NABP started the development of a standardized national examination in 1958 by Dr. Fred T. Mahaffey. The effort led to the eventual formation of Blue Ribbon Committee in 1968 and Blue Ribbon Examination in 1971. Blue Ribbon Examination was renamed to the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy Licensure Examination in 1975. All state boards of pharmacy with the exception of California used NABPLEX by 1986. In March 1997, the NABPLEX was renamed to the NAPLEX. California recognized the NAPLEX in 2004. Until 1997, the examination was in a paper and pencil format utilized since 1976 which was replaced with a computer-adaptive test administered at contracted testing centers.
Exam Format
The NAPLEX is exclusively a computer-administered exam. After receiving an authorization to test from NABP, applicants must register with an official testing facility, such as Pearson VUE, at least two business days in advance to schedule a testing appointment. The NABP's announcement of updates to the 2016 NAPLEX exam include increased fee price, number of exam questions, and time to sit for the exam. The NAPLEX exam fee is now $575, increased from $505. Exam questions number 250, increased from 185; and time to sit for the exam has increased from 4 hours and 15 minutes to 6 hours total. Of the 250 questions, only about 200 are used to tabulate the applicant's score. The remaining questions are "trial balloon" questions under consideration for inclusion on future NAPLEX tests. There is no way to distinguish a regular test question from a trial balloon question. Prior to the changes in November 2016, the NAPLEX exam was presented as a computer adaptive exam in which the delivery of questions was modified based on the response of the test taker and questions on a specific subject may have increased or decreased in difficulty as the test progressed. The new exam is a pre-assembled linear format and will no longer adjust the exam based on user responses. There are several question types on the NAPLEX: multiple choice, select all that apply, point and click, and sequencing. Essay and short answer are not included and, though previously used, K-type questions have been eliminated.
Results
Exam results are typically reported seven business days after administration. Applicants may access their scores on the website of the state Board of Pharmacy. A tabulated or "scaled" score of 75 or higher is required for passing. Reported scores are not percentage values, nor are they some configuration of right versus wrong. Rather, they represent a mathematically calculated "ability measure" of the applicant based on an algorithm developed by the National Associations of Boards of Pharmacy.Registration Bulletin"> Applicants not obtaining a score of 75 or higher are given a performance profile, which details their relative areas of strength and weakness. They must wait at least 45 days before retaking the NAPLEX. The NAPLEX may only be taken five times without special permission from regulators.
