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NCCA Accreditation
NCCA accreditation is a valuable milestone in a certification program’s evolution. Mountain Measurement recommends that all certification programs refer to the NCCA Standards as a benchmark for quality and strive to attain NCCA accreditation as soon as a program is ready.
What is NCCA accreditation?
The National Commission on Certifying Agencies (NCCA) is an independent authority on professional certification. The main purpose of the NCCA is to accredit certification programs that have valid and reliable processes for the development, implementation, maintenance, and governance of their programs.
Certification programs that have received NCCA accreditation have met rigorous standards designed to protect the health, welfare, and safety of the public through the assessment of professional competence. NCCA employs a thorough peer review process to evaluate each applicant’s compliance with the NCCA Standards.
Why should a certification program seek NCCA accreditation?
Many organizations point to their NCCA accreditation as evidence to key stakeholders and the public that their certification program meets or exceeds industry standards. In some states, legal statutes require particular professions or certification programs to be accredited by NCCA.
The most important reason to seek NCCA accreditation is to improve a certification program. Typically, certification organizations learn a great deal about their program and make modifications to their policies and procedures as they prepare for and undergo the NCCA accreditation process.
Why should you work with Mountain Measurement on NCCA Accreditation?
Since the psychometric aspects of the NCCA standards (Standards 13-21) require an in-depth knowledge of the science of testing, programs that have worked with a psychometric consultant in the preparation of their NCCA application have a much greater chance of becoming accredited.
- Experience - Mountain Measurement has over 20 years of experience in the testing industry, supporting programs through the NCCA accreditation process.
- Knowledge - CLEAR Exam Review (Spring 2015, Volume 25, No. 1) published an article by Brian Bontempo, Ph.D., entitled A Review of the Newly Adopted NCCA Standards, which describes the recent changes to the NCCA Standards, explains the relevance of the standards to licensure programs, describes the revision process, and highlights changes from the earlier edition.
- Success - 100% of the organizations that Mountain Measurement has supported through the NCCA accreditation process have received their NCCA accreditation.
- Streamlined Process - In addition to supporting your organization with the NCCA application process, Mountain Measurement has the resources to help your organization complete any of the tasks required by the application such as conducting a job task analysis (practice analysis), calculating the reliability of your exam, or conducting a standard setting.
Needs Assessment: The First Step
The first step in the process of preparing an organization for NCCA accreditation is conducting a needs assessment. In conducting a needs assessment, Mountain Measurement’s experienced Psychometricians review your organization’s policies and procedures, websites, publications, and internal technical reports. Following that, they make recommendations as to whether or not your organization is ready to apply for NCCA accreditation.
If yourorganization is ready to apply for NCCA accreditation, the needs assessment will identify the aspects of your program which may require modification in order to comply with the NCCA standards. These changes may include organizational structure, policies and procedures, or test development/validation tasks.
Following the needs assessment, Mountain Measurement can play a variety of roles in supporting your organization through the NCCA accreditation process. These may include preparing your application, reviewing/editing your application, consulting on the preparation of the application, or interpreting feedback provided by NCCA during the accreditation process.
