Compliance on the American Board of Pediatrics Certifying Examination and the Importance of Location and Size on Pass Rates

Objective. To describe residency program compliance to a 60% pass rate and 80% eligibility standard outlined by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) on the American Board of Pediatrics Certifying Examination. The hypothesis is that larger programs will have higher pass rates. Methods. Pediatric residency programs were retrospectively evaluated from 2008 to 2010 regarding the ACGME standards. Simple linear regression was performed to see if program pass rates were dependent on program size. Results. A total of 162/163 (83.4%) programs had first-time examinee pass rates of 60%. A total of 179/193 (92.7%) programs satisfied the 80% eligibility standard. The Northeast performed lower than Midwest, Southern, and Western states (P < .001). The West performed higher than the Northeast, Midwest, and Southern states (p < 0.05). Simple linear regression showed that performance depends on program size (P < .001). Conclusions. A majority of programs satisfy the minimum ACGME standards. Program performance is associated with program size and location. These findings may alter application patterns to pediatric residency programs.