What is included in this report?
This report provides a summary of all program performances on ABOG's Specialty Qualifying Exam (QE), using aggregated data about graduates' performance. A graduate is included in a program's data if they were a first-time taker of the exam and completed training at the program prior to taking the exam.
What are the limitations of the data?
Many factors influence a program's performance on the QE, and it is important to take into context these limitations when examining the data.
The data represents candidates who took the ABOG QE for the first time over a three-year interval. This interval is used because it helps prevent the identification of individual candidates and creates an aggregate performance over a three-year period. This time frame is used by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education for one component of residency program accreditation.
Program factors impacting performance may include the curriculum, teaching, faculty, and training. Smaller programs will have less stable results due to fewer examinees taking the exam, so caution should be exercised when interpreting exam performance. In addition, if significant changes in the program have occurred within the three-year period, pass rates may not fully reflect these changes. Examinee factors may also influence a program's performance. For example, since examinees may have been out of the program for a year or more, maturation effects (i.e., examinees gaining knowledge from elsewhere, losing knowledge gained within the program) may have occurred, impacting interpretations of results.
These data should only be interpreted in the context of the limitations provided above, and one should use caution where needed.
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