National Court Reporters Association

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The National Court Reporters Association, or NCRA, is an organization committed to advancing the profession of the court reporter, closed captioner, and real-time writer. The association holds annual conventions, seminars and forums, speed and real-time contests, and teachers' workshops every year to assist court reporters.

Reporters can join the NCRA for a fee that varies depending on whether you are a student, teacher, or reporter. Membership allows a reporter to take the certifications, get discounts on conventions, attend conferences, and have access to a vast network of other professionals in the field.

[edit] History

The NCRA was originally established in 1899 in Chicago, Illinois, as the National Shorthand Reporters Association (NSRA). They looked to form a system of standardization of ethical codes, transcript rates, and information for all shorthand reporters. They published "The Shorthand Writer" and started the National Speed Contest, which is still held today.^[1]
The NCRA also developed the first standardized test for court reporters to gauge their proficiency. Originally called the Certificate of Proficiency, CR, it was replaced by the RPR, or Registered Professional Reporter.

[edit] Standardized Tests

The NCRA offers three main certifications:

RPR, Registered Professional Reporter
RMR, Registered Merit Reporter
RDR, Registered Diplomate Reporter

They have also established seven other certification programs:

CRR, Certified Realtime Reporter
CBC, Certified Broadcast Captioner
CCP, Certified CART Provider
CLVS, Certified Legal Video Specialist
CRI, Certified Reporting Instructor
MCRI, Master Certified Reporting Instructor
CMRS, Certified Manager of Reporting Services
CPE, Certified Program Evaluator

The written knowledge portion of the exams are offered four times a year at Pearson VUE Professional Centers, and the skills portion of the exams are offered twice a year at NCRA-sponsored testing sites.

[edit] Steno Contests

Steno contests are held annually at the NCRA Annual Convention and Exhibition in two different categories: Speed and Realtime. Each category has its own standards of proficiency. Most recently, Mark Tod Kislingbury of Houston, Texas, won the 2010 speed contest with an accuracy of 99.228% topping a field of 36 competitors. Deanna Boenau of Sarasota, Florida, won the 2010 realtime contest with an accuracy of 98.667% topping a field of 40 competitors.^[1]

[edit] Certified Schools

Although the NCRA is not an accrediting agency, they have established general requirements and minimum standards expected of a court reporting school. The following schools have met those requirements as of 2010:^[2]

Alabama