIDQ) has completed its survey of practicing interior designers and will modify the content of its two multiple-choice examinations beginning in 2010 based on the results. The change will require those who have not previously passed both sections to complete both in 2009 or retest.
"Every five years, NCIDQ undertakes a rigorous process called a ‘practice analysis' to ensure that the examination tests what interior designers do in the course of their daily practice," says Jeff Kenney, NCIDQ executive director. "This ensures that the examination remains relevant and is testing those aspects of interior design that affect the public's health, safety and welfare."
After the practice analysis five years ago, NCIDQ made only minor modifications, but the results of this latest survey require NCIDQ to make significant changes to the two multiple-choice test specifications. There will still be two multiple-choice sections of the NCIDQ Examination. The content of these examinations will be organized differently. Section 1 will cover codes, building systems, construction standards and contract administration. Section 2 will cover design application, project coordination and professional practice.
The change to the multiple-choice sections will require those candidates who have not previously passed both the current Section I (Principles of Interior Design) and Section II (Construction Documents and Administration) to pass both of these sections by the end of 2009 or retake each of the new sections in order to receive the NCIDQ Certificate and/or qualify for state licensure or provincial registration.
"We must be able to determine minimum entry-level competence in practice, and a consistent examination is the only way to do that," explains Kenney. "When a test specification changes significantly, NCIDQ cannot allow candidates to simply transfer their scores from one exam to the next. The 2009 transition timeline accommodates those who may have passed only one of the two multiple-choice sections. A person must have passed both of the current multiple-choice sections by the end of 2009 or they must pass each of the new sections beginning in 2010 in order to earn an NCIDQ Certificate."
NCIDQ is planning to update its study materials to reflect the new test specification for the 2010 exams and will have those available in mid-2009. NCIDQ will continue to update its Web site at www.ncidq.org with up-to-date information regarding the new examination.
