NCIDQ Completes Analysis of Interior Design Profession; Validates Content of National Certification Exam

December 18, 2003
Contact Kathleen Butler at 202.721.0220

WASHINGTON, DC--The National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) has recently released the results of its analysis of the interior design profession conducted earlier this year. The organization surveyed 2,000 practicing interior designers and asked them to review and validate the essential elements of the profession as identified by a panel of experts.

NCIDQ's mission is to protect the public by identifying individuals who are competent to practice interior design, and this is done largely through a national examination. In order to ensure that the examination is indeed representative of the tasks consistent with current practice, NCIDQ undertakes a practice analysis every five years.

"The NCIDQ examination is a practice-based exam," explains Jeffrey F. Kenney, NCIDQ Executive Director. "As such, the results of the practice analysis provide us with a 'blueprint' of what NCIDQ needs to test in order to identify who meets the standards for competence. The practice analysis helps us ensure that the knowledge and skills tested in the exam reflect the tasks that an interior designer performs in a range of settings in the United States and Canada." Individuals who pass the NCIDQ exam are issued a certificate that forms the basis for professional licensing or registration in regulated jurisdictions in the United States and Canada.

An independent agency, CASTLE Worldwide, conducted the study for NCIDQ and analyzed the results. Using statistical analysis of tasks that are important and critical to independent design of interior environments, researchers were able to objectively correlate exam content with tasks interior designers must perform. The practice analysis "validates strongly," according to James Henderson, Ph.D., Executive Vice President. "What that means from a statistical perspective is that there is a strong link between the content outline of the NCIDQ exam and today's practice," Henderson says.

It's an important link, Henderson says, for several groups. "State and provincial regulatory boards can be confident that NCIDQ is accurately certifying people who are qualified to protect the public health, safety and welfare through competent practice. Educators can use the information to check the comprehensiveness of their program as it relates to entry-level competence. It's important for people who hire interior designers, since they should hire only licensed and NCIDQ-certified interior designers because those are the professionals who have demonstrated their ability to practice in accordance with accepted standards and regulations."

"We are extremely pleased with the practice analysis," Kenney says. "It proves conclusively what we've always believed--that the NCIDQ exam is both a relevant and practical assessment of practice. The results of this survey will be incorporated into the NCIDQ exam in 2004, but because the data proved to be so closely aligned with the existing content, the changes will be relatively minor." The content outline is what the exam writers use when modifying the exam, and that information is available in the study. The practice analysis is US$45 + $6.95 shipping (click here to order a copy).

NCIDQ is a federation of regulatory agencies in the United States and Canada, whose mission is to protect the public by identifying those individuals who are competent to practice interior design.

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