NCE Test
The National Counselor Exam (NCE) is one of the measures used by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) for national certification purposes. A number of states also use this assessment for state credentialing purposes. This broad assessment test has been designed to evaluate the knowledge, abilities and comprehension needed for successful counseling, as well as evaluate perception and understanding of information that every counselor should have. It does not require specific professional specialty information.
This four-hour assessment has 200 multiple-choice questions. It is a pencil and paper-based test with a detached answer document, and is scored with a machine. Each question on the text has been carefully reviewed and pre-tested. Forty of the questions on the exam will not be used for scoring purposes, so the highest score a candidate could get on a test is 160. The extra 40 questions are on the test for pre-trial purposes. Candidates will not know which questions are scored and which are not. The minimum passing score is derived from an adapted Angoff process, so each variation of the assessment will have a different minimum score needed to pass.
While there are different versions of the test, each of the assessment tests will have questions on these topics:
- Human Growth and Development
- Social and Cultural Foundations
- Helping Relationships
- Group Work
- Career and Lifestyle Development
- Appraisal
- Research and Program Evaluation
- Professional Orientation & Ethics
Candidates will need to understand the following topics:
- Fundamentals of Counseling
- Assessment and Career Counseling
- Group Counseling
- Programmatic and Clinical Intervention
- Professional Practice Issue
Commercial Resources for the NCE Test (provided for information only, no endorsement implied)
NCE Test Study Guide from Mometrix Media
NCE Test Flashcards from Mometrix Media
