NCE Human Growth and Development Practice Questions
Original NCE practice questions on human growth and development, with an explanation for every answer
200 questions in 3 hours 45 minutes, drawn to NBCC’s domain counts, with a score for human growth and development and an explanation for every answer.
Free human growth and development drillA 55-year-old woman caring for her mother with dementia and helping her adult children reports exhaustion and resentment. Which term describes her position?
Human Growth and Development on the NCE
Development questions ask you to match a client’s age and concerns to a stage or theory, and to choose an intervention that fits the client’s developmental level, which the outline lists as a counseling skill.
- On the exam
- Not counted separately; NBCC scores the NCE by six domains and aligns its questions with all eight CACREP areas
- Our drill
- 10 questions from 45 human growth and development questions, untimed, an explanation after every answer; one free attempt, unlimited with a pass
What human growth and development questions test
- Erikson’s eight psychosocial stages and the crisis of each
- Piaget’s cognitive stages, Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development, and Kohlberg’s and Gilligan’s moral development
- Attachment: Bowlby, Ainsworth’s Strange Situation and the four attachment styles
- Adult development, aging, retirement and grief models (Kübler-Ross, Worden’s tasks, dual process)
- Trauma, resilience, adverse childhood experiences and developmental milestones
Sit the full exam under the real clock
200 questions in 3 hours 45 minutes, drawn to NBCC’s domain counts, with a score for human growth and development and an explanation for every answer.
Free human growth and development drillHow to study it
- Build a table of Erikson’s stages with the ages and the crisis of each.
- Remember which theorists describe stages and which describe processes.
- Take the human growth and development drill until you score 80% or better.
Common questions
How many human growth and development questions are on the NCE?
NBCC publishes question counts by its six domains, not by CACREP area. The outline says the NCE’s questions are aligned with all eight CACREP core areas, so expect this area across several domains.
Are development questions only about children?
No. The outline’s clinical areas include aging and geriatric concerns, retirement, end-of-life issues and caregiving as well as child development.
200 questions in 3 hours 45 minutes, drawn to NBCC’s domain counts, with a score for human growth and development and an explanation for every answer.
Free human growth and development drillMore NCE and NCMHCE practice
- NCMHCE
- Professional Counseling Orientation and Ethical Practice
- Social and Cultural Diversity
- Career Development
- Counseling and Helping Relationships
- Group Counseling and Group Work
- Assessment and Testing
- Research and Program Evaluation
- NCE practice exam (200 questions, 3 h 45 min)
- NCMHCE practice exam (11 case studies, 225 min)
Sources
- NBCC: National Counselor Examination (NCE) page
- NBCC: NCE Content Outline (domains, scored items, 200 questions in 3 hours 45 minutes)
- NBCC: NCE State Licensure Candidate Handbook (revised September 24, 2024): session timing, scoring, retakes
- NBCC: NCE Examination Specifications effective July 1, 2027
- NBCC: National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE) page
- NBCC: NCMHCE Content Outline (revised October 8, 2025): case-study format and scoring
- NBCC: NCMHCE State Licensure Candidate Handbook (revised November 20, 2025)
- NBCC: NCMHCE format comparison chart (case-study format for licensure candidates from November 2022)
- NBCC: NCMHCE Examination Specifications effective July 1, 2027
- NBCC: National Certified Counselor (NCC) application fees
Original practice questions for exam preparation, written to NBCC’s NCE and NCMHCE content outlines in force, not NBCC exam questions. Independent practice, not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), the Center for Credentialing & Education or Pearson VUE. NCE and NCMHCE are marks of NBCC.