Nov 8, 20193 minAsk a Psychometrician: How Do Diplomates Perform on Quarterly Questions?A key benefit of participating in the Quarterly Questions program is receiving instant feedback about your performance. Question by question, we show you how...
Aug 29, 20193 minAsk a Test Scientist: Why Do We Need Two Kinds of Quarterly Questions?On July 1, the American Board of Ophthalmology released the article-based questions for the 2019 Quarterly Questions program. If you’re participating in the ...
Jul 31, 20194 minNew Timelines Introduced for Written, Oral ExaminationsA new examination timeline in place at the American Board of Ophthalmology provides graduating residents with the opportunity to achieve board certification w...
Jul 30, 20193 minSubject Matter Experts Meet in Minnesota to Assemble Future Board ExamsFrom July 25-26 in Minneapolis, MN, the American Board of Ophthalmology conducted its annual exam development meeting to support the creation of hundreds of ...
Jul 2, 20192 minAsk a Test Scientist: Why can't CME replace the assessment component of MOC?The Quarterly Questions program, which consists of 40 knowledge-based and 10 article-based questions annually, is the activity through which diplomates obtai...
Apr 23, 20191 minABO Psychometrician Publishes Article in CLEAR Exam ReviewIn the Spring 2019 edition of the CLEAR Exam Review, American Board of Ophthalmology Psychometrician Sarah D. Schnabel, PhD, discusses why assessment in medi...
Apr 3, 20193 minAsk a Test Scientist: What's the lifecycle of a Quarterly Question?To assemble a single year of the Quarterly Questions assessment program, it takes at least 530 test questions—enough to cover every subspecialty in ophthalmo...
Feb 27, 20193 minAsk a Test Scientist: Can Test Feedback Help Physicians Learn to Self-Assess More Accurately?Our ability to accurately self-assess is based on many factors, among them, our likelihood to employ cognitive biases. The most significant of those biases i...
Feb 5, 20192 minAsk a Test Scientist: Who Writes ABO Test Questions?Diplomates often wonder “who writes the questions we see on tests?” Board-certified ophthalmologists volunteer annually to develop questions (items) for the ...
Jan 2, 20193 minAsk a Test Scientist: What Do Examination Scores Mean?It is not uncommon to receive the results from an examination and see a score that in no way reflects the number of questions you answered correctly (think o...
Dec 6, 20184 minAsk a Test Scientist: How is the Quarterly Questions Program Scored?Quarterly Questions, the exam alternative program that will replace the DOCK beginning in 2019, uses a longitudinal assessment model where a pass/fail decisi...
Sep 11, 20182 minA Test Scientist Explains: What’s Going to Be on the Test?One of the main responsibilities of the American Board of Ophthalmology’s psychometric and examination development team is determining what questions will ap...
Jul 1, 20182 minThe Science of Testing: How Key Validation Ensures Fairness on ABO ExaminationsKey validation is a process whereby examination items (questions) are reviewed to ensure they are fair. After the administration of an examination, an item a...
Jun 1, 20182 minTwo Facts About ABO Standards That May (Pleasantly) Surprise YouIn early May, 18 board-certified ophthalmologists met with American Board of Ophthalmology Psychometrician Sarah D. Schnabel, Ph.D., to set standards for the...
Apr 29, 20181 minThe Science of Testing: Why AIG is No Substitute for SMEsArtificial intelligence (AI) is one of the hottest topics in technology today. (Just ask Siri or Alexa.) But what if we could ask these virtual assistants to...
Mar 26, 20182 minThe Science of Testing: Similarities and DIFsDo men and women answer test questions about ophthalmology differently? What about younger versus older ophthalmologists? In general, that’s unlikely. But th...
Feb 15, 20182 minThe Science of Testing: What if We Judged Olympic Skating Like an ABO Exam?Did you watch the Winter Olympics this year? With some sports, it’s easy to determine the winner: the first cross-country skier to cross the finish line, the...
Jan 17, 20181 minThe Science of Testing: Why Do We Write Four Options for Multiple-Choice Questions?The American Board of Ophthalmology writes multiple-choice examination questions (items) with four options: A, B, C, and D. One of those options is correct (...
Dec 11, 20172 minThe Science of Testing: How Does the ABO Create Reliable and Valid Examinations?Note from the CEO: The ABO written and oral examinations are created through the dedicated collaboration of hundreds of volunteers along with ABO Directors a...