Practice Examinations

After much consideration by the Board and support by the community, we are excited to relaunch the official ABCP practice examinations on a new platform! These online practice examinations have been created by our third-party testing company, Professional Testing, Inc., and their partner company, to mirror the actual examinations on a smaller scale. The practice examinations aim to reduce testing anxiety and give candidates a feel for the actual examinations.

There is a separate practice examination for the PBSE and the CAPE. Similarities to the actual examinations include:

Non-Disclosure and tutorials at the beginning
Timed (approximately half the time of the actual examinations)
Full features such as the online calculator and whiteboard
Full review of all questions at the end
Score report showing total percentage correct and percentage breakdown by domain

Please follow this link to register for the practice examinations!

Examinations

Computer-Based Testing

2025 Exam Dates: April 7th-12th and October 13th-18th

The Perfusion Basic Science Examination (PBSE) and the Clinical Applications in Perfusion Examination (CAPE) will be administered at Pearson VUE testing centers throughout the United States, U.S. Territories, and Canada on April 7th through 12th and October 13th through 18th. Examinations may only be taken during that time period. Each examination is four hours in duration, and both may be taken on the same day pending test site availability.

Prior to registering for the examination(s) with Pearson VUE, examinees must complete the ABCP application process. To complete the application process, the following items must be on file in the ABCP National Office:

a completed application form with appropriate fee;
an official transcript indicating date of graduation;
the clinical competency form signed by the student and the program director;
the clinical education record that applies to the examination(s).

Once the application process has been completed, the ABCP National Office will authorize your examination(s) with Pearson VUE. You will receive an Authorization-To-Test e-mail from Pearson VUE (pearson@proftesting.com) with your candidate ID number and instructions for registering for your exam(s). The Authorization-To-Test e-mail will also provide links to the Pearson VUE Candidate Rules Agreement and ID Requirements. Please read both documents carefully and ensure that you have the proper ID for admission to the testing center.

You may cancel or reschedule up to 24 hours before your appointment at no cost (via the Pearson VUE website or by phone). Although rescheduling online is preferable, you may contact Pearson by phone at 877-839-7768 in the United States/Canada (Monday through Friday, 7 am to 7 pm U.S. Central Time). To help locate your record, tell the agent that the exam is sponsored by Professional Testing (PTI).

Pearson VUE will send you a confirmation e-mail each time you reschedule or cancel an appointment. There are multiple steps to reschedule online, so be sure that you complete all steps until "Your appointment is rescheduled!" screen is displayed. If you do not receive a confirmation e-mail, please recheck the status of your appointment.

If you fail to cancel 24 hours prior to your appointment, or if you miss your appointment, show up late or provide inadequate identification, you will not be able to make a new appointment without paying the ABCP exam reset fee.

The candidate is required to present two forms of original (no photocopies or digital IDs), valid (unexpired) IDs; one form as a primary ID (government issued with name, recent recognizable photo, and signature) and one form as a secondary ID (with at least a name and signature, or name and recent recognizable photo). You can find a list of acceptable ID’s here: Acceptable Identification.

Examination Scoring

Scaled scores are created when the number of questions that candidates answer correctly is mathematically transformed. Scaled scoring is utilized by many other prominent exams, such as the SAT, ACT, LSAT, and MCAT. The ABCP has implemented scaled scoring for both the CAPE and PBSE examinations using a scaled score with a range of 120 to 480, with the cut score set at 400.

The use of scaled scores does not affect whether or not individuals pass or fail the examination. The pass/fail decision is always made by comparing the number of questions answered correctly to the passing score that was established using a criterion referenced process. All candidates who correctly answer more items than are required to pass the examination form that they took will obtain scaled scores that are between 400 and 480. Candidates who did not answer enough items to pass will obtain scaled scores between 120 and 399.

The use of scaled scores allows for the direct comparison of scores from one examination form to another because the passing standard will remain constant at a scaled score of 400. This process will allow candidates to better understand their exam performance when comparing their score from one exam form to another, regardless of when they test.

Immediately after completing the examination, examinees will receive a preliminary pass/fail result as a print-out from the Pearson VUE location administering the exam. This result is not used for credentialing. The National Office must receive final, numbered scores from the test company for credentialing purposes. The final, official scores will be provided to examinees on an individual basis by the National Office four to six weeks after the exam(s).

Awarding of Certification

Each applicant must pass both the Perfusion Basic Science Examination and the Clinical Applications in Perfusion Examination in order to attain certification. Upon successful completion of the certification process, the new CCP will receive an official communication from the National Office as well as a physical certificate.

A database of all current Certified Clinical Perfusionists is available on the ABCP website.