After conducting a national job task analysis, NCSORB engaged many respected Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), including opticians, contact lens fitters, optometrists, and ophthalmologists, in the examination development process to ensure the validity and reliability of the examination. These SMEs provided feedback to link the common knowledge and skill performed by opticians to content domains; vetted and pilot-tested the examinations; established scoring protocols to measure entry level optician knowledge and skills; and developed candidate examination support materials such as a tutorial and checklists as well as score reports to give candidates feedback on their examination results.
The examinations are criterion-referenced which means that each candidate passes or fails based on their performance. Individual examination results are judged against an objective standard and not on the performance of others on the same examination(s).
The established passing score for the examination(s) is the minimum number of questions that must be answered correctly. Scoring is statistically adjusted to ensure that all those who pass meet the same standards of competence, regardless of which form of the examination they took.