National Board Exam Passage Rates

The National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO) administers national board exams; passage of these exams is a requirement for practicing optometry in the U.S. Optometry students take these exams during the third and fourth years of their program.

We know that taking board exams is a stressful and costly experience. That's why we work hard to prepare students to pass each part the first time they take it. For example, our newly renovated pre-clinic area features two exam lanes that are equipped with the identical instrumentation used in the NBEO National Center of Clinical Testing in Optometry for Part III.

We'll let our students' first-time pass rate record (below) speak for itself.

You can view a complete list of Pass Rates for all schools on ASCO's website.

NBEO Part I – Applied Basic Science March
Class of	Ohio State First-Time Pass Rate	National First-Time Pass Rate	The Buckeye Advantage
2025	93%*	69%*	+24%*
2024	94%	66%	+28%
2023	92%	63%	+29%
2022	93%	73%	+20%

NBEO Part II – Patient Assessment and Management (PAM) December
Class of	Ohio State First-Time Pass Rate	National First-Time Pass Rate	The Buckeye Advantage
2024	100%	85%	+15%
2023	97%	83%	+14%
2022	97%	86%	+11%
2021	97%	90%	+7%

NBEO Part III – Clinical Skills Examination (CSE)
Class of	Ohio State First-Time Pass Rate	National First-Time Pass Rate	The Buckeye Advantage
2023	85%	74%	+11%
2022	90%	80%	+10%
2021	91%	80%	+11%
2020	95%	85%	+5%

Ultimate Pass Rate for All Three Parts
Class of	Ohio State Pass Rate	National Pass Rate	The Buckeye Advantage
2023	98%	84%	+14%
2022	96%	88%	+8%
2021	97%	92%	+5%
2020	97%	92%	+5%

Per accreditation guidelines, below are the first-time pass rates by test administration year regardless of graduation year or enrollment status.

Number of First-Time Takes (Pass Rate)
Year	Part I Applied Basic Science (March and August Administrations)	Part II Patient Assessment and Management (December and April Administrations)	Part III Clinical Skills Examination July - June Administrations	Ultimate Pass Rate Graduation Year (Oct. 1 - Sept. 30)
2022-2023	66 (95%)	61 (97%)	61 (85%)	61 (98%)
2021-2022	62 (90%)	68 (97%)	68 (90%)	65 (96%)
2020-2021	68 (94%)	66 (98%)	66 (89%)	64 (97%)
2019-2020	66 (89%)	64 (97%)	64 (95%)	61 (97%)

Academics