During the 2024 American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS) Part I Examination, many Examinees had their examination end prematurely or lost time on the last two sections. The ABOS is sincerely sorry for the stress that this situation has caused our Examinees. We are committed to making this right and will continue to communicate clearly to all Examinees. This website will be updated regularly with information about both the issues that occurred and the ABOS response to the situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
The ABOS Part I Examination is a 9-hour examination in total. The examination itself consists of 8 hours of testing plus an additional hour of tutorial time and break time. Many Examinees were only given 8 hours total to complete the examination. Some did not complete the examination, and some were rushed to complete it.
The ABOS works with three organizations to produce Computer-Based Examinations: the American Board of Medical Specialties (edits and analyzes the examination), Internet Testing Systems (prepares the examination for electronic distribution to examination centers), and Pearson VUE (the testing centers that administer the examination).
At some point during that process, the total 9-hour length of the examination (8 hours of examination time and one hour of tutorial and break time used at the Examinee’s discretion) was entered into the system as a total of 8 hours (examination and break). This resulted in the examination ending prematurely for many Examinees.
Once we received the initial calls concerning this issue, we immediately contacted our partners to determine what was happening, why it was happening, and what could be done. We asked all Examinees to stay at their testing centers to await further information. After consulting with our partners and determining that it would not be possible for the Examinees to be able to complete the examination, we asked those Examinees waiting to go home. For some Examinees, especially those on the west coast, we were able to get the issue resolved and they were able to complete the full examination.
No Examinee will need to take any part of the examination again this year.
From the statistical analysis, an initial standard, with a statistically acceptable range of passing points, was set to score the first five Question Blocks. Scoring of the examination was done based on performance in the first five blocks, which everyone completed under standard conditions. Examinees who met the initial standard passed the examination. The psychometricians calibrated Block 6 based on the benchmark scale that was based on the first 5 Blocks. Block 7 was not scored for any Examinee.
The ABOS then reviewed Examinees who had not met the standard after the first five blocks. Those Examinees whose scores met the initial standard after Block 6 were identified. This small group consisted of Examinees who had full time and less than full time in this block. Since scoring decisions can only be based on the one standard set for the first five blocks, the final standard was adjusted to include the scores for the first five blocks of these individuals. All Examinees whose scores on the first five blocks met this final passing point were marked as passing.
The ABOS has confirmed with our partners that upcoming computer-based examinations are correctly set for the appropriate length.
The ABOS will continue to email Examinees. Individuals who participated in the 2024 ABOS Part I Examination should log in to their ABOS Dashboard to make sure their email address is correct. They can also add a second email address if desired.
The ABOS anticipates that it will provide the results on September 6 as previously announced. If the ABOS is not able to meet that deadline, the ABOS will email Examinees. The results will be posted to Examinees’ Dashboards and an email will be sent once they are posted.
After the examinations are administered, psychometricians summarize the statistical performance of each examination question. A Key Validation Subcommittee reviews the data and poorly performing questions are deleted before scoring. The remaining questions are reviewed in a Standard Setting Exercise. A group of Board Certified, practicing orthopaedic surgeons volunteer to take the examination, review the statistics of each question, and determine the difficulty of each item (Angoff method). The psychometricians then analyze the degree of difficulty of each question and the overall examination itself to ensure that the examination is valid, reliable, and produces scoring that is scalable from one year to the next. With this information, the ABOS Written Examination Committee meets for a Standard Setting Call to determine the passing standard. Examinees whose score meets or exceeds the standard will pass the examination. Thus, the examination is developed so that a Candidate or Diplomate would have the same statistical likelihood of passing or failing no matter the year the examination is taken. The ABOS does not set an over-all pass rate, only a standard that can be scaled across numerous years.
Those who do not meet the passing standard will not be assigned a failing result. They will be able to take the Examination again at no cost.
The ABOS regularly emails 2024 ABOS Part I Examinees. They should make sure that their email address is correct on their ABOS Dashboard. They can also add an alternate email address. Others should check this page regularly for updates.
The overall pass rate will be 94.5% (804/851) for all Examinees and 97.3% (753/774) for US/Canadian medical school graduates taking the examination for the first time under standard conditions. These numbers are similar to pass rates that have been recorded for this examination over the past five years
© 2024 American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
