I think it's fine, because I doubt that someone could pass the CLD if they couldn't pass the CLAD. Though, you can pass the CLD without any knowledge of DAQmx drivers, which I'm not sure is true for the latest version of the CLAD. It may lead to a higher percentage of failures on the CLD exam, because they have taken out one of the certification hoops.
It would be nice if NI lets anyone with an active CLAD certification put the cost of the test (~$100) toward the cost of the CLD test (~$300) since I'm sure some people only take it to become eligible for the CLD.
