• 60 questions

ABO Advanced Practice Test

Unofficial practice for the ABO Advanced Certification exam: harder optics arithmetic and eye anatomy, weighted as the published outline is.

A patient with no usable accommodation needs clear focus at 33 cm through the add. About what add is needed?

Pick an answer, then press Check answer. Then you see Correct or Not quite, with the reason. Keys: A to D pick, Enter checks.

Print covers the next 60 questions. Share this set copies a link to the same questions in the same order.

Exam mode: 60 questions, 86 minutes.

More options

Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the American Board of Opticianry and National Contact Lens Examiners. Bank checked October 12, 2026.

The real exam, as ABO-NCLE describes it

Questions
125
Time limit
180 minutes
Fee
$225, by the handbook of August 2024
Retakes
After 14 days. Three retake attempts, then a wait of 90 days.
Scored questions
A portion of the 125 may be unscored questions being tried out for future exams. The outline gives weights by domain, not counts.
Pass mark
No percent is published. The exam is criterion-referenced: a panel sets the minimum passing score by the Modified Angoff method.
Who can sit
A candidate certified through one full three-year renewal period, or one with an opticianry degree once the basic exam is passed.
Delivery
A secure computer-based exam, at a test center or by remote proctoring, in four testing windows a year.

Checked October 12, 2026 against ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook, August 2024. Rules change, so confirm with the agency itself before your test.

ABO-NCLE's advanced exam page

Next step ABO certification practice testOphthalmic technician practice test

All 60 questions

Optics 18

  • A +12.00 D lens was refracted at a vertex distance of 12 mm. The chosen frame sits at 16 mm. What power gives the same effect in the frame? Wikipedia, Vertex distance, opening section and Derivation. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 1.I (ophthalmic formulas and concepts).
  • A CR-39 surface (index 1.498) has a radius of curvature of 83 mm. What is its surface power? Wikipedia, Dioptre, Curvature. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 1.C (lens measurements, changes and their effects).
  • A patient with no usable accommodation needs clear focus at 33 cm through the add. About what add is needed? Wikipedia, Dioptre, opening lines. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 1.I (ophthalmic formulas and concepts).
  • A patient's two eyes differ in refractive error in one meridian only. What kind of image size difference can result? Wikipedia, Aniseikonia, opening lines and Causes. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 1.I (ophthalmic formulas and concepts).
Show all 60 questions (56 more)

Optics, continued

  • A presbyope with 1.00 D of usable accommodation wears a +2.00 add over a full distance correction. Through the add, over what range is vision clear? Wikipedia, Accommodation (vertebrate eye), opening lines. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 1.I (ophthalmic formulas and concepts).
  • A right lens of +3.00 -1.00 x 180 is paired with a left lens of +1.00 D sphere. At a reading level 10 mm below the optical centers, how far apart are the two vertical prismatic effects? Wikipedia, Prism correction, Prentice's rule. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 1.I (ophthalmic formulas and concepts).
  • A thin prism of index 1.50 has an apex angle of 8 degrees. By about what angle does it deviate light? Wikipedia, Prism correction, Prism dioptres. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 1.I (ophthalmic formulas and concepts).
  • A wearer bothered by color fringes asks whether an aspheric design in the same material will cure them. What is the answer? Wikipedia, Corrective lens, Optical quality, Abbe number. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 1.F (effects of lens materials and design on dispersion).
  • About what is the critical angle for light passing from a lens material of index 1.50 into air? Wikipedia, Total internal reflection, Critical angle. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 1.D (optical properties of lens materials).
  • Astigmatism of the eye is corrected with a toric lens. What induces the astigmatism of the lens known as oblique astigmatic error? Wikipedia, Corrective lens, Astigmatism disambiguation. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 1.E (lens designs).
  • For which spectral line is the refractive index of a lens material generally specified in the UK and the US? Wikipedia, Corrective lens, Refractive index. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 1.D (optical properties of lens materials).
  • How does an atoric design differ from an ordinary aspheric design? Wikipedia, Corrective lens, Aspheric and atoric disambiguation. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 1.E (lens designs).
  • In minus cylinder notation, which meridian does the sphere power describe? Wikipedia, Eyeglass prescription, Cylinder component. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 1.B (prescriptions).
  • Light in air strikes a flat surface of index 1.50 at 30 degrees from the normal. At about what angle from the normal does it travel inside the material? Wikipedia, Refractive index, opening lines. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 1.D (optical properties of lens materials).
  • On which figure does a lens designer find the best-form spherical curve for a given power? Wikipedia, Corrective lens, Minimizing power error and lens induced astigmatism. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 1.E (lens designs).
  • One lens carries 3 prism diopters base up and 4 prism diopters base out. What single prism has the same effect? Wikipedia, Prism correction, opening section. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 1.H (prismatic effects related to the design of a lens).
  • What is yoked prism? Wikipedia, Prism correction, opening section. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 1.H (prismatic effects related to the design of a lens).
  • Which powers lie in the two principal meridians of -1.00 +3.00 x 045? Wikipedia, Eyeglass prescription, Axis component. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 1.G (components of lens powers).

Eye anatomy, pathology and refraction 20

  • A letter on the 20/20 line of a Snellen chart subtends what angle at 20 feet? Wikipedia, Snellen chart, Snellen fraction. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 2.C.2 (visual acuity assessment).
  • A noncancerous growth starts in the conjunctiva, covers part of the sclera and extends onto the cornea. What is it? MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, Pterygium, opening lines. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 2.B.2 (ocular pathologies).
  • A patient reports sudden severe pain in one eye, a red eye, nausea and rainbow halos around lights. Which condition do these symptoms fit? MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, Glaucoma, Symptoms. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 2.B.2 (ocular pathologies).
  • About how much accommodation does a 25-year-old have, by the usual figures for the amplitude of accommodation? Wikipedia, Dioptre, In vision correction. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 2.C.4 (accommodative function).
  • At the optic chiasm, which nerve fibers cross to the opposite side? Wikipedia, Optic chiasm, Structure. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 2.A.3 (posterior segment).
  • Color vision problems that are present from birth arise in which cells? MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, Color vision test, Why the Test is Performed. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 2.C.2 (color discrimination assessment).
  • The healthy cornea has no blood vessels. How does it get its oxygen? Wikipedia, Cornea, Structure. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 2.A.2 (anterior segment).
  • Human corneas have five layers. Which is the thick, transparent middle layer? Wikipedia, Cornea, Structure, Microanatomy. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 2.A.2 (anterior segment).
  • Hypertensive retinopathy is graded from 1 to 4. What marks grade 4? MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, High blood pressure and eye disease, Exams and Tests. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 2.B.3 (systemic pathologies with ocular complications).
  • In diabetic macular edema, what happens in the retina? National Eye Institute, Diabetic Retinopathy, What other problems can diabetic retinopathy cause?. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 2.B.3 (systemic pathologies with ocular complications).
  • In the alternate cover test, what does the examiner do? MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, Extraocular muscle function testing, How the Test is Performed. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 2.C.3 (binocular function).
  • Into which space is the aqueous humor secreted, and where does it flow next? Wikipedia, Ciliary body, Structure. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 2.A.2 (anterior segment).
  • What happens when the ciliary muscle contracts to focus on a near object? Wikipedia, Dioptre, In vision correction. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 2.C.4 (accommodative function).
  • What is the vision level reached during a refraction called? MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, Refraction, What Abnormal Results Mean. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 2.C.1 (refractive status of the eye).
  • Which cranial nerve controls the superior oblique muscle? Wikipedia, Extraocular muscles, Function, Eye movement. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 2.A.1 (anterior adnexa).
  • Which eyelid condition turns the edge of the lid inward so that the lashes rub against the eye? MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, Entropion, opening lines. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 2.B.2 (ocular pathologies).
  • Which photoreceptors make up the photoreceptor layer of the fovea? Wikipedia, Fovea centralis, Structure. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 2.A.3 (posterior segment).
  • Which set of symptoms does MedlinePlus list for optic neuritis? MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, Optic neuritis, Symptoms. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 2.B.2 (ocular pathologies).
  • Which systemic disease, the most common cause of hyperthyroidism, can make the eyeballs seem to bulge and cause double vision? MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, Graves disease, Causes and Symptoms. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 2.B.3 (systemic pathologies with ocular complications).
  • Why does every normal eye have a blind spot in its visual field? Wikipedia, Scotoma, opening section. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 2.A.3 (posterior segment).

Ophthalmic products 6

  • By FDA's device rules, what are magnifying spectacles? 21 CFR 886.5840, Magnifying spectacles (FDA). Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 3.B (low vision aids).
  • Progressive lenses are also made with only distance-to-intermediate or intermediate-to-near powers. For what use? Wikipedia, Progressive lens, History. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 3.D (lens options for various occupations).
  • What is an ophthalmic Fresnel prism? 21 CFR 886.1655, Ophthalmic Fresnel prism (FDA). Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 3.A (lenses and lens treatments).
  • Which band of ultraviolet radiation is linked with a higher likelihood of cataracts? Wikipedia, Corrective lens, Lens coatings, Ultraviolet protection. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 3.A (lenses and lens treatments).
  • Why does an anti-reflective coating matter more as the index of a lens material rises? Wikipedia, Corrective lens, Refractive index, Disadvantages of increased indices. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 3.A (lenses and lens treatments).
  • Why is photochromic glass a problem in a strong prescription? Wikipedia, Photochromic lens, Photochromic glass. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 3.A (lenses and lens treatments).

Instrumentation 5

  • A lens clock made for index 1.523 reads +6.00 D on a polycarbonate surface (index 1.586). What is the true surface power? Wikipedia, Lens clock, How it works. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 4.B (use of lens measurement devices).
  • A lens clock reads 5.23 D on a crown glass surface (index 1.523). What is the radius of curvature of the surface? Wikipedia, Lens clock, Radius of curvature. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 4.B (use of lens measurement devices).
  • A patient looks at a point of light with a Maddox rod over one eye. What does that eye see? Wikipedia, Maddox rod, opening lines. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 4.C (optical instrumentation).
  • Besides refractive error, what does a phoropter measure? Wikipedia, Phoropter, opening lines. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 4.C (optical instrumentation).
  • How is a Jackson cross cylinder built? Wikipedia, Jackson cross cylinder, Instrument. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 4.C (optical instrumentation).

Dispensary protocols and procedures 6

  • A -8.00 D lens must give 2 prism diopters base out by decentration alone. How is its optical center moved? Wikipedia, Prism correction, Prentice's rule. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 5.B (fitting, adjusting, measuring and troubleshooting).
  • A new progressive wearer has headache and dizziness and asks to go back to the old bifocals for a week. What effect does going back have? Wikipedia, Progressive lens, Adaptation. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 5.B (fitting, adjusting, measuring and troubleshooting).
  • A wearer in a strong prescription asks whether a move from a material of Abbe 30 to one of Abbe 32 will reduce color fringes. What is the fair answer? Wikipedia, Corrective lens, Optical quality, Abbe number. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 5.B (fitting, adjusting, measuring and troubleshooting).
  • In the early progressive designs, where is the point of reading relative to distance viewing? Wikipedia, Progressive lens, History. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 5.B (fitting, adjusting, measuring and troubleshooting).
  • Which spectacle lens parameters are changed to adjust magnification for a patient with aniseikonia? Wikipedia, Aniseikonia, Treatment. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 5.B (fitting, adjusting, measuring and troubleshooting).
  • Why are thick myopic lenses not usually mounted in thin wire frames? Wikipedia, Corrective lens, Cosmetics and weight, Reducing lens thickness. Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 5.A (optical history) and 5.B.

Laws, regulations and standards 5

  • In FDA's impact test, when is a lens considered to have fractured? 21 CFR 801.410, Use of impact-resistant lenses in eyeglasses and sunglasses (FDA). Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 6.A (ophthalmic product performance and limitations).
  • Under OSHA's rule, what must an employee who wears prescription lenses use in work with eye hazards? 29 CFR 1910.133, Eye and face protection (OSHA). Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 6.B (applicable national guidelines, laws, regulations and standards).
  • Under the FTC's Eyeglass Rule, how long must a prescriber keep the evidence that the patient confirmed receiving the prescription? 16 CFR Part 456, Ophthalmic Practice Rules (FTC Eyeglass Rule). Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 6.D (record keeping).
  • Under the HIPAA privacy rule, how soon must a covered entity act on an individual's request for access to their records? 45 CFR 164.524, Access of individuals to protected health information (HIPAA Privacy Rule). Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 6.D (record keeping).
  • Which of these lenses must be impact resistant but need not be subjected to impact testing under FDA's rule? 21 CFR 801.410, Use of impact-resistant lenses in eyeglasses and sunglasses (FDA). Outline: ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook (August 2024), ABOAC content outline 6.B (applicable national guidelines, laws, regulations and standards).

How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the ABOAC content outline and test specifications in the ABO-NCLE Advanced Examination Handbook, August 2024 (https://www.abo-ncle.org/common/Uploaded%20files/Documents/Exam%20Handbooks%20August%202024/ABO-NCLE%20Advanced%20Exam%20Handbook%20August%202024-2.pdf, linked from https://www.abo-ncle.org/ABONCLE/ABONCLE/Exams/ABO-NCLE-Exams/ABO-NCLE-Advanced-Exam.aspx, read 2026-10-12): Optics 30%; Ocular Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, and Refraction 33%; Ophthalmic Products 10%; Instrumentation 9%; Dispensary Protocols and Procedures 10%; Laws, Regulations, and Standards 8%. The 60 questions are split 18, 20, 6, 5, 6 and 5. Every fact was read on 2026-10-12 in the public source its question names: Wikipedia's articles on spectacle optics, lenses, instruments and the eye, the National Eye Institute, the MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia and federal regulations on ecfr.gov. Every computed answer is worked out again. No tolerance table of a private standard is used. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.

How it works

This ABO advanced practice test has 60 questions of our own for the ABO Advanced Certification examination, the ABOAC. It is unofficial and not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the American Board of Opticianry and National Contact Lens Examiners.

Read the full guide

What the exam covers

The Advanced Examination Handbook of August 2024, read October 12, 2026, weights six domains: optics 30%; ocular anatomy, physiology, pathology and refraction 33%; ophthalmic products 10%; instrumentation 9%; dispensary protocols and procedures 10%; laws, regulations and standards 8%. The 60 questions here are split 18, 20, 6, 5, 6 and 5.

Timing

Exam mode asks all 60 in 86 minutes, the pace of the real exam's 125 questions in three hours.

Harder than the basic test

The optics goes past the basic exam: vertex compensation in plus powers, vertical imbalance with a cylinder, resultant prism, surface power from a radius, the critical angle. Each computed answer shows its working. None of these questions is in the ABO certification practice test.

  • Anatomy, pathology and refraction is the largest domain, a third of the outline. Do not let the optics take all your study time.
  • The handbook says an on-screen scientific calculator can be used during the exam, so work the vertex and Snell's law sums with one here.

Questions and answers

Who can take the ABO advanced exam?

By the handbook of August 2024, a candidate needs one full three-year renewal period of certification. A candidate with an opticianry degree may test once the basic exam is passed.

How many questions are on the ABO advanced exam?

125 multiple-choice questions in three hours, by the handbook. A portion may be unscored questions being tried out for future exams. The outline gives each domain a weight, not a count.

What is the passing score for the ABO advanced exam?

The handbook gives no percent. The exam is criterion-referenced, with a minimum passing score set by a panel using the Modified Angoff method. A result here is the number right, not a forecast.

How is the advanced exam different from the basic ABO exam?

The weights change: optics is 30% and anatomy, pathology and refraction 33%, against 25 and 10 questions of 100 in the basic test specifications. It also runs three hours where the basic exam runs two.

More tests

Show 7 more

Browse Safety and Trades