DCA Practice Test

This page is for anyone enrolled in, or planning to take, The Diamond Course from the Diamond Council of America. It explains the final exam format (75 multiple-choice questions, a 75% minimum grade, untimed, online only) and the retake rules. It also has free practice sets on grading, treatments, sourcing and sales, worked explanations, and a study plan to follow alongside the course.

DCA Exam at a Glance

What the DCA is and how it works

According to Diamond Council of America, “The final exam consists of 75 multiple-choice questions that cover the entirety of the course.”^[1]

The Diamond Council of America (DCA) runs The Diamond Course, the study course behind the DCA Diamond Specialist credential for people who work with diamonds in the jewelry trade. DCA states that all courses are administered online only, so there is no test center to book.

The course ends with a final exam of 75 multiple-choice questions covering the whole course. The minimum grade target is 75%. The quizzes inside the course can be retaken as many times as you need to reach the passing grade. The final exam can be attempted twice. If you do not pass on the second attempt, you have to re-enroll, and a $75 re-enrollment fee applies.

Neither the quizzes nor the final exam is timed, so you can work at your own pace. The limit that matters is the course window: each student gets 1 year to complete an individual course.

DCA does not publish a detailed outline of content areas or their weighting. Enrollment prices, eligibility and course materials can also change. Check the student FAQ at dcalearning.org before you enroll or start the final. We wrote the practice sets on this page with AI tools. They are not real exam questions. Use them to find weak topics before you spend your final exam attempts.

Worked examples: how to reason through DCA questions

These are practice questions written for this site, not questions from the real exam. Each explanation shows why the right answer is right and why the others are wrong.

Example 1

Question: The term 'conflict diamond' as defined by the Kimberley Process refers specifically to diamonds used to fund:

1. Corrupt government officials in producing countries
2. Rebel movements seeking to undermine legitimate governments
3. Illegal mining operations regardless of political context
4. Any diamond trade that violates labor laws

Answer: B. Rebel movements seeking to undermine legitimate governments

Explanation:

The correct answer is B. Under the Kimberley Process (KP), a conflict diamond is a rough diamond that rebel movements use to pay for wars against legitimate governments. The definition is deliberately narrow.

A is wrong because corruption among government officials is serious but falls outside the KP definition. C is wrong because an illegal mine does not automatically produce conflict diamonds. What counts is who the money funds, not whether the mine is licensed. D is wrong because labor-law violations are a human-rights problem, but the KP definition does not cover them.

Rule to remember: the KP definition is about rebels funding wars against legitimate governments. Wider issues such as labor abuse or corruption are why many sellers look beyond the KP when they talk about responsible sourcing.

Example 2

Question: Which diamond treatment is specifically used to remove or reduce the visibility of dark inclusions?

1. Fracture filling
2. Laser drilling
3. HPHT treatment
4. Surface coating

Answer: B. Laser drilling

Explanation:

The correct answer is B. Laser drilling burns a tiny channel from the surface of the stone to a dark inclusion. The inclusion is then vaporized or bleached, often with acid sent down the channel, so the dark spot is harder to see.

A is wrong because fracture filling treats fractures that reach the surface. It fills them with a glass-like material so they show less, and it does not remove dark crystals. C is wrong because HPHT treatment is mainly used to change or improve body color, not to remove inclusions. D is wrong because a surface coating changes the stone's apparent color from the outside and does nothing to inclusions inside it.

Rule to remember: drilling treats dark inclusions, filling treats fractures, and HPHT and coatings change color. Every one of these treatments must be disclosed to the customer.

Example 3

Question: How should Certified Diamond Council of America Diamond Specialist professionals approach quality improvement?

1. Through systematic evaluation of outcomes and implementation of evidence-based changes
2. By waiting for client complaints
3. By copying what competitors do
4. Quality improvement is the responsibility of management only

Answer: A. Through systematic evaluation of outcomes and implementation of evidence-based changes

Explanation:

A is correct. In a diamond or jewelry business, quality improvement means looking at real outcomes, such as returns, repair problems, grading disputes and customer feedback. You find the cause, make changes based on that evidence, and then check whether the changes worked.

B is wrong because waiting for complaints is reactive. By the time a complaint arrives, the problem has already cost customer trust. C is wrong because a competitor's practices may not fit your clients, products or standards, and copying them skips the evaluation step. D is wrong because everyone who handles customers and merchandise affects quality, so it cannot be left to management alone.

Rule to remember: on professional-practice questions, choose the answer that is systematic, based on evidence and shared by the whole team. Be wary of answers that are passive, copied from others or that push responsibility onto someone else.

How to use these practice tests

Use the official course as your main source and these practice sets as a check on what you have learned.

• Work through the course in order. Take each course quiz after its lesson. Quizzes can be retaken as many times as needed, so use them to find gaps rather than to chase a score.
• Pair each lesson with a practice set. After the grading lessons, try DCA Diamond Grading & Classification. After treatments, try DCA Diamond Treatments & Enhancements. After sourcing, try DCA Ethical Sourcing & Chain of Custody. After the selling lessons, try DCA Customer Service & Sales Ethics.
• Read every explanation, including for questions you got right, and write the rule down in your own words. If our explanation and the course material disagree, follow the course.
• Mix topics before the final. The final exam covers the whole course, so also try sets outside your strongest areas, such as DCA Gemstone Identification & Properties, DCA Laboratory Testing & Equipment and DCA Market Trends & Pricing.
• Start the final when your mixed results stay above the 75% target. The exam is untimed, so read every option before you answer. You can attempt it twice, and you must finish within the 1 year you are given for the course, so plan your pace to fit both limits.

Sources & last verified

1. Diamond Council of America — number of questions, time limit, passing score, retake fee (official source). “The final exam consists of 75 multiple-choice questions that cover the entirety of the course.” Verified Oct 24, 2026.

How we verify: editorial & fact-checking policy. Report an error: contact us.