International Certification
There is increasing interest by many U.S.-based certification organizations in certifying persons located in countries other than those which have English as the official language. Often, the certification examinations have been offered only in English. This limits the pool of candidates.
Some certification programs are considering simply translating their existing English-based literature and examinations into other languages. This is not the best practice because alternate language examinations may not be equivalent to the English versions due to cultural differences, both generally and as pertains to the profession to be examined.
The following two papers offer some guidance on adapting examinations and information of interest to those certification programs considering adapting their examinations to other languages.
William C. Anderson, P.E., DEE
Executive Director Emeritus
Council of Engineering & Scientific Specialty Boards
Guidelines for Adapting Certification Tests for Use Across Multiple Languages
by Stephen G. Sireci, Ph.D.
Carrying out Empirical Studies of Adapted Examinations
by Frederic Robin