Great News! The most significant change to the CDCES Exam in the past 30 years kicks off next month. Not only will there be fewer total questions but there are now going to be more questions that focus on diabetes care and education interventions and fewer questions on assessment and administration.

The Certification Board for Diabetes Care and Education (CBDCE) handbook determined that only 175 questions are needed, instead of 200, to evaluate if an individual has adequate expertise and mastery of the test content.

We are happy to announce that Coach Beverly has carefully gone through the list of CDCES test topics for the updated exam, and verified that our online course materials and bundles cover the listed content areas.

Regardless of when you take the exam, certain things will remain the same.
There will still be 25 questions that are NOT counted in the final test score. These questions are scattered throughout the exam and allow for the collection of meaningful statistics about new questions, but are not used to determine individual examination scores.

In addition, this exam results are based on a “scaled score” to ensure that different exam versions are equally challenging. The CBDCE has made no mention of a decrease in the four hours to complete the exam, and certificants can still take the exam at a testing site or choose live remote proctoring.

Starting July 1, 2024, the test outline has a greater focus on Care and Education Interventions. 

Here is how the counted 150 questions are divided by content (There are 175 questions, but only 150 count toward the final score)

• Assessment – 37 questions (was 59 questions)
• Care and Education Interventions – 105 questions (was 88 questions)
• Standards and Practices – 8 questions (was 28 questions)
  
  The majority of the test questions now fall under the section “Care and Education Interventions” as listed in the exam content outline effective July 1, 2024. 

Exam content included in Care and Education Intervention includes:

A. Disease Process
B. Individualized Education
C. Person-Centered Education on Self-Behaviors 
   1. Nutrition Principles
   2. Physical Activity
   3. Medication Management
   4. Monitoring and Interpretation
   5. Acute complications
   6. Chronic complications and comorbidities
   7. Problem-solving
   8. Living with diabetes and prediabetes
   9. Evaluation, documentation and follow-up

This means test takers need to have in-depth knowledge of this comprehensive list of topic areas to enhance exam success.
For a more detailed topic list, please see the CDCES Exam Content Outline | July 1, 2024 For complete eligibility and certification information, the 2024 Certification Examination for Diabetes Educators Handbook contains detailed instructions on applying, study resources, and exam content outlines.

Will Our Online University Courses Prepare Students for the Updated Exam Content?

Yes, absolutely. Coach Beverly has painstakingly gone through each line of the exam content outline and verified that our online course materials and bundles cover the outlined content areas. The good news is that our library of courses has a strong focus on person-centered care and education intervention content, which is now the biggest exam component as outlined in section II of the Exam Content Outline | July 1, 2024. 

In addition, our online course content is updated each year based on a review of the latest ADA Guidelines and the CBDCE’s exam content outline. If the ADA Standards include new or updated information that is listed in the exam outline, we plug in these new medications, MNT approaches, goals, screening guidelines etc. into the course content. 

Coach Beverly also retakes the exam every renewal cycle for her certification so she can have a student’s perspective on sitting for the exam while developing course content. We try to focus specifically on material that is relevant for the exam, considers the overall ADA Standards of Care, and ultimately improves the quality of care delivered to people living with diabetes.

Our goal is to provide evidence-based, clinically relevant content that will also prepare participants for exam success. We’ve got you covered.

Should I take the CDCES exam before or after the changes?

This is a great question, and Coach Beverly suggests carefully self-evaluating your testing style. If the thought of muscling through 200 questions seems overwhelming and question fatigue is an issue, consider taking the shorter version in July. However, as with any new exam, there may be some kinks to iron out, and there could be a slight delay in receiving test results in the first few months after the exam’s release, based on my experience. When there has been a test update in the past, the CBDCE took a few weeks to send the test results to test takers for a short time period.

Coach Beverly suggests basing your decision on your level of readiness. After reviewing the exam outline content, if you feel very familiar with the topics listed, plus you are scoring 80% or greater on practice exams, moving forward with the exam is a great choice. Keep in mind that the exam covers a wide breadth of information, from birth to death, plus during pregnancy, and addresses chronic and acute care in various settings. This means you will need to create a study plan that assesses knowledge gaps along with a plan to address those gaps.

What other CDCES Resources will help me get ready?

• You are invited to join our FREE Prep for CDCES Webinar airing on June 25th. Coach Beverly will transform your test anxiety into exam readiness.
• Check out our very active CDCES Exam Prep Facebook Group. This upbeat and supportive group will give you CDCES exam study tips, feedback, and support.

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Conflict of Interest clarification:

Our company Diabetes Education Services has no relationship with the CBDCE. All of the information posted in this blog is based on Coach Beverly’s careful review of the 2024 Certification Examination for Diabetes Educators Handbook.

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Accreditation: Diabetes Education Services is an approved provider by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider 12640, and our CPEU courses have received Prior Approval* from the Commission of Dietetic Registration (CDR), Provider DI002. Since our CPEU courses received Prior approval* from the CDR, these CPEU courses satisfy the CE requirements for the CDCES /BC-ADM regardless of your profession! 

The use of DES products does not guarantee the successful passage of the certification exam. CBDCE and ADCES do not endorse any preparatory or review materials for the CDCES or BC-ADM exams, except for those published by CBDCE & ADCES.