ABO Exam - Why the Delay?

[donovanbaldwin]

Can anyone explain why it takes so long to get results from the ABO exam? Their literature says it can take seven weeks to get your results...and 10 more weeks to get a certificate! I took it Nov 15, and still no word.

I was an instructor and administrative supervisor for instructional facilities in the army and also an instructor for a major national corporation. I have trouble believing that, with the availibility of computer software and the ease of grading a scantron answer sheet, or equivalent, that there is only one gnome somewhere who must dot all the i's and cross all the t's before anyone gets their results.

Is the ABO that short-staffed or incompetent, or do they just don't care?

If it was any other situation and I was a customer, I would be likely to say that for $150 bucks, I expect better service.

[optiman37]

They take a while but the abo doesn't grade the test the suboutlet someone to grade the test. I believe they are called the professional examiners

[donovanbaldwin]

Still, not very professional if it takes them this long to do their job. I have dealt with educational systems as well when I was an accountant for the Florida State Department of Education, sometimes hiring them to do these sorts of services, and grading tests and giving out results should not take this long. These people seem to be professionally incompetent.

[Diane]

Still, not very professional if it takes them this long to do their job. I have dealt with educational systems as well when I was an accountant for the Florida State Department of Education, sometimes hiring them to do these sorts of services, and grading tests and giving out results should not take this long. These people seem to be professionally incompetent.

I have always found the people at ABO/NCLE (every one of them) to be very efficient, professional and competent. The exam is administered and graded by PES and it does take time. There are thousands who take the exam every time. Please don't be so harsh. I think you are being unprofessional in your harsh words, and would hope that you would withdraw your chastisement.

One day in the future you may need something that they COULD do for you and then why should they???

BTW, I hope that you did well on your exam. ;)

Diane

[donovanbaldwin]

I am not sure what is "unprofessional" about having a poor opinion of the performance of a group in relationship to a particular event. I know a lot of diligent, hard-working, honest people who work for the U.S. Government, but that is one of the most wasteful, dishonest, and untrustworthy organizations (I use the term loosely) on the face of the Earth.

[optical24/7]

My results (on the AC exam) came in last week. I'm sure yours will come in soon.

[Wes]

Its not a simple matter to do what pes does. They do not "just grade the test". The reason it takes so long is all of the answers and results are run through various algorithms to look for patterns of cheating. These exams are very expensive to produce and proctor and we all know there are incentives to cheat. Were an exam booklet make it into the public sector, all of the results could be suspect.

Pes keeps track of who is from where, who sat next to who during the exam, who took which exam, etc... This takes a LOT of time.

The advanced results come back much quicker because so few people take them. Abo/ncle gets the results about the same time you do from pes, sometimes after. Also, they keep the advanced and master certificates in house to be personally signed by the chairman and written in calligraphy.

The basic certificates are ordered from an outside printing agency. It takes a bit of time to type in all the info from the thousands of people who take the test and do it right.

If you want your certification to really mean something you should understand the process. Believe me, I thought it was outrageous as well, way back when. I investigated. This is what I found out.

On a side note, I hear much lamentation on the dismal pass rate (10 percent)of the ac exams. I'm thrilled. Not many even take em. It makes my ac certifications that much more prestigous.
Wes

[Diane]

Its not a simple matter to do what pes does. They do not "just grade the test". The reason it takes so long is all of the answers and results are run through various algorithms to look for patterns of cheating. These exams are very expensive to produce and proctor and we all know there are incentives to cheat. Were an exam booklet make it into the public sector, all of the results could be suspect.

Pes keeps track of who is from where, who sat next to who during the exam, who took which exam, etc... This takes a LOT of time.

The advanced results come back much quicker because so few people take them. Abo/ncle gets the results about the same time you do from pes, sometimes after. Also, they keep the advanced and master certificates in house to be personally signed by the chairman and written in calligraphy.

The basic certificates are ordered from an outside printing agency. It takes a bit of time to type in all the info from the thousands of people who take the test and do it right.

If you want your certification to really mean something you should understand the process. Believe me, I thought it was outrageous as well, way back when. I investigated. This is what I found out.

On a side note, I hear much lamentation on the dismal pass rate (10 percent)of the ac exams. I'm thrilled. Not many even take em. It makes my ac certifications that much more prestigous.
Wes

Thanks Wes.

Diane

[wmcdonald]

Can anyone explain why it takes so long to get results from the ABO exam? Their literature says it can take seven weeks to get your results...and 10 more weeks to get a certificate! I took it Nov 15, and still no word.

I was an instructor and administrative supervisor for instructional facilities in the army and also an instructor for a major national corporation. I have trouble believing that, with the availibility of computer software and the ease of grading a scantron answer sheet, or equivalent, that there is only one gnome somewhere who must dot all the i's and cross all the t's before anyone gets their results.

Is the ABO that short-staffed or incompetent, or do they just don't care?

If it was any other situation and I was a customer, I would be likely to say that for $150 bucks, I expect better service.

If you do not like the way the exam is administered, remember it is voluntary. This is a well-monitored evaluation process utilizing volunteers to do much of the work, and is the only game in town. That said, if the tone of your post was a bit less negative, it may have been received a bit better. You are not the first to question the length of time it takes, and it should be evaluated. Nursing, for example, provides results in a matter of minutes, due to a more advanced computerized system. It is something for the ABO/NCLE to consider. They have significant financial resources, and this would improve the process. I wish you well on the exam, and completely understand your frustration. I hope you hear something very soon.

[donovanbaldwin]

I did pass...just found out today. However, I still feel that a better system could be devised, bolstered by the fact that a young lady who took her test the same day has NOT found out her results as yet.

I have been affiliated with many large organizations, including the U.S. Army, the federal government, at least one state governement, and a few major corporations. I know in my deepest heart, which IS quite Grinchy (Bah Humbug and so on) that a better method exists in some parallel universe not yet discovered.

One of the major lessons of my 64 years on this earth is that Parkinson's law in its multifarious (sp?) forms is alive and well....i.e....

"Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion."

Change that to "time and resources", and you have the basic raison d'être for most governing bodies and bureaucracies. Throw in that thing about nature (and a bureaucrat or politician) abhoring a vacuum (except the one between their ears), and you have a perfect storm for the creation and continuation of any group which portends to hold sway over the fate of others within the society.

Even the worst of persons, including curmudgeonly self, can do good. That does not make it, or me, anything more than...as pointed out above...the only game around.

Have a great day! I always do.

Don

[Wes]

Welcome to the profession. Tell your friend she can also check the abo/ncle website under certification login to see if she passed.

Wes

[donovanbaldwin]

She has been checking but no dice as yet. Her name is later in the alphabet than mine. I hope that's all it is. She's a bright young woman with a great future ahead of her. I'm sorry I found out, now she's nervous about how she did.

P.S. Thanks for the welcome, but I did this for 7 years..retail, dispensing, lab, training, etc. Just never got my ticket punched before.

[gmc]

You are not the first to question the length of time it takes, and it should be evaluated. Nursing, for example, provides results in a matter of minutes, due to a more advanced computerized system. It is something for the ABO/NCLE to consider. They have significant financial resources, and this would improve the process. I wish you well on the exam, and completely understand your frustration. I hope you hear something very soon.

I think you have hit the nail on the head here. I took three securities license exams in the early 80's that are regulated by the SEC. They were given on a UNIX type computer system. You finished the test, it asked you if you wanted to score the exam or review it, you hit a few keystrokes and BAM, there was your score.

If and when opticianry is licensed consistently in every state, or even nationally, you'll probably see something like that. Until then, probably not.

[donovanbaldwin]

I know there is a better way. If ABO is not the culprit, then the people they contracted with need to get their act together. Wonder how much they are soaking the ABO for?

I scored 86, by the way. Came in the mail Friday.