SFO Exam Development and Scoring

Examination Development

A job task analysis study of the school business management profession identifies the day-to-day responsibilities of the professionals and the knowledge required to carry out these responsibilities.  The study findings serve as the foundation for developing the examination specifications.  Exam questions are written by school business officials who have been trained in preparing multiple-choice items by ASBO International’s testing agency.

Passing Standards and Rate

The passing standard is set using a criterion-referenced methodology.  The Cut Score Committee submits the proposed passing standard to the Certification Commission for final approval.  Meet the 2010 Cut Score Committee. 

ASBO uses a scaled scoring method for the exams.  The current passing score for each exam is 600 within a scale range of 250 to 750.  Only candidates who fail an exam will be provided their score, as well as information about their performance in each section of the exam. Read more about scaled scoring. 

For 2011, the passing rate for the Part 1: Accounting exam was 87.88% and 87.10% for the Part 2: School Business Management exam.