The Editors Canada Professional Certification exams

Editors Canada offers four professional certification exams, based on the standards delineated in Professional Editorial Standards (2016) (PES-2016).

PES-2016 outlines the range of skills and knowledge editors need. It sets out what editors should do at various stages of editing, and tells employers and clients what to expect from the editors they hire.

Here’s what the certification exams have in common: 

A computer monitor with a yellow document on the screen

Exam format

Onscreen exams

A red bullseye with a yellow dart in the centre

Standards tested

A1 to A12 (The Fundamentals of Editing) of Professional Editorial Standards (2016)

A red document with an exclamation mark in the bottom left corner

Exam description

Multiple-choice and matching questions that require knowledge of the publishing process and editing skills relevant to the exam, and one passage that requires knowledge in its respective category

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Duration

3 hours

Three book spines of different colours: red, yellow and blue

Reference books

You may bring any major dictionary, Editing Canadian English, and up to three more style guides. For Stylistic Editing, you may bring a thesaurus instead of a third style guide

Standards and coverage

Proofreading exam

Standards tested

Exam coverage

You may be asked to carry out such tasks as:

  • Inserting author’s alterations
  • Checking that copy editing changes have been made correctly
  • Checking for lapses in stylistic and copy editing, and taking appropriate action
  • Checking the integrity of the laid-out manuscript against the original manuscript
  • Checking for errors in layout

Copy Editing exam

Standards tested

Exam coverage

You may be asked to carry out such tasks as:

  • Correcting errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar and usage
  • Ensuring the accuracy of numerical material
  • Correcting or querying inconsistencies in logic, factual details and cross-references
  • Maintaining consistency in heads, tables and lists
  • Creating a style sheet

Stylistic Editing exam

Standards tested

Exam coverage

You may be asked to carry out such tasks as:

  • Improving sentence construction and word choice to convey meaning more effectively
  • Rewriting sentences, paragraphs and passages to resolve ambiguities and ensure logical connections
  • Eliminating wordiness
  • Preparing a memo to the assigning editor or author, commenting on the required edits

Structural Editing exam

Standards tested

Exam coverage

You may be asked to carry out such tasks as:

  • Reorganizing the passage
  • Using a table of contents and/or an outline to show the structural editing required by the text
  • Revising, cutting and/or expanding material to meet specific requirements
  • Preparing a memo to the assigning editor or author, commenting on the required edits

Computer testing

For the foreseeable future, we will not be offering in-person exam locations.

(Before the pandemic, Editors Canada Professional Certification exams were typically offered at official exam sites in Vancouver, Toronto, and Ottawa. We also offered them from time to time in other locations within Canada if we received enough applications from candidates there.)

A room featuring three computers on a desk with dividers between them

In the past, all exams were paper-based. We have shifted to computer-based exams to address the role of computers in the work lives of editors. We recognize that most editors work onscreen a good deal of the time, rather than strictly with pen and paper. 

We’re excited to offer electronic exams while maintaining the security and integrity of the certification process. 

Exam soundness

Validity and reliability are critical for any certification program.

For this reason, we have developed a rigorous process for creating, administering and marking all of our exams. It involves the following steps:

  • Experienced editors are recruited to participate in the setting of exam questions. They’re required to know Professional Editorial Standards (2016) inside out and to have seen at least one certified exam, either as candidates or as markers. Many exam setters have teaching and assessment backgrounds. Exam setters are required to sign confidentiality agreements.
  • The co-chairs of the certification steering committee choose which standards are to be tested on each exam, based on previous years’ exams. They provide the exam setters with research materials on pedagogically sound question design, and provide ongoing support during exam setting. All members of the certification steering committee are required to sign confidentiality agreements.
  • The exam setters begin by reviewing the Test Preparation Guides and previous exams to see how they’ve been designed. They then develop a two-part exam and a detailed marking guide. Part A consists of a series of questions (fill in the blanks, short answers, true or false, multiple choice and matching) and Part B consists of a passage the candidate is to edit or proofread.
  • The newly set exam is reviewed by the exam shepherd (a member of the certification steering committee) to ensure that it’s fair, covers the appropriate standards and is the appropriate length. The exam shepherd then works with a professional designer to lay out the pages for the exam and the marking guide. The designer is required to sign a confidentiality agreement.
  • An experienced editor proofreads the exam and the marking guide. The proofreader is required to sign a confidentiality agreement.
  • The exam is piloted by experienced editors. Piloters are required to sign confidentiality agreements and are identified on the exam papers only by number.
  • Experienced editors are recruited to mark the exams. If possible, we recruit markers who hold Editors Canada certifications. Markers are required to sign confidentiality agreements.
  • Each marker marks all of the pilot exams.
  • A conference call is held with all of the markers, the exam shepherd, the making analyst (see point 11, below) and a certification steering committee co-chair. There’s an in-depth discussion about whether the questions are valid (i.e., test what they’re meant to test) and reliable (i.e., produce stable and consistent results).
  • The exam  shepherd modifies the questions and/or the marking guide on the basis of feedback from the piloters and the markers.
  • An experienced marking analyst reviews the marked pilot exams and makes additional suggestions for modification. The analyst is a senior editor who has been involved in the certification program and is aware of the issues surrounding exam validity and reliability. The marking analyst is required to sign a confidentiality agreement.
  • The exam shepherd works with the external designer to modify and finalize the exam and the marking guide.
  • The exam is administered in an invigilated setting. Candidates are required to sign confidentiality agreements and are identified on the exam papers only by number.
  • Each exam is marked by two markers. If one mark is a pass and the other is a fail, the exam is sent to a third marker.
  • The marking analyst reviews all of the marked exams to ensure that the marking is consistent and reliable.
  • An Editors Canada staff member in the national office cross-references the candidate numbers on the exams with the names of the registrants.
  • A member of the national executive council carries out an audit, checking that the cross-referencing has been done correctly and that each candidate will receive the correct pass/fail letter.
  • An Editors Canada staff member sends each registrant a letter indicating whether s/he has passed or failed the exam.

Certification quick links

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