Marking Examinations

Marking of examinations will be completed within eight (8) weeks of the examination date. All examinations are marked by hand by NACOR staff. Examinations that are within five (5) percent of a passing grade are reviewed and remarked prior to the marks being delivered to the candidate.

Scoring Exams/Scaled Scores

The Eyeglasses National Examinations for Canadian Opticians includes 222.5 scored items. The Contact Lens National Examinations for Canadian Opticians includes 176 scored items. Each item is scored as either correct (1) or incorrect (0). There are no deductions for incorrect responses. A candidate’s total score is calculated by summing their correct responses on all scored items.

Prior to May 2025, the total score and passing score were reported as standard scores. Standard scores (also referred to as standardized scores or z-scores) provide norm-referenced interpretation, meaning that the score conveys information about a candidate’s score in relation to their standing among other test takers (i.e., NACOR compares a candidate’s performance to Canadian-educated candidates who are taking the same exam for the first time).

As of May 2025, the total score and passing score will be reported as scaled scores. Scaled scores provide criterion-referenced interpretation, meaning that the score conveys information about a candidate’s score in relation to a specific standard of performance, regardless of other candidates’ performance. Scaled scores allow for direct comparisons of results across exam administrations, even if there are differences in the difficulty of the exam form taken.

Interpretation of the score (whether a standard score or scaled score) is not to be confused with the standard for passing an exam, which can also be established using norm-referenced or criterion-referenced approaches. In accordance with best practices, NACOR uses a criterion-referenced approach to set the passing score for the National Examinations for Canadian Opticians:

pass/fail results are based on whether candidates meet or exceed a pre-defined standard of minimal competence
pass/fail determination is not based on how well a candidate performs compared to other candidates

Scaled scores provide a constant, stable metric for reporting candidate results, regardless of which exam a candidate takes. The passing score will always be 600 in scaled scoring (criterion-referenced) whereas in standard scoring (norm-referenced) the passing score may vary with each exam administration.

There is always some variability in the difficulty of different exam forms. Scaled scores make these differences disappear, so that a particular score has the same meaning and interpretation across exam forms. For a less difficult exam form, a candidate needs to answer slightly more questions correctly to get a particular scaled score. For a more difficult exam form, a candidate needs to answer slightly fewer questions correctly to get the same scaled score. Scaled scoring applies the same passing standard to all exam forms, ensuring that the passing standard remains constant over time, regardless of which exam form a candidate takes and regardless of how other candidates perform on the exam.

A scaled score is a mathematical conversion of a candidate’s raw score (total number of correct items) to a common scale. This transformation is like converting weight from pounds to kilograms: the weight of the object remains the same but the units being reported have changed. Interpretation of a candidate’s raw score and their scaled score always results in the same conclusion in terms of their pass/fail status.

For the National Examinations for Canadian Opticians, the scaled passing score is 600 on a scale ranging from 200 to 800. This means that the lowest obtainable scaled score on the Written Component is 200 and the highest is 800. Candidates whose total scaled score is at or above 600 pass the exam. Candidates whose total scaled score is below 600 do not pass the exam.

Each candidate’s raw score is transformed into a scaled score using the following formula:

Y = m(x) + b
Y = the candidate’s scaled score
x = the candidate’s raw score (i.e., the number of MCQ items answered correctly)
m = (maximum scaled score – passing scaled score) / (maximum raw score – passing raw score)
b = passing scaled score – m (passing raw score)

Delivery of Results

Examination results will be posted on the NACOR website. Results will be posted by NACOR Candidate ID, which is provided to all candidates on their receipt. A copy of the results will also be forwarded to the candidate’s provincial regulatory authority. The NACOR office will not release marks over the telephone or via email.