The International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards (The Conference) recently shared information about changes to the National Board Exam (NBE) that went into effect on January 1. The Conference's announcement read:
You asked, we listened! In an effort to continually improve the testing experience, The Conference Board of Directors is excited to announce the following changes to the National Board Exam (NBE) beginning January 1, 2023:
Enhanced Score Reports
While the passing results reports will remain the same, candidates that are unsuccessful will receive detailed feedback specific to their exam performance. This will include the overall failing scaled score, as well as a list of objective areas where one or more questions were answered incorrectly. These objective areas can be found in the NBE Content Outline, which is provided in the NBE Study Guide. While we’re excited to offer this additional, detailed information, it’s important to keep in mind that candidates receive a different version of the exam each time they test. This means that while the exam will always adhere to the content outline, candidates may not receive questions tied to the exact same objectives on each exam attempt. We encourage candidates to use this information as an overall guide to understand their weaknesses at the domain level.
Calculators on the NBE
The Conference will now allow candidates calculators on the NBE! These basic calculators will be built into the exam software at the testing center and will be automatically available for use on both the NBE Arts and NBE Sciences. Please note that candidates will not, under any circumstances, be allowed to bring in their own calculator or any other devices.
The Conference continuously works to balance exam integrity and the overall candidate experience, always striving to improve while upholding the exam’s intended purpose of measuring entry-level knowledge in the funeral service profession. We invite you to read about the other upcoming changes, which were previously announced, on the “FAQ – Exam Changes as of January 1, 2023” page.