Starting November 2020, the 2020-21 Clinical Board Exams will be offered as scheduled, but will not require travel to St Louis, and instead be held at Scantron Testing Centers throughout the United States and Canada.
The American Board of Orthodontics (ABO) has announced changes to its upcoming Scenario-Based Oral Clinical Examination in response to COVID-19 restrictions and CDC recommended safety requirements. Starting in November 2020, the 2020-21 Clinical Board Exams will be offered as scheduled, but will not require travel to St Louis. The Clinical Exams will instead be held at Scantron Testing Centers throughout the United States and Canada.
The Clinical Exam will maintain the scenario-based format with the same exam components and testing criteria; however, examinees will now be required to provide typed bullet-point responses instead of giving answers orally to examiners. Examiners will grade exams virtually. Results will still be based on pass/fail.
Given the elimination of the St Louis travel requirement, the Clinical Exams will now be held over a 2-day testing period, allowing the accommodation of more examinees at testing centers across the country. Exam dates for 2021 are February 25 to 26; July 22 to 23; and November 18 to 19.
The November exam is reportedly already at capacity.
Registration for the 2021 Scenario-Based Clinical Examinations opened on July 15, 2020. Examinees must first successfully complete the ABO Written Exam. Registration for both the Written and Clinical Exams can be done online.
