Myth: NBEO could release scores earlier, but chooses to delay them.

Fact: Scores aren’t delayed. They’re verified. While it’s true that raw score data becomes available quickly after testing, a passing score isn’t simply a number. Exam forms change frequently and multiple forms are offered at each administration, scores must be carefully analyzed to ensure candidate fairness and consistent standards before a final score determination can be made. That process takes time, and for good reason.

High Stakes Demand Candidate Fairness and Consistent Standards

These exams are the culmination of years of candidate study and the final check to ensure promising optometrists have the minimum skills necessary to safely care for patients. High stakes exams must be treated with the utmost respect. Therefore, after testing closes, the NBEO psychometrician alongside external psychometricians, the exam directors and a panel of practicing optometrists, who serve as subject-matter experts, review the results. Any exam items that performed unexpectedly or received candidate critiques are reviewed by NBEO staff and then if appropriate escalated to the post-administration council to determine whether those items should be removed from scoring. Simultaneously, an independent data forensic team reviews results for any irregularities that could compromise exam integrity. All of these steps are an important and time consuming process to ensure candidate fairness.

Only once all of that is complete can a fair, defensible pass/fail determination be made.

This process is consistent across high-stakes licensure exams and is vital to ensure patient safety. For a more in-depth look at how NBEO scores exams and ensures fairness, visit our website.