Why dont DANB test questions cover new materials, which dental assisting programs are required to teach?
There is always a lag between content covered on certification exams, which are mandated to reflect the current practice of a profession and new material taught in a formal educational program. Certification exams test what is. Educational curricula covers what should be, or what soon will be. As a certification board, DANB has no authority to establish or maintain curricula. In fact, we may have little impact upon courses and content offered at schools. This is not out of disinterest, but rather out of ethical necessity. Courses should not be geared to the test. Rather, courses should provide future dental assistants with all of the skills/techniques needed in the work place, rather than providing test knowledge. DANBs examinations are intended to test national dental assisting basic techniques. Educational tests used in dental assisting schools cover new material, sometimes with greater emphasis on state-allowed functions. Certification examinations, which are often used to meet a st
