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

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

for admission to a school of

optometry Optometry is a specialized health care profession that involves examining the eyes and related structures for defects or abnormalities. Optometrists are health care professionals who typically provide comprehensive primary eye care. In the Uni ...

. All colleges of optometry in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

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. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...

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 association established in 1859 which has more than 161,000 members. Based in the American Dental Association Building in the Near North Side of Chicago, the ADA is the world's ...

(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 a U.S.-based company in the test administration industry. Its corporate headquarters is located in Canton (Baltimore, Maryland) in the United States. Prometric operates a test center network composed ...

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. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

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 tha ...

, and

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

. 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 ProgramAssociation 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