NCIDQ Exam Updates — Creative Confidante

The CIDQ has updated all portions of the NCIDQ exam, and the most notable and significant update has occurred with the Practicum.

The new Practicum exam, referred to as Prac 2.0, is now a computer-based exam administered at Prometric sites.

Similar to the ARE exams, it is administered on a testing platform, not a design platform, so according to the CIDQ, you do not need prior experience with the software before taking the exam.

To provide more information and context about the new updates, the CIDQ has released several videos on their site that discuss the new Prac 2.0 exam, and demo the new testing platform.

Prac 2.0 Exam

Exam Format: The exam is comprised of 120 questions. Each question will be worth 1 point, and partial credit will not be given.
Exam Duration: Candidates will be given 4 hours to complete the exam
Exam Dates: The fall 2017 exam will be administered October 1-31, and the Spring 2018 will be administered April 1-30, 2018.
Exam Cost: $450 exam fee + up to $225 in application fees. Cost breakdowns can be found here.
Passing Score: Scoring this exam will be scaled, and determined after the first exam administration. Read more about that here.

Prac 2.0 Case Studies

As stated in the video above, each Prac 2.0 exam will consist of three different case studies:

Large Commercial
Small Commercial
Residential

The Case studies will include: a project scenario, universal codes, a plan and other resources that might be needed to answer a question correctly.

Prac 2.0 utilizes four different types of questions:

Hot spot
Fill in the blank
Multiple Choice
Drag & Place

Knowledge areas of the exam can be broken down, as follows. Refer to the Prac 2.0 Exam Blueprint for further details of each knowledge area.

Prac 2.0 Practice Quiz & Study Material

The CIDQ has released a Prac 2.0 Practice Quiz which gives users 40 practice questions using the same test platform and methodology the full scale Prac 2.0 utilizes.

The PRAC 2.0 Quiz is available for $75.00 and is a one-time, single-use exam to practice computer test methods used in Prac 2.0. They currently only have one version of the practice quiz available, so if you purchase it more than once, it will be the same quiz.

However, I would highly recommend purchasing this quiz to familiarize yourself with the new platform, study the format of the questions, and simulate an exam day.

While the exam has moved to a digital format, it is still designed to test the same body of knowledge as the past Practicum exam. For example, instead of hand-drafting a space plan, candidates will be asked to evaluate a plan as it relates to the given program.

The following study materials are still relevant to use, and have been recommended by the CIDQ, PPI, and myself.

You can receive 15% off your purchase by clicking the links below and using code CCN15!

PURCHASE

NCIDQ® PRAC 2 Practice Exam Problems, 2nd Edition

New Edition: Updated to the Current NCIDQ® Exam Specs

NCIDQ® PRAC 2 Practice Exam Problems contains 150 exam-like, multiple-choice questions that will help you pass the Interior Design PRAC 2.0 exam.

NCIDQ® PRAC 2 Practice Exam Problems features include:

detailed explanations and problem solutions to reinforce theory and application of fundamental concepts
150 questions divided into 3 case studies that are consistent with the level of difficulty, format, and exam’s content areas to simulate PRAC 2.0 exam experience

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Interior Design Reference Manual, 6th Edition

The Interior Design Reference Manual (IDRM6) offers complete review for all three divisions of the NCIDQ® Certification exam. This book works in conjunction with division specific practice exams to help you pass every division the first time.

The Interior Design Reference Manual features include: