Del Mar, CA – Michelle Salz-Smith, an interior designer with the firm Studio-Surface LLC in Del Mar was recently selected to be an Exam Grader for the National Council for Interior Design Qualification’s (NCIDQ) spring 2010 administration. Salz-Smith is one of 36 individuals selected for the vital role of NCIDQ Exam Grader.
The NCIDQ Examination consists of three parts: two multiple-choice sections (which are machine –graded) and a practicum section. Section 3 of the exam is a three-part drawing practicum graded by interior design practitioners using established criteria set by a group of “master grader” practitioners called Grading Coordinators.
Passing the Examination and earning the respected NCIDQ credential signify that an interior designer has met the rigorous standards for education, experience, and examination for interior designers in North America. Graders help NCIDQ maintain these standards to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public.
NCIDQ graders are trained to use a well defined and uniformly accepted set of criteria when grading the practicum exams. Each exam exercise is graded by two different graders, who apply professional judgment within the parameters of the established criteria set forth by NCIDQ. The graders evaluate the entire solution to see if a candidate has demonstrated his or her competence in the area being tested. Exercises that receive conflicting scores during the initial grading will be graded a third time by a Grading Coordinator, with that score replacing the divergent score.
“NCIDQ Certificate holders represent qualified interior designers – those who are deemed capable (through education, experience and examination) to protect the public’s health, safety and welfare,” explains Kimberly Marks, 2010 NCIDQ president. “Our graders are responsible for upholding the standards and determining who those qualified individuals are. The role of a grader is extremely important in ensuring NCIDQ’s mission of public protection is upheld. We value Salz-Smith’s participation. Our volunteers are the backbone of NCIDQ.”
All NCIDQ graders are required to be active NCIDQ certificate holders. Salz-Smith earned her NCIDQ certificate in October 2006. Salz-Smith graduated from the Art Institute of Dallas with a BFA and has worked in the Interior Design Field for 8 years. Salz-Smith is currently the Owner and Principal Interior Designer at Studio Surface LLC.
NCIDQ is an organization of regulatory boards and provincial associations in the United States and Canada whose core purpose is to protect the health, life safety and welfare of the public by establishing standards of competence in the practice of interior design. More information about the organization may be found at www.ncidq.org.