The Registered Professional Reporter (RPR) program is the only nationally recognized certification program that establishes your competence as a reporter. The RPR is your first step toward your success as a court reporter.
Just ask an RPR what he or she thinks about the program--81% say their RPR designation is valuable to them as individual reporters and 94% say RPR certification is an important part of the court reporting profession.
Your RPR means more recognition and respect from your clients, employers, and fellow reporters. Your RPR means more job opportunities and referrals from fellow reporters.
In its comprehensive study of the court reporting profession, Hay Management Consultants refers to the RPR as an entry-level designation. This study, then, clearly establishes 66% of NCRA members as professionals.
Who is eligible to sit for the RPR Exam?
As long as you are an NCRA member in good standing, you are eligible to register for the exam.
How to Register for the RPR Exam
Effective with the fall 2007 exams, the NCRA written knowledge and skills tests are being offered on separate days and at separate testing centers. Please visit NCRA’s Online Certification Center at www.NCRAonline.org/testing for more information.
Because the tests are being offered separately, candidates must register for the written knowledge and skills tests separately. For registration dates and deadlines, please visit NCRA’s Online Certification Center at www.NCRAonline.org/testing for frequent updates.
RPR Job Analysis
A Job Analysis that explains the relevant job experience, practice domains and tasks, and underlying knowledge and skills essential for an entry-level reporter is available by clicking here. [Adobe Acrobat]
What it takes to pass the RPR Exam
To become an RPR, you must have the knowledge, skills, and ability to produce a high-quality verbatim record. The Written Knowledge Test, or WKT, is a 105*-question, multiple-choice test that focuses on four areas:
- reporting (48%)
- transcript production (44%)
- operating practices (4%)
- professional issues and continuing education (4%).
You get 90 minutes to complete this section of the exam. You must pass with a scaled score** of 70 or better.
* In order to provide candidates with a valid and reliable examination, NCRA has started to pretest items for the RPR, RMR, and RDR examinations. Pretesting ensures that all items on an examination are items with good statistics and no brand new, untried items will appear on any examination. Starting with the November 2006 administration, the RPR, RMR, and RDR examinations will include items for pretesting. This means that the examinations will now have 105-110 items instead of 100 items. These items will not be scored, so the exams are still based off of 100 points. Candidates will not know which items are pretest items. Also, with the addition of the items, the RDR will now be 105 minutes instead of 90 minutes to allow candidates sufficient time to finish the examination.
** Scaled scoring is a means of assuring fairness and consistency in the difficulty level from one test administration to the next, achieved by applying two widely accepted standard-setting methods to each individual test question. This evaluation, recommended by NCRA's testing consultant and done by the Test Advisory Committee in conjunction with the Certification Standard Setting Task Force, has been in use since November 2003 and ensures that NCRA's program continues to meet testing industry standards.
To earn your RPR, you'll also have to pass three sections of a skills test that evaluates you in three areas:
- Literary at 180 wpm
- Jury Charge at 200 wpm
- Testimony/Q&A at 225 wpm
After dictation, you have 75 minutes to transcribe your notes from each leg. You must have 95% accuracy on each leg to pass.
You do not have to pass all the sections of the exam in one sitting. As long as you maintain your NCRA membership, you will retain credit for the sections passed. There is no time limit for earning the RPR.
How to Maintain Your RPR Certification
As an RPR, you'll participate in NCRA's continuing education program. To renew your RPR you must maintain your NCRA membership and earn a minimum of 3.0 CEUs over a three-year period.
Recognition of Your Achievement
After you've earned your RPR, you'll receive a handsome certificate to display in your home or office. Your RPR also gets you recognition in the Journal of Court Reporting, the Court Reporter Sourcebook, and on NCRA's Web site.