About the ATCBE

*** In 2025 the ATCBE will have a new examination content outline which reflects the results of the most recent job analysis that was administered in 2022. The survey was completed by over 1,000 credentialed art therapists who provided data on the current practice of art therapy including major work behaviors and tasks, client populations, media/materials, diagnostic categories, ethical issues, and work settings. The 2025 content outline can be accessed here. ***

Art Therapy Credentials Board Examination (ATCBE) is a state-of-the-art professional examination that is developed by subject matter experts who are board-certified credentialed art therapists, in conjunction with contracted psychometricians who are experts in creating professional examinations for mental health professions. Exam development for the ATCBE is a multifaceted process with extensive infrastructure requirements and engagement by a wide group of board-certified art therapists. Most critically, exam development is an ongoing, cyclical process. Exam development includes the following components:

Job Analysis & Content Outline Development
Item Writing
Form Creation and Standard Setting
Item Review and Revision

Throughout these steps, Subject Matter Experts provide critical voice and external, autonomous oversight. Learn more about the development of ATCBE.

ATCBE JOB ANALYSIS

Part of the process of creating a professional exam requires that a “job analysis” be performed by surveying currently practicing professionals about the knowledge and skills they use in real-world practice. According to psychometric best practices, the ATCB performs a job analysis every few years, and the data is analyzed professionally to create the blueprint for revisions of the ATCBE. This study provides a basis for the ongoing revision of the ATCBE and ensures currency and relevance in the content of the examination. The most recent job analysis was finalized in 2017 and a new content outline has been released. Click for an executive summary of the 2017 Job Analysis Survey.

ATCBE KNOWLEDGE AREAS

The major content, or knowledge, areas of the examination are listed below. These areas were determined by the results of the ATCB’s national art therapy Job Analysis Survey.

Examinees should be able to apply the knowledge included in each content area to the various practice dimensions. The knowledge covered by the examination will be tested at three cognitive levels:

• Basic understanding (recall)
• Application (applying knowledge to a particular example)
• Mastery (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation)

For example, some questions require factual recall; others require you to apply knowledge to a clinical scenario. The major knowledge areas are:

• Theoretical Approaches
• Intake and Evaluation
• Assessment and Evaluation Instruments
• Diagnoses and Populations
• Art Therapy Environment
• Professional Practice and Ethics
• Clinical Skills and Application

View the complete ATCBE content outline here.

A preparation guide was developed by the ATCB to provide information to art therapists who plan to take the ATCBE. Its purpose is to provide procedural information and to assist art therapists in developing an individualized approach toward exam preparation. Enhanced performance on the examination is neither expressed nor implied. The ATCB does not endorse or recommend any study guide or method published by any group or individual not directly related to the ATCB.

The ATCBE is typically composed of 200 multiple-choice questions. Of these, approximately 170 are used for scoring purposes. The remaining items are in development for future examinations. These development items are not identified by the examinee. Candidates have four hours to complete the examination.

In preparation for the implementation of our next exam content outline, unscored items on the ATCBE will no longer be in proportion to the scored items.  These unscored items assist in providing new items for use in future exams. 

STANDARD SETTING and CUT SCORE

The passing score for the candidates on the Art Therapy Credentials Board Examination (ATCBE) is calculated through the modified Angoff method of standard-setting. This method requires the standard-setting committee of the ATCBE to review and evaluate each question on the first test form published on a new content outline to determine the passing score that would be expected from a Minimally Qualified Candidate.

The passing score obtained through standard-setting on the first test form is applied to other ATCBE test forms through statistical equating. Statistical equating adjusts the passing score up or down by accounting for the overall difficulty of each test form. Therefore, statistical equating ensures fairness to all candidates by associating the cut score on a test form with the overall difficulty level of the items on it. With this standard procedure for determining the successful candidates on ATCBE, the passing scores will vary slightly for each ATCBE test form. The cut score for each exam form is unique to that exam. Thus a candidates score on a previous exam does not count toward the cut score on a subsequent exam.

For implementing equating, the Psychometricians use a 25% overlap of items between the base form and the new test form. These common items constitute the equating link between the two forms. Second, they maintain the average difficulty level (p-value) for both the forms in close range. The Psychometricians make sure that the average difficulty of the new form is closer to that of the base form. After the base test form is attempted by a sufficient number of candidates, the Psychometricians use Livingston’s formula for linear equating—Y* = a (X – c) + d—which uses the mean and standard deviation of both base and new forms and the cut score of the base form to reach the cut score of the new form. These measures help the Art Therapy Credentials Board to ensure that the candidates who pass its examination have the knowledge and understanding expected from a board-certified art therapist.

The raw score of the ATCBE represents the number of test questions correct out of the number of test questions possible. Even though the examination consists of 200 questions, your score is based on 170 questions. Thirty questions are “pretest” questions. Pretest questions are included on each examination to obtain statistical information for possible use in future examinations. Your score on pretest questions did not affect your raw score.

Each version of the ATCBE tests the same domains of art therapy practice. However, each exam form contains a different set of test items (questions), meaning that one or more questions on one form may vary in difficulty from the questions appearing on another.

Each exam candidate receives a score report. The content area scores on your score report are provided to offer a general indication regarding performance in each content area. This feedback is provided for self-development purposes and is descriptive only, meaning that it only provides a snapshot of testing performance based on a single test administration.

Please note the ATCBE exam can be taken twice a year. Additionally, content (domain)-level feedback is based on a limited number of questions, which means that these domain-level results are not as stable as the overall exam score, which is based on a much larger number of questions. It is important to remember that  content areas with a larger number of items (questions) will affect the overall score more than areas with fewer items. Should a candidate opt to retake the ATCBE, they might perform better or worse in any domain. For this reason, it is important to study all domains when preparing to retake the exam. Candidates may wish to engage in extra preparation in the domains in which you are the weakest. However, neglecting to study the domains in which performance was strongest could result in lower performance on those domains when retesting.

See 2020 Certification Committee Standard-Setting Overview Report.

ATCBE STATISTICS

The table below summarizes the total number of candidates examined and the total number of ATR-BC candidates and pass rates annually for the last four years. The total number of examinees includes candidates who took the exam for the purpose of state licensure.

For additional information about the Art Therapy Credentials Board Examination, please contact the ATCB National Office at exams@atcb.org