Family Life Education Assessment Exam

For Academic Programs to Assess Their FLE Curriculum

University and college programs: The Family Life Education (FLE) assessment exam is available to your program through the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) — the organization that provides nationally recognized and respected standards for Family Life Education.

Administer the FLE assessment exam to students in your program to:

  • evaluate how well your program is teaching the 10 Family Life Education content areas;
  • gain valuable data to help improve the effectiveness of your curriculum; and
  • increase the credibility and value of your program — and of Family Science and Family Life Education programs overall — within academia.

Ready to offer the FLE Assessment Exam? 

  1. First, fill out the exam order form with details about your program.
  2. NCFR staff will review your order. If this will be the first time your program is offering the exam, you will be invoiced for a one-time $200 setup fee. (Programs that have previously offered the exam and paid the one-time $200 setup fee will not need to pay the setup fee again.)
  3. NCFR staff will contact you to continue organizing your exam administration. More details about the exam process are below.
     

Order Form: FLE Assessment Exam
 

What Is the FLE Assessment Exam?  

The FLE assessment exam is meant to help Family Science academic programs evaluate how well their program is covering the 10 FLE content areas that represent the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for effective professional practice in Family Life Education.

Which Programs Can Offer the Exam: Any university or college program offering a Family Science or Family Life Education curriculum. The FLE assessment exam is not restricted to CFLE-approved programs designated by NCFR.

Which Students Should Take the Exam: Students in their senior year / near graduation
 

About Administering the Exam

Exam Format: Paper and pencil

Exam Structure: 100 multiple-choice questions, to be completed in a 120-minute window

Exam Pricing:

  • First time administering the exam only: $200 one-time setup fee per program
  • First time and every time thereafter that you administer the exam: $50 per exam administered, meaning per student/exam booklet
  • Programs also pay for exam shipping fees. (Programs do not pay for any unopened test booklets returned to the testing company.)

When You Can Offer the Exam: You may offer the exam at any time, though near the end of an academic term is advisable. You may offer the exam during as many terms going forward as you wish.

  • NCFR requires minimum 30 days notice prior to when you wish to administer the exam. The entire process from signup to results takes approximately 60 days — 30 days prior for setup and preparation, and 30 days after administering the exam for notification of results.

Where You Administer the Exam: In person in your campus classrooms; administered by staff or faculty from your school who have been approved by NCFR.
 

About the Exam Results

Results consist of scores for individual student performance (specific students not identifiable) for each of the 10 FLE content areas, as well as for the exam overall. See a sample score report (PDF).

  • A note on benchmarking among institutions: As more programs administer the FLE assessment exam, NCFR will be able to begin providing data that compares averages among peer institutions. This comparison data is not yet available; it will likely become available in one to two years.
     

The FLE Assessment Exam Is Not...

The FLE assessment exam does not result in CFLE certification for students. The FLE assessment exam is administered by academic programs to their students to help the program assess how well it is teaching its FLE curriculum. Performance on the FLE assessment exam also is not indicative of performance on the Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) exam taken by individual candidates who wish to hold the CFLE credential.

The FLE assessment exam is not used for approving programs in the CFLE Approved Program Review process. 
 

How Does the Exam Benefit My Program?

  • The exam provides results you can use to evaluate how well your Family Science program is teaching the 10 Family Life Education content areas, which graduates need to know for their professional practice;
  • Exam results will provide valuable data to help you demonstrate and improve the effectiveness of your curriculum;
  • The exam and results will help to increase the credibility and value of your program at your university or college, as well as the credibility of Family Science and Family Life Education programs overall. You'll be able to show that you're assessing your program using a tool that is based on nationally recognized and respected standards for Family Life Education.
  • Eventually, offering the exam will allow you to benchmark results against peer institutions. As more programs administer the exam, NCFR will be able to begin providing data that compares averages among peer institutions. (This comparison data is not yet available; it will likely become available in one to two years.)
     

How Does the Exam Process Work?

If you have questions or would like to discuss the exam prior to submitting an order form, please email Jessica Oswald, NCFR's Education Manager, or call her at 763-231-2894.

  1. First submit your order form to provide necessary details about your program.
    • Note: NCFR requires you to submit your order at least 30 days prior to when you wish to administer the exam.
  2. NCFR staff will review your order. If this will be the first time your program is offering the exam, you will be invoiced for a one-time $200 setup fee. (Programs that have previously offered the exam and paid the one-time $200 setup fee will not need to pay the setup fee again.)
  3. Your program contact person and exam administrator participate in a call with NCFR staff to walk through the exam administration process.
  4. You receive test booklets at your school approximately 2-3 days prior to your exam administration date. (Booklets are shipped directly from the testing company.)
  5. You administer the exam and ship all materials — completed and unopened test booklets — back to the testing company (using pre-labeled, pre-paid shipping materials).
    • Note: You are not charged the $50 per-exam fee for any unopened test booklets returned to the testing company.
  6. The testing company sends your score report to NCFR approximately 3-4 weeks after you administer the exam.
  7. NCFR sends the score report to you and bills you $50 per exam booklet used. See a sample score report (PDF).
     

How Do I Get Started Administering the Exam in My Program?

Start by filling out the FLE assessment exam order form with details about your program.

Order Form: FLE Assessment Exam

You will then receive follow-up communications from NCFR staff about billing and preparing to administer the exam.

If you have questions or would like to discuss the exam prior to submitting an order form, please email Jessica Oswald, NCFR's Education Manager, or call her at 763-231-2894.