CSI Updates Exam for Construction Documents Technology Certificate
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) announced it is updating its certificate exam for the Construction Documents Technology (CDT) program. The changes will be reflected in the fall 2009 CDT certificate exam.
The CDT Certificate program has provided the construction industry with a valuable credential for more than 20 years. It provides a comprehensive overview for professionals who write, interpret, enforce or manage construction documents, including architects, engineers, contractors, contract administrators, material suppliers and manufacturers' representatives. The CDT credential demonstrates one's knowledge and understanding of construction documents and the project lifecycle.
"The changes represent a small portion of the CDT exam," explained CSI Executive Director and CEO Walter Marlowe, P.E., CSI, CAE. "Those updates, however, will help ensure that the CDT credential continues to be held in high regard by the industry."
To maintain the program's high standard of quality, CSI and Prometric, a testing and assessment provider, conducted an analysis of the CDT Certificate exam. The analysis evaluated the relevancy of its content in relation to the comprehensive knowledge and skills that construction professionals need to write and manage construction documents. Test specifications (weighted content areas) have been updated to reflect the results of the analysis and to more accurately describe the knowledge being tested.
The new CDT exam in the fall will incorporate the following new topics:
- Building Information Modeling (BIM)
- Integrated Project Delivery (IPD)
- Green Building - GreenFormat and Sustainability
The new topics will be included in the "Fundamentals" category. That category represents 8 percent of the questions on the exam.
The exam will continue to be 100 multiple-choice questions. To pass, candidates still must receive a grade of 75 percent or higher.
The analysis conducted by CSI and Prometric also produced information that will help CSI develop better exam preparatory materials. The fall 2009 exam study guide is currently in draft form, and is expected to be finalized soon. For the new topics covered in the fall exam, the study guide directs candidates to resources that include publications of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. General Services Administration and the American Institute of Architects, as well as CSI. A new CDT prep course is also in development.
For more information on the CDT Certificate, please visit the CSI Certification Web page.
