By Justin Creech
Staff writer
Thursday, March 1, 2012

The Barden Education Center expands services with the opening of the National Testing Center at 10 a.m. on Monday.

The center is the first of its kind in the National Capital Region of the Military District of Washington and offers 35 College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) exams, 36 Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES) exams and 46 Excelsior College exams.

All the tests offered at the NTC are offered on-line.

“With the National Testing Center all the tests are computerized,” said Joyce Peterson, Barden Education Center, education cervices specialist test control officer,. “They can take the test through the computer and most of the exams can be graded immediately.”

Prior to the placement of the NTC, the Education Center was only able to offer 14 CLEP exams because it wasn’t a National Testing Center.

All active-duty military members are eligible to take exams at the NTC as are DoD civilians who work on post.

DANTES will pay for the first attempt to take any of the DANTES or CLEP exams offered at the testing center for all active-duty military, but only the first attempt.

Servicemembers will have to wait six months to repeat an exam and will be responsible for the test fee.

“Years ago, the Army would pay no matter how many times you took the test before you passed,” Peterson said. “Now, with the testing center, Soldiers still have to wait six months before they can re-test. But, if you re-test you have to pay.”

Prior to having the NTC, all tests at the education center were paper based and had to be sent away to be graded. The process for getting the tests graded and sent back to the education center took 6-8 weeks.

The NTC is supported by DANTES and Northern Virginia Community College.

The only other NTC’s in the area are at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Joint Base Andrews and Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall.

Servicemembers on post who needed educational testing had to travel to these installations in the past, but not anymore.

“Now, people don’t have to travel,” said Peterson. “So, it saves time, gasoline and they don’t have to be stressed out. They can just leave their office and we are right on the main road, so they can come right here.”

There are other advantages to the center opening than just the educational opportunities it provides.

Education specialists will now be able to focus on helping people register for classes and answer any questions they may have about the educational opportunities they are pursuing.

“With someone in the testing center monitoring the person taking the test, I don’t have to neglect the students coming to see me who want to take classes,” said Victoria Esannason, Northern Virginia Community College, Fort Belvoir, education support specialist. “It allows me more time it take care of people who need help in other areas with class registration and other issues.”