CDCES
CDCES Exam
About the CDCES Certification Program
The CDCES program is a practice-based certification for experienced health professionals who provide diabetes care and education.
A Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES) is a health professional who possesses comprehensive knowledge of and experience in diabetes prevention, prediabetes, and diabetes management. The CDCES educates, supports, and advocates for people affected by diabetes, addressing the stages of diabetes throughout the lifespan. The CDCES promotes self-management to achieve individualized behavioral and treatment goals that reduce risks and optimize health outcomes.
The certification exam for Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialists is designed and intended for health professionals who have responsibilities that include the direct provision of diabetes care and education (DCE), as defined by CBDCE. The credential was previously known as the Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE).
A Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES) is a health professional who possesses comprehensive knowledge of and experience in diabetes prevention, prediabetes, and diabetes management. The CDCES educates, supports, and advocates for people affected by diabetes, addressing the stages of diabetes throughout the lifespan. The CDCES promotes self-management to achieve individualized behavioral and treatment goals that reduce risks and optimize health outcomes.
The certification exam for Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialists is designed and intended for health professionals who have responsibilities that include the direct provision of diabetes care and education (DCE), as defined by CBDCE. The credential was previously known as the Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE).
Candidate Comments
During the examination, you may make comments for any question by clicking on the Comment button to the left of the Time button. This opens a dialogue box where comments may be entered.
Any issues experienced during the testing session should be brought immediately to the proctor’s attention on site in order to rectify the situation. After completing the examination, you are asked to answer a short evaluation of your examination experience. You should include any testing issues faced in your testing session in the evaluation.
Any issues experienced during the testing session should be brought immediately to the proctor’s attention on site in order to rectify the situation. After completing the examination, you are asked to answer a short evaluation of your examination experience. You should include any testing issues faced in your testing session in the evaluation.
About CDCES FAQs
How can you take the test?
Registration for the CDCES exam is ongoing and testing is year round. Candidates may take the exam by either testing at a PSI Test Center or testing by Live Remote Online Proctoring (LRP). Candidates should thoroughly review the information on testing choices to determine which one is best for them. Detailed information on each method of testing, including requirements for LRP, can be found in the Examination Handbook and the Guide to LRP.
What is a certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist?
A Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES) is a health professional who possesses comprehensive knowledge of and experience in diabetes prevention, prediabetes, and diabetes management. The CDCES educates, supports, and advocates for people affected by diabetes, addressing the stages of diabetes throughout the lifespan. The CDCES promotes self-management to achieve individualized behavioral and treatment goals that reduce risks and optimize health outcomes.
The certification exam for Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialists is designed and intended for health professionals who have responsibilities that include the direct provision of diabetes care and education (DCE), as defined by CBDCE. The credential was previously known as the Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE).
The certification exam for Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialists is designed and intended for health professionals who have responsibilities that include the direct provision of diabetes care and education (DCE), as defined by CBDCE. The credential was previously known as the Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE).
How long is certification valid?
Certification is valid for a five-year time frame with an expiration date that ends on December 31 of the last year of the certification cycle. The renewal application opens as early as July in your expiration year. Read about renewal requirements.
Is there information comparing the BC-ADM and CDCES certification programs?
Click here for a document that provides information on the similarities and differences in the BC-ADM and CDCES programs.
Exam Construction, Scoring, and Pretest Questions
Exam Construction
CBDCE develops the Certification Exam for Diabetes Care and Education Specialists with the technical assistance of a testing agency. The two organizations work together to construct and validate the exam. The Exam will consist of 175 multiple choice questions given over a four (4) hour period.
Exam Questions Overview
Each question is designed to test if the candidate possesses the knowledge necessary to perform the task or has the ability to apply it to a job situation. Questions on the exam are linked directly to tasks identified in the Exam Content Outline (ECO). Understand that the questions are not written to trick you; instead, they are written in a way that allows the exam to verify mastery of a body of knowledge related to diabetes and diabetes education and your ability to apply that knowledge and analyze situations about that knowledge.
Exam Content Outline
Review the ECO to assess your knowledge across the Outline
Visit the Exam Preparations Page
Practice or Job Analysis Survey
CBDCE periodically conducts a survey of diabetes care and education specialists' (formerly known as diabetes educators) practice – often called a practice or job analysis. The study surveys the health professionals to determine the significance of specific tasks to a CDCES’s practice. The practice analysis information is used to develop the exam content outline and to determine the percent distribution of the items for the role. Therefore, the subject matter and importance of each item on the exam reflects data validated by this periodic study.
Examination Committee
Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialists who represent the multidisciplinary aspects of profession serve on CBDCE’s Exam Committee. The Exam Committee drafts the exam’s multiple-choice items, which are then edited and validated by the testing agency, and approved by the Committee for inclusion on the exam.
The Exam Committee and the testing agency review all the exam items for subject matter, validity, difficulty, relevance, bias, and importance for current practice. All items are evaluated, classified, and revised by the Exam Committee and the testing agency for conformance to psychometric principles. Each item is pretested prior to its use and must meet statistical parameters prior to being used as a scored item.
Scoring
On the basis of a completed practice analysis, it is usually necessary to develop a new exam form to reflect the updated exam content outline and to review the minimum passing point/score.
A Passing Point Study is conducted by a panel of experts in the field. The methodology used to set the minimum passing score is the Angoff method. CBDCE’s most recent analysis was completed in 2023, with the exam content outline being implemented starting with July 1, 2024 exams.
Pretest Questions
The exam questions are developed and reviewed for relevancy, consistency, accuracy, and appropriateness by individuals with expertise in diabetes education and then are tested on current exams.
Twenty-five of the questions presented during the exam are new questions that have not been used on previous exams. Inclusion of these questions allows for collection of meaningful statistics about new questions but are not used in the determination of individual exam scores.
These questions are not identified and are scattered throughout the exam so that candidates will answer them with the same care as the questions that make up the scored portion of the exam. This methodology assures candidates that their scores are the result of sound measurement practices and that scored questions are reflective of current practice.
About Scaled Scores
Scores are reported as raw scores and scaled scores. A raw score is the number of correctly answered questions; a scaled score is statistically derived from the raw score. The total score determines whether a candidate passes or fails; it is reported as a scaled score ranging between 0 and 99. The minimum scaled score needed to pass the examination has been set at 70 scaled score units.
The reason for reporting scaled scores is that different forms of the examination may vary in difficulty. Because new forms of the exam are introduced each year, a certain number of questions in each content area are replaced. These changes may cause one form of the exam to be slightly easier or harder than another form. To adjust for differences in difficulty, a procedure called “equating” is used.
The goal of equating is to ensure fairness to all candidates as new forms are launched. In the equating process, the minimum raw score (number of correctly answered questions) required to equal the scaled passing score of 70 is statistically adjusted (or equated).
Exam Scheduling, Transfers, Registration Name Changes, and Scoring FAQs
How do I schedule or reschedule my CDCES exam?
- Once the CDCES application has been approved, candidates can schedule or reschedule the exam through their CBDCE account.
- To schedule or reschedule the CDCES exam:
- Sign in to your account on the CBDCE portal at www.cbdce.org
- Click on Get Certified > click on Details in your application > click on Schedule Exam > you will be redirected to the Test Taker Portal to schedule the exam > follow the prompts to pick your testing method (at a test center or live remote proctoring) then your date and time to schedule/book the exam.
- Be sure to confirm your choice and mark down your date and time.
What do I need on exam day?
On the day of your appointment, report to the Test Center or LRP testing appointment no later than the scheduled time. You will need to present one valid form of identification. The primary form must be government issued, current and include your name, signature, and photograph. Read more on the exam day and scoring in the Exam Handbook.
How can I transfer my exam to a new 90-day eligibility window?
- Candidates may transfer (one-time only) to a new 90-day window by requesting a transfer and paying a $100 transfer fee. Transfers must be requested at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date or your eligibility end date, whichever is earliest.
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- Login to your account on the CBDCE portal at www.cbdce.org
- If you are currently scheduled to take the CDCES exam, you MUST FIRST unschedule your exam in the PSI test taker portal. Failure to do so will affect the updating of your eligibility end date.
- To unschedule your exam, click on Get Certified > click on Details in the application > click on Schedule > you'll be redirected to the PSI test taker portal to unschedule your exam.
- To purchase the extension > In your CBDCE dashboard > click on Get Certified > click on Details in the application > select Request Exam Extension (left navigation pane) > Yes > Extension Checkout to make your payment.
- No transfer will be completed until payment is made in full and must be made by the dates above.
How can I update my exam registration name?
- The name on your CBDCE account must match the name (first and last) on the ID that you will use to check-in for your exam. Name change requests must be requested a minimum of 3 business days prior to your scheduled date. To update your name:
- Send an email to info@cbdce.org that includes (a) the name that you wish to change to and (b) reason for the change (e.g., marriage, change from nickname, etc.)
- CBDCE staff will make the update from your request and update your registration record.
How is the exam constructed?
What if I do not receive my score report after testing?
If you do not receive an email message from PSI within 48 hours after your examination is completed, contact CBDCE at info@cbdce.org. Be sure to include your full name and date tested.