NOTICE

Effective March 1, 2025, both the Eyeglasses and Contact Lens examinations have been updated. While the national competencies assessed in the exams will remain unchanged, there will be adjustments to some sections of the exams.

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Overview

The National Examinations for Canadian Opticians are administered by NACOR on behalf of the provincial regulatory authorities and are used in every province except Quebec. These examinations are the final step in becoming an optician in Canada. There are two national competency examinations, one for eyeglass dispensing and one for contact lens dispensing. Both examinations include theoretical and practical components and measure competence in Eyeglasses and Low Vision, Refraction, and Contact Lenses as defined by the National Competencies for Canadian Opticians (4^th edition) through demonstrated application of knowledge and critical thinking.

Objective of the Examinations

The purpose of the Competency Examinations is to verify the readiness of candidates to become licensed opticians, under the purview of their provincial regulatory authority, by evaluating their ability to safely and effectively meet the optical dispensing needs of the public.

Quality Control

NACOR maintains a bank of exam items and regularly revises and develops new content. Every item is reviewed by a team of subject matter experts to ensure clarity of composition, accuracy, and relevance to the National Competencies for Canadian Opticians. The National Examination Collaborative (NEC), with the help of a psychometrician, reviews each exam item as it is developed and periodically to ensure fairness in testing and scoring candidates. The exam bank allows NACOR to maintain several exam forms while ensuring each candidate is fairly evaluated regardless of which form they receive.

Examinations are held in various locations throughout Canada. To ensure consistent delivery of the examinations, an Examination Moderator from NACOR attends every sitting to monitor exam delivery and examiners. Provincial regulatory authorities assist NACOR to identify qualified examiners for every exam location. NACOR orients and trains all examiners. To further ensure uniformity of exam application, each section of the examinations include thorough written examiner instructions. Candidate instructions are also provided at each section of the examinations to ensure consistency for candidates.

NACOR delivers examination papers and examination kits, which contain all the necessary portable equipment for each section of the examination, to each exam venue. Each kit is groomed in the NACOR office prior to and after each examination sitting. Before each exam sitting, NACOR is responsible for ensuring the exam venue has a sufficient supply of any other large pieces of equipment required for the examinations (i.e. lensometers, keratometers, slit lamps, etc.) and that such equipment is in good working order.