2 Out of 3 Certifications
By Cecilia Sepp, CAE, ACNP, LPEC
I am very proud of earning the Leadership Professional in Ethics and Compliance (LPEC) certification. Ethics are important to me personally as well as professionally, so pursuing this certification made sense. It is also outside of the nonprofit management area which pushed me to do something different.
What I learned is that much of what is taught about High Quality Programs for ethics and compliance relates directly to the work we do in nonprofits. It is similar to the body of knowledge for both the Certificated Association Executive (CAE) and the Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP) certifications as there is a focus on strategy, risk management, accountability, speaking up, and culture.
After I had my “happy time” celebrating passing the LPEC exam, I started thinking about how I now have 3 certifications. All of these certifications required studying, coursework, and an exam to earn them. All 3 of these certifications require renewal education and activity.
Then I started comparing what was different.
2 of the 3 certifications have a validated exam with an established pass score. You know going in what you need to score to pass. I think we all know which one doesn’t do that but I’ll state it for those who might not know: the CAE.
When the CAE program first launched, the exam was an all-day essay exam. It was challenging and demanding. The problem was that scoring essay exams is completely subjective. In response to this realization, the CAE program changed the exam to a 200-question multiple choice exam that tests the exam takers understanding of theory and its application.
The problem now is that the CAE does not have a validated pass score. It is completely different every time the exam is offered. The highest required pass score I’ve seen is 146, and the lowest is 118.
Look at that spread. It might be a gambler’s dream but if you are a nonprofit management professional investing months of time and thousands of dollars preparing for the exam, it’s a nightmare.
Despite many CAEs and other members of our profession lobbying for a validated pass score, the CAE Commission continues to state that this is how other programs do it too. Really? 2 out of 3 of my certifications say that isn’t the case. I also know that the Association for Strategic Planning has a validated pass score for their certification and I’m sure if looked around I would find a lot of organizations that have validated pass scores.
Based on my 10 years of experience working with people getting ready for the CAE Exam, I know this is a reason that more people don’t take the CAE exam. They can’t risk the investment of that much time and energy and money in something that is a moving target. While I work with people who take it more than once, it is frustrating to see people not get a passing score the first time, take it again and not pass, but realize their second score WAS the passing score the first time they took it.
This doesn’t make the CAE program look good. We should re-examine how the CAE Exam is developed and scored. Our profession needs a certification that demonstrates our knowledge and expertise, not one that looks like its only purpose is making money.
