How ABIM Releases Exam Results
Each year, more than 30,000 internists and internal medicine subspecialists earn a new certificate from ABIM. As we enter the fall season, we understand many physicians are anxiously waiting to learn how they did on their exam, and in this post, we share some information about how the exam scoring process works.
When does ABIM release exam results?
Exam results are shared via a score report and are typically released in the Physician Portal within 2-3 months of the last date the exam was offered in a given administration period. We know how important these results are to you, and do everything possible to release them as quickly as we can. Because of the resource-intensive and rigorous scoring process (described below), ABIM does not post specific dates of when score reports will be published, as they can vary from year to year, and we don’t want to disappoint anyone if they are delayed from what was originally expected. Learn more about ABIM’s score reports.
How will I know when my score report is available?
ABIM will email you to let you know your score report is available. It will include instructions on how to access it via the “My Assessments” section of your personalized Physician Portal. ABIM cannot share exam results over the phone or email. The only place to find them is in your secure Physician Portal. (Also remember to check your junk/spam folder in case the notification email went there.)
Can I get my exam results sooner by calling or emailing ABIM?
No, but there’s good reason for that. Your exam performance is considered confidential, and that’s why we don’t tell anyone – you, your colleagues or your employer – your results over the phone or in an email. Your secure ABIM Physician Portal is the only place to look for your official score report.
Why doesn’t everyone get their score report at the same time?
ABIM aims to process score reports and send notifications as quickly as possible. It takes time for our servers to create and send the score reports, and each one is sent as soon as it is ready. Depending on how many score reports are being generated on a specific day, they may go out over several hours, so it’s possible you may receive yours before or after your colleagues. The order in which they are sent is completely random and has no correlation to exam performance.
How does ABIM determine if someone passed?
ABIM does not set pass rates – it sets a passing score. Theoretically, 100% of takers could pass a given exam.
This process by which the passing score is set is known as standard setting and utilizes the Angoff method. Standard setting procedures provide a systematic and thorough method for eliciting a passing score from a diverse set of content experts. These content experts are selected from the ABIM diplomate population to participate in standard setting meetings and collaborate with nationally-recognized experts in their content area who serve on an ABIM Approval Committee to determine the passing score for their discipline. Learn more.
Do you still have questions?
That’s what we’re here for. There’s a lot of great information in your personalized ABIM Physician Portal, but if you have additional questions please call us at 1.800.441.ABIM or email request@abim.org. Please note that call and email volume can be higher than usual during score report release days, and we will do the best we can to respond to you as quickly as possible.
