National Counselor Examination (NCE) is a certification exam conducted by National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC). This exam is required for achieving National Certified Counselor (NCC) credential and obtain state counselor licensure in many states of USA. NCC is one of the two NBCC certifications which are accredited by National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA).
Eligibility-
The applicant must be holding Master’s level degree or higher in counseling. The candidate must have completed 48 semester hours of college credit including 2 semester hours in Human growth and development, Social and cultural foundation, Group work, Appraisal, Helping relationships, Professional orientation to counseling, Career and lifestyle development, Research and program evaluation each and 6 semester hours of field experience. The candidate requires presenting documented proof of 3000 hours of counseling experience and 100 hours of counseling supervision over 2 years period from post-master’s period.
Test Overview-
This exam assesses knowledge and skills required to carry out effective counseling services. It is based on eight content areas- Human growth and development, Helping relationship, Appraisal, Group work, Professional orientation and ethics, Research and program evaluation, Social and cultural foundation, and Career and lifestyle development. There are five work behaviors which are assessed in this test- Fundamentals of counseling, Group counseling, Assessment and career counseling, Programmatic and clinical intervention, and Professional practice issues.
There are 200 multiple choice items in test, of which 160 are scored and 40 are unscored. The unscored questions are indistinguishable and kept to collect statistical data for future administration of this exam. The time given for completing NCE exam is 4 hours.
Marking Scheme-
The score is proportional to number of score-able questions answered correctly. The passing score is determined by modified Angoff method. The score report contains scores in 13 domains (8 content areas and 5 work behaviors), composite score, group mean and standard deviation of scores in each domain, group mean and standard deviation of total exam score and passing score. The score reports are mailed to candidates within 6 to 8 weeks from the examination.
Schedule-
This exam is conducted in April and October months each year. The candidates require mailing a completed application along with supporting documents and fees within the deadline. An application packet is available on NBCC website. The applicant is responded by a form letter which confirms the receipt of application and details information pertaining to use of NBCC website for checking application status. NBCC reviews the application and sends a postcard or letter informing about approval to take the test. The admit cards are received by candidates two weeks before the exam date.
Exam Fees-
The test fee of NCE is $465.