NBEO August Newsletter
Published on August 26, 2026
On Aug. 7. NBEO celebrated its 75th anniversary at a hotel in Charlotte to celebrate the organization’s commitment to the patients we all serve.
“What makes this anniversary meaningful isn’t just the number, it’s the consistency of purpose behind it,” NBEO executive director, Jill Bryant, OD, MPH, FAAO told the audience of over 100. “Every exam we develop, every decision we make, every standard we uphold, ultimately connects back to a patient. That responsibility is what has guided this organization for 75 years and it will continue to guide it into the future.”
NBEO board president James Campbell, OD, affirmed: “If the past 75 years have shown us anything, it’s that NBEO can adapt, can grow and meet the moment.”
See some photos and a video from our event:
Other Weekend Highlights
Earlier in the day the NBEO, ASCO and ARBO boards met to discuss shared goals and how we can work together to help each organization advance their respective missions.
On Thursday Aug. 6, NBEO staff, board members and ASCO met to discuss our examination development processes, scoring methods and policies.
On Saturday Aug. 8, as part of our State Board Day, Robert Buckingham, OD, PhD, toured the NCCTO facility with NBEO staff and board members.
Portals
NBEO has recently released both a state board portal as well as a school portal for score reports. We have seen fraudulent score reports in circulation. To ensure you receive the most accurate and up-to-date information, please access your scores and related records directly through the official portal. Using the portal helps protect the integrity of your information and ensures you are relying on legitimate results.
Part III PEPS Examinations Are Underway
Testing for Part III Patient Encounters and Performance Skills (PEPS) examination targeting the class of 2027, is now underway and will continue through May 2027 at the National Center of Clinical Testing in Optometry in Charlotte.
NBEO will notify candidates via email once the scores are posted. For more information regarding the score release process, please click here.
Mythbusters!
Myth: NBEO deliberately makes exams harder so more candidates will fail.
Fact: NBEO does not adjust exam difficulty to control how many candidates pass or fail. Each exam is designed to measure candidates against the same established standard of competency. Candidates who meet the established standard are successful. NBEO uses a rigorous exam development process to ensure that standards are maintained, candidates are treated fairly and the public is protected. In addition to the stringent in house review, NBEO uses a team of external testing experts who provide validation to our process.
Why are there different versions of the exam?
NBEO creates multiple versions, or forms, of each exam to maintain the integrity of the testing process. This is a best practice in the field of testing. Each exam version is built to match the same content specifications. Practicing optometrists serve as experts to ensure exam questions accurately reflect the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for optometrists to practice safely and effectively.
How do you ensure scores accurately reflect a candidate’s performance?
A candidate’s pass-or-fail result should not depend on which version of an exam they take. A family of statistical methods, known as equating, is used for identifying and adjusting difficulty differences between test versions. This process ensures fairness and consistency in scoring, regardless of which form of the exam a candidate takes. This, too, is a best practice in testing.
What are scaled scores, and how are they calculated?
A scaled score is a candidate’s test result converted from the number of questions answered correctly to a standard reporting range. Scaling allows results from different versions of an exam to be reported and interpreted in the same way.
For example, scaled scores are utilized on Part I ABS and Part II PAM/TMOD.
These videos present an in-depth look at the exam process: https://optometry.org/exams/scoring-reporting/
Important Dates
Part I Registration opens Oct. 6 2026 for the March 2027 administration. The registration deadline is March 1, 2027 and the ADA request deadline is Jan. 14, 2027.
Part II Registration deadline for the December 2026 administration is Nov. 17, 2026. The ADA request deadline is Oct. 2, 2026.
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