DANB Learning

Assessment-Based Certificate Programs vs. Professional Certification

Are Assessment Based Certificate Programs (ABCPs) Accredited?
Along with hundreds of associations, certifying organizations, customer groups, and government agencies that are interested in credentialing, the Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) is a member of the National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA). NOCA published the first American National Standard for certificate programs, ANSI/NOCA 1100 – Standard for Assessment-Based Certificate Programs (2009), approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) on March 25th, 2009.

Learn more about NOCA’s process for developing certificate standard, including rationale for key requirements and linking the requirements to industry best practices.

NOCA decided to develop a standard for ABCPs because, like professional certification, ABCPs could be used to evaluate the knowledge, skills and competencies required to perform a specific function of an occupation or profession. However, unlike professional certification, the “primary focus” of assessment-based certificate programs is the education/training component, rather than the assessment component. In ABCPs, the program provider, which conducts or sponsors the education/training, is the same organization that conducts the assessment and provides the certificate.

How are ABCPs Different from Professional Certification?
There are a number of distinguishing features that differentiate ABCPs from professional certification. One of the main differences between ABCPs and professional certification is how to characterize successfully completing a program. If professional certification is achieved, the person is awarded letters to use after their name and may call him or herself “certified.” By passing an ABCP, a person would earn a certificate, and could say that they hold a certificate in a particular topic. 

Completing an ABCP does not allow a person to use ‘initials’ or letters after his/her name. Furthermore, those who complete an ABCP cannot say that they are certified, or say that they have earned a credential or a certification. Finally, ABCPs do not require renewal, whereas a professional certification grants a time-limited credential, which requires renewal.

Professional Certification Programs (“Board Certifications”)
A professional certification, such as DANB’s CDA certification, is an independent assessment of competency in an area of broad professional knowledge, as defined by a job analysis – an assessment independent of a specific course of study or a specific course provider.

Assessment-Based Certificate Programs
NOCA’s certificate standard defines ABCPs as “a non-degree granting program that:
a) provides instruction and training to aid participants in acquiring specific knowledge, skills, and/or competencies associated with intended learning outcomes; b) evaluates participants’ achievement of the intended learning outcomes; and  c) awards a certificate only to those participants who meet the performance, proficiency, or passing standard for the assessment(s) (hence the term, ‘assessment-based certificate program’).”