What You Must Know About the RPR Test

What is the RPR Test?

A Registered Professional Reporter (RPR) is a certification granted to individuals interested in becoming Court Reporters. In order to advance through the field of Court Reporting, the candidate will be required to receive certification from the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA).

The NCRA is the institution responsible for both the oversight and regulation of the protocol of accreditation with regard to certifications awarded to Registered Court Reporters.

A Registered Professional Reporter (RPR) is the most common type of legal transcription certification which, akin to the bulk of degrees awarded by court reporting schools, requires the accurate and expedited transcription of speech through the mastery of shorthand, stenography, and typing skills.

The RPR Test and RPR Certification

The satisfaction of the following requirements is necessary in order to receive certification as a Registered Professional Reporter:

RPR Test for the Performance in Written Knowledge

The RPR Test for the Performance in Written Knowledge is an examination used to gauge the skill of an individual stenographer student evaluating knowledge possessed with regard to the issues, operations, processes, procedures, and ideology within the legal or medical field. The individual candidate will be subject to the evaluation of background knowledge and professional acumen.

The RPR Test for the Performance in Written Knowledge ranges from 100 to 110 questions, which the candidate will be required to complete within 90 minutes. A score of 70% or higher is necessary in order to receive a passing grade on the RPR Test for the Performance in Written Knowledge.

RPR Test for the Performance in Typing

The ability to produce an expressed amount of words within a finite period of time is required. The classification of which is also known as ‘words per minute’, or ‘wpm’. These requirements vary with regard to the nature of the testimony.

The RPR Test for the Performance in Typing will require the individual to complete 3 sections. The prospective Registered Professional Reporter is given 5 minutes to complete each of the requirements of the following 3 sections:

1) Literary Legal Transcription (180 wpm)

2) Jury Transcription (200 wpm)

3) Examination-based Testimony (225 wpm).

RPR Test for Stenography

A Stenotype is the primary piece of equipment utilized within legal transcription and court reporting. Although the Stenotype resembles a typewriter transcription, unlike a traditional typewriter, a stenograph machine contains only 25 keys and does not operate on a traditional keyboard format such as ‘QWERTY’. The ‘QWERTY’ system allots an individual key that corresponds with an individual letter.

Unlike traditional keyboards, located in conjunction with computers and typewriters, stenotypes allow a court reporter to transcribe common phrases and articles rather than individual letters and characters.

Typical legal transcription can involve events that range from 100 to 300 words recited per minute. Court reporting schools ensure that individuals certified retain the ability to accurately transcribe the speech of an event as the speech is expressed.

NEXT: 4 Things You Must Know in order to Become a Stenographer