| Professional Scopist Criteria per NCRA Scopist Certification Task Force 1996 |
| The information below is based upon information that the Scopist Membership Task Force of the NCRA compiled in February of 1996. |
| When I began teaching scoping, I started because I wanted to help other scopists become successful with half the struggles that I experienced as a new scopist. I truly do not want any other new scopist to experience any of those struggles. It's not fair to the student or the court reporters that they are working for. Even though I don't know whether the Scopist Membership Task Force of the NCRA exists anymore or not, it presented the only other basis of accountability within this field. My background has been in curriculum development and in the education field. When the SMA curriculum was developed, it was developed on the premise of what I did not receive in my initial training, and it simply continued to expand and grow. Anytime students continued to hit the same issues, that simply showed me what additional material needed to be put together. Curriculum is created upon the skills that need to be acquired and mastered, areas in which students find difficulties, and will be adjusted based on the success rate of the students. That, in the end, is what teaching is all about. Teaching is having the ability to measure skill in a quantitative format along with being available to meet students' needs as they arise. SMA is the only scoping training program that tests scopists with audio files. Even though other training programs "claim" to do that, the skills demonstrated by graduates of those programs show that that listening skill and contextual reading were not taught or tested. Two sources have confirmed this information: The Joyful Leads' testing process and the SIP. |
| The Certified Professional Scopist (CPS) is one who possesses the knowledge, skill, and ability to be instructive in the production of a verbatim record of proceedings. A verbatim record is one which accurately reflects the spoken word and nonverbal communication and action. (NCRA is not offering this examination at this time.) The Certified Scopist Job Domains Percentage of weight given to each rubric) 10.00 50% Transcript Production 10.01 2% Client Information 10.02 43% Transcript Editing 10.03 5% Research 20.00 30% Technology 20.01 5% Equipment (Office/CAT) 20.02 17% CAT Proficiency 20.03 5% File Transfer 20.04 3% Troubleshooting 30.00 15% Business Practices 30.01 2% Time Management 30.02 5% Marketing 30.03 3% Recordkeeping 30.04 5% Communication Skills 40.00 5% Professional Issues and Continuing Education 40.01 4% Professional Responsibilities 40.02 1% Continuing Education |
| The Breakdown of the Outline 10.00 Transcript Production 10.01 Client Information Compile, maintain, and update information and files pertaining to each court reporter client. Knowledge of: K-1 Individual user setup, preferences, formats, parentheticals, and include files K-2 Personal reporter information, samples 10.02 Transcript Editing Uses computerized equipment to convert untranslated machine shorthand into English and edit English text to a near-final draft to be proofread. Knowledge of: K-1 English, including grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, spelling, and vocabulary K-2 Medical, legal, and technical terminology K-3 General knowledge of the fundamentals of one or more stenotype theories K-4 Word-by-word read-through implementing appropriate globaling of untranslates, mistranslates; flagging problem areas K-5 Transcript formats, including reporter's preference Skills (ability to): S-1 Correct translation of steno notes into English S-2 Make appropriate globaling/dictionary entries S-3 Read for continuity, sense, and detail of the proceeding S-4 Recognize and flag suspect portions of transcript S-5 Use correct grammar, word usage, spelling, and punctuation 10.03 Research Verifies elements of transcript to ensure accuracy. Knowledge of: K-1 Content and location of reference material, such as exhibits, dictionaries, directories, atlases, newspapers, magazines, books, and case reports in law libraries K-2 Library reference services and index systems K-3 Organizations and associations representing various occupations, trades, and professions K-4 Use and custom of word lists and exhibits 20.00 Technology 20.01 Equipment (Office/CAT) Scopist uses computer technology to edit rough transcript for court reporter. Knowledge of: K-1 Keyboarding K-2 Computer hardware K-3 Computer software K-4 Archiving methods K-5 Virus protection Skills (ability to): S-1 Use transcript production software (CAT) S-2 Use general office equipment S-3 Create a useable backup S-4 Type on computer keyboard at 45 wpm 20.02 CAT Proficiency Uses scopist CAT (computer-aided transcription) software to produce a near final transcript for court reporter. Knowledge of: K-1 Equipment requirements for selected software K-2 Editing functions and commands K-3 Differences in global commands and how they affect reporter's text and dictionaries K-4 Compatibility of CAT systems Skills (ability to): S-1 Use and apply CAT manual instructions, installations, and updates S-2 Set up clearly defined client directories 20.03 File Transfer (manual/electronic) To scope a new job, the scopist exchanges files with the court reporter in whatever method of file transfer is most convenient for both parties. Knowledge of: K-1 Electronic file transfer via email K-2 Electronic file transfer via direct modem K-3 How to verify successful transfer K-4 Regular mail methods K-5 Express mail methods K-6 Transfer of data via diskette Skill (ability to): S-1 Communicate to reporters the necessary steps to exchange files 20.04 Troubleshooting The scopist identifies problems, determines whether they are hardware or software related, and recommends potential solutions for the scopist and court reporter. Knowledge of: K-1 Troubleshooting resources K-2 Hardware K-3 Software Skill (ability to): S-1 Communicate the nature of the problem S-2 Elicit the nature of the problem 30.00 Business Practices 30.01 Time Management The scopist prioritizes work in order to meet deadlines. Knowledge of: K-1 Deadlines K-2 Job size 30.02 Marketing The scopist must market his or her services to create a sustained work flow. Knowledge of: K-1 Marketing techniques for business start-up K-2 Marketing techniques for maintaining business K-3 Methods of establishing rates and terms 30.03 Record Keeping The scopist keeps business records of work in progress, billing and tax information to ensure timely delivery of transcript, receipt of payment, and compliance with governmental tax codes. Knowledge of: K-1 Recordkeeping methods 30.04 Communication Skills The scopist speaks and writes accurately and effectively in professional communications. Knowledge of: K-1 Basic grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, and spelling Skills (ability to): S-1 Proofread 40.00 Professional Issues and Continuing Education 40.01 Professional Responsibilities Conducts oneself professionally to serve the best interests of the reporter client and provides the highest standard of practice by keeping abreast of customs, procedures and developments in the reporting profession by reading professional journals, supporting professional reporting associations. Knowledge of: K-1 The confidentiality requirements of the reported proceedings and associated documents K-2 Laws, rules, policies, custom and practices relative to professional conduct and ethics K-3 Scopist Code of Ethics K-4 One's own professional strengths and weaknesses K-5 The responsibilities of the scopist to the reporter, including punctuality, timely delivery of transcripts, courtesy, dependability, impartiality and timely response to oral and written communications K-6 Court Reporting terms of art 40.02 Continuing Education Develops editing knowledge and skill by participating in continuing education programs and by keeping abreast of new techniques that affect the profession. Knowledge of: K-1 Continuing education programs K-2 Technical developments in the reporting/scoping field, such as computer transcription and computer technology K-3 One's own professional strengths and weaknesses |
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