The Optometry Admission Test (OAT) is a test used to determine applicants'

qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

for admission to a school of

optometry Optometry is the healthcare practice concerned with examining the eyes for visual defects, prescribing corrective lenses, and detecting eye abnormalities. In the United States and Canada, optometrists are those that hold a post-baccalaureate f ...

. All colleges of optometry in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a Public university, public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also op ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

use scores from the exam, in addition to work done at the

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

level of study, to decide whether to accept candidates. The test is administered by the

American Dental Association The American Dental Association (ADA) is an American professional dental association. Established in 1859 and with over 159,000 current members, ADA is the world's largest and oldest national dental association. The organization lobbies on behal ...

(ADA) on behalf of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO).

Administration

The OAT is a multiple-choice examination offered year round at

Prometric Prometric, also known as Prometric Testing, is an American test administration company. The corporate headquarters are located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The company manages a network of test centers, with thousands of sites in 160 ...

centers. The registration fee is $465 as of July 1, 2019, and there may be additional fees for rescheduling and requesting score reports. The test consists of four sections: ;* Survey of the Natural Sciences ;* Reading Comprehension ;* Physics ;* Quantitative Reasoning The test lasts, at most, for a total of 4 hours and 50 minutes. This time estimate includes three optional components: a 15-minute pre-test tutorial, a 30-minute mid-test break, and a 15-minute post-testing survey.

Test Content

The Survey of the Natural Sciences is composed of 100 questions total broken up into three subsections of

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

General Chemistry General chemistry (sometimes referred to as "gen chem") is offered by colleges and universities as an introductory level chemistry course usually taken by students during their first year. The course is usually run with a concurrent lab section th ...

, and

Organic Chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the science, scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic matter, organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain ...

. The Biology subsection consists of 40 questions and the General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry subsections consist of 30 questions. The Reading Comprehension, Physics, and Quantitative Reasoning each have 40 items. Reading Comprehension will consist of three reading passages and tests one's ability to understand the passage and analyze scientific information. The Quantitative Reasoning section includes both mathematical problems and applied mathematical problems.

Scoring

Scoring of the OAT ranges from 200 to 400 with the 50th percentile being set at 300. Test results are not a raw score of correct answers. Rather, the raw score is converted to a scale score between 200 and 400 provided in increments of 10.

References

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External links

Optometry Admission Testing Program

Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry
Standardized tests in the United States Medical education in the United States Professional examinations in healthcare Eye care in the United States