LKA Enhancements in 2025: Question Time Limit Increased 25%; Immediate Feedback for All Questions
LKA Participants will now have 5 minutes per question
Effective 1/1/25, all Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment (LKA®) participants will have five minutes to answer each question—a 25% increase from the previous four-minute limit.
Physicians are using the LKA to maintain more than 80,000 certificates, and ABIM regularly surveys participants to find out how the experience could be improved.
Findings from the 2023 end-of-year survey (68% response rate) showed that most LKA takers were satisfied with the four-minute time limit per question (66% satisfied, 11% neutral and 22% dissatisfied).
Data also show that about 95% of all questions answered by diplomates in the LKA took less than four minutes, with physicians using an average of slightly less than two minutes per question. Very few drew from their 30-minute time bank to spend more than four minutes on a question.
Understanding that some physicians and specialty societies continued to share feedback about the time limit, ABIM conducted a series of interviews with LKA takers and society leadership, followed by a focused survey study informed by interview and operational data. The survey was sent to a random sample of 5,400 physicians who are currently active in the LKA (August – September 2024; 31% response rate).
During the interviews, physicians and society leadership indicated that a primary reason for feeling dissatisfied with the time per question was that the time limit constrains what they can learn while answering the questions.
Similarly in the survey, 42% of respondents who were dissatisfied with the four-minute time limit cited “the time constraint limits the amount I can learn while answering questions” as their primary reason, making it the most commonly reported issue. Please note that unlimited time is allowed to review the questions/rationale and reference after the questions have been answered.
When presented with a series of possible changes to the LKA, physicians chose adding an additional minute per question above all others.
To provide a more satisfying and less stressful experience for physicians while continuing to maintaining the validity and security of the assessment, ABIM decided to increase the time allotment per question from four to five minutes. This change also aligns with the amount of time provided on longitudinal assessments offered by the American Board of Family Medicine and American Board of Pediatrics.
Immediate Feedback Now Available for All Questions
In addition to increasing the amount of time available, physicians will now receive immediate feedback for all questions—both live and pretest—to further enhance the formative aspect of the LKA. In that same spirit, questions that are found to be unacceptable during the key validation process—which involves statistical and content review—will be removed from a physician’s score as well as their LKA question history.
The LKA Continues to be a Well-Received Assessment Option
Overall, physicians generally have positive things to say about the LKA experience, with three out of four saying they would recommend it to a colleague. They also share that they appreciate the immediate feedback with references and rationales after answering questions, and the convenience of taking questions when and where it’s most comfortable for them.
Since launching in 2022, physicians have been choosing the LKA four to one over the traditional, 10-year Maintenance of Certification (MOC) exam (the long-form exam).
Enrollment for the LKA opened 12/1/24 and closes 6/30/25. If you are interested in the LKA, we encourage you to enroll as soon as you can to ensure you’ll have as much time to answer questions during the first quarter as possible. You can always un-enroll and register for the long-form exam if you find the LKA isn’t working for your needs.
Sign in to your ABIM Physician Portal to enroll, see what other physicians are saying about the LKA or learn more about what the assessment looks like on our dedicated LKA site.
