NCE exam times change
Changes to the time allowed to answer NCE exam questions have been announced by the NCTJ.
Changes to the time allowed to answer NCE exam questions have been announced by the NCTJ.
The NCE Reporters’ Newspaper Practice exam has been extended by 15 minutes, to one hour and 15 minutes, to allow for the additional work required by trainees to fully answer the part (b) practice questions.
Steve Nelson, NCTJ chief examiner for journalism, said:
“The Newspaper Journalism board felt that, with the extra requirements being placed on candidates to discuss the various platforms which might be used to display a news story, the time allowed was no longer sufficient. The Newspaper Practice exam is largely a test of knowledge, of both the law and approaches to stories, and should be of a sufficient length of time to enable candidates to give thorough answers. Having considered the exam questions for the next NCE, the board decided this was no longer the case and adjusted the time allowed accordingly. At the same time, it was considered that the time allowed for the News Interview exam could be shortened by five minutes with virtually no impact.”
The write-up time for the News Interview exam has been reduced by five minutes, from 75 to 70 minutes.
The changes will be introduced in the July 2010 NCE.
