1936 -- Interstate Council of State Boards of Cosmetology

State board members from 14 states met in Pittsburgh to discuss state board problems. This council was dedicated to the elevation of standards in education, public administration, and professional service to the public.

1956 -- National-Interstate Council of State Boards of Cosmetology, Inc.

The Interstate Council of State Boards of Cosmetology merged with the National Council of Boards of Beauty Culture.

1969 -- National Testing Program

NIC sponsored this beginning of the national Testing Program for cosmetology licensure.

1974 -- Teachers and Manicurists

The National Testing Program was expanded to include teacher and manicurist tests for licensure.

1986 -- Managers, Electrologists, and Estheticians

The National Testing Program was expanded to include the shop manager, electrologist, and esthetician tests.

1990 -- Barbers

The National Barbers Test was revised and became part of the NIC Testing Program.

1990 -- Practical Testing

A practical testing program was offered as an option for all state boards.

1995 -- Task Analysis

NIC adopted procedures for classical linear equating and scaling of examination forms, thereby improving the assessment process and compliance with testing industry guidelines concerning the scoring of credentialing tests.

1996 -- Examination Administration

NIC began offering examination administration services to member states who required or requested this type of support.

1997 -- Job Analysis Studies

NIC completed comprehensive national job analysis studies for all examination categories, a project that involved surveying thousands of practitioners in various occupations throughout the United States, many focus groups and sophisticated psychometric and statistical analysis.

1998 -- Examinations Updated

The content of all of the NIC examinations was updated as a result of the job analysis studies, and the new examination specification was implemented. NIC implemented new candidate information publications describing all of the practical examination content and implemented a policy of pretesting all new questions on operational forms, which ensures that all test questions are operating correctly before being used for scoring candidate performance.

1999 -- Item Response Theory

NIC adopted a more powerful method of equating and scaling examination scores based on item response theory (IRT). This policy improved NIC's ability to release scores for new test forms more quickly and also provided cutting edge methodologies for the new millennium.

1999 -- Computerized Testing

NIC implemented computerized testing, a service provided by LaserGrade, Inc., Vancouver, Wash.