- What You Are Actually Studying For
- Confirm Eligibility Before You Open a Book
- How the 120-Question Exam Works
- Domain-by-Domain Study Strategy
- Concrete Topics to Master
- Scheduling Prep Around Domain Weight
- Remote Proctoring: Prepare the Room, Not Just the Mind
- Fees, Deadlines and the 2027 Window
- Reading the Pass-Rate Data Correctly
- After You Pass: Employers and Renewal
- Frequently Asked Questions
- PASC is the American Board of Audiology's Pediatric Audiology Specialty Certification, awarding the Board Certified in Pediatric Audiology (BC-PA) designation.
- The exam has 120 questions in 2 hours 30 minutes; only 100 are scored, and 20 are unscored beta items.
- Assessment and Diagnosis carries 24% and Case Management and Counseling 22%, so those two domains deserve the most prep time.
- There is no guessing penalty, so answer every item, including multiple-response items with two or three correct options.
What You Are Actually Studying For
Pediatric Audiology Specialty Certification (PASC) is a voluntary credential offered by the American Board of Audiology (ABA). Passing earns the designation Board Certified in Pediatric Audiology (BC-PA). It is independent of other certification: general ABA certification, the CCC-A and professional membership are not prerequisites under the current handbook and program page. If you want the basics of the credential before diving into preparation, see What Is PASC Certification? and What Does PASC Stand For?.
This guide is built around one idea: the exam is a criterion-referenced test of pediatric audiology practice, so your preparation should mirror the published blueprint rather than a generic audiology review. If you want a companion overview of the content areas, the PASC Exam Domains guide covers all six in more depth.
Confirm Eligibility Before You Open a Book
Many candidates start studying before confirming they qualify. Do it in the other order. The application is separate from exam registration, and the documentation burden is real. Under the current handbook, you need:
- A graduate audiology degree from a regionally accredited institution, with an official transcript.
- An appropriate audiology license or work authorization. The current handbook requires a permanent U.S. audiology license, or valid license/work authorization for international and U.S.-territory applicants.
- Paid post-degree professional experience.
- 550 pediatric direct-patient hours and 50 pediatric case-management hours over two consecutive years within the preceding five years.
- Two professional references, one of whom must be a supervisor.
- Documented experience and an ethics agreement.
There is also a wording discrepancy worth knowing about. The live application specifies a minimum of 2,000 professional hours within two years, while the handbook phrases the requirement as two years of post-degree, full-time (2,000) hours. Read both, and contact the ABA if your work pattern sits near the edge. Do not assume any larger threshold than the one stated. The full breakdown is in PASC Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
How the 120-Question Exam Works
The exam contains 120 questions delivered in 2 hours 30 minutes. Of those, 100 are scored and 20 are unscored beta items. You will not know which are which, so treat every question as if it counts. That works out to roughly 75 seconds per question, which is comfortable for recall items and tight for lengthy case vignettes.
Question style
Every question has four options. Most are single-answer multiple-choice with one correct answer. Others are multiple-response items with two or three correct answers. That second format is where well-prepared candidates lose points: partial knowledge feels sufficient on single-answer items but is penalized when you must identify every correct option.
Scoring
Passing is criterion-referenced, using modified Angoff standard setting applied to the overall raw score on the 100 scored items. Difficulty is adjusted, so there is no fixed universal passing percentage to chase. Do not trust any source that quotes a single magic cut score. For a clear explanation, read PASC Passing Score 2026.
The standard administration is English-only and closed book: no calculators, notes, dual monitors or ordinary breaks. Approved accommodations are governed separately, so request them through the ABA well ahead of your window rather than at the last minute.
Domain-by-Domain Study Strategy
The current handbook publishes scored-item allocations of 24, 21, 22, 16, 9 and 8 out of 100, and the ABA's November 13, 2023 revised-blueprint announcement publishes the matching percentage weights. These six domains are formal exam content domains, not a ready-made curriculum, so you will need to translate them into study blocks yourself. The blueprint is on printed pages 19-21 of the ABA Pediatric Audiology Specialty Certification Handbook, Edition 23, November 2025.
| Domain | Weight | Prep Priority |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Assessment and Diagnosis of Auditory and Vestibular Disorders | 24% | Highest; largest single domain |
| 3. Case Management and Counseling | 22% | Very high; often under-studied |
| 2. Habilitation/Rehabilitation | 21% | High; technology plus outcomes |
| 4. Medical Audiology | 16% | Moderate; etiology and referral logic |
| 5. Professional and Regulatory Issues | 9% | Targeted; short, high-yield review |
| 6. Educational Audiology | 8% | Targeted; legal and school frameworks |
Domains 1, 3 and 2 together account for 67 of the 100 scored items. If you are short on time, protecting depth in those three is a better bet than spreading effort evenly. Domains 5 and 6 total 17 items, which is too many to ignore and too few to justify weeks of study.
Concrete Topics to Master
Domain 1: Assessment and Diagnosis of Auditory and Vestibular Disorders (24%)
This domain rewards candidates who can choose the right test for the right developmental age and interpret conflicting results.
- Test-battery selection across infants, toddlers and school-age children, and the cross-check principle.
- Electrophysiologic assessment, including auditory brainstem response and otoacoustic emissions, and what each does and does not tell you.
- Behavioral approaches matched to developmental level, including visual reinforcement and play audiometry.
- Middle-ear assessment and interpreting immittance findings in young children.
- Auditory processing and vestibular concerns as they present in pediatric populations.
Domain 2: Habilitation/Rehabilitation (21%)
Expect scenario questions that ask what you would do next for a child with a documented hearing loss.
- Amplification fitting, verification and validation approaches suited to pediatric ear canals and growth.
- Candidacy and management considerations for implantable and other hearing technology.
- Classroom and remote-microphone technology and when to recommend it.
- Monitoring outcomes and developmental progress over time.
Domain 3: Case Management and Counseling (22%)
This is the domain where clinical judgment and communication intersect, and candidates frequently underestimate it.
- Family-centered counseling, including delivering a diagnosis and supporting decision-making.
- Coordination with early intervention, medical, educational and speech-language partners.
- Follow-up, loss-to-follow-up prevention and care-pathway timing.
- Cultural and communication considerations when working with families.
Domain 4: Medical Audiology (16%)
Know the medical context well enough to recognize when a child needs referral and to what specialty.
- Etiologies of congenital and acquired pediatric hearing loss.
- Genetic and syndromic associations and related referral decisions.
- Otologic conditions and medical or surgical management that affects audiologic care.
Domain 5: Professional and Regulatory Issues (9%) and Domain 6: Educational Audiology (8%)
Smaller domains with focused, learnable content.
- Ethics, scope of practice, documentation and regulatory obligations in pediatric care.
- Educational frameworks and rights that shape services for children with hearing loss, and the audiologist's role in schools.
For a compact refresher once you have worked through the detail, keep the PASC Cheat Sheet nearby, and use PASC Training resources to fill gaps in specific domains.
Scheduling Prep Around Domain Weight
You need only one study timeline, and it should be driven by the blueprint, not by generic habits. The sequence below front-loads the heavy domains, builds retrieval practice in the middle, and saves the final week for multiple-response items and logistics. Adjust the length to your own clinical load; the order is what matters.
Domain 1: Assessment and Diagnosis
- Rebuild test-battery logic by age and by suspected site of lesion.
- Practice interpreting discordant results rather than memorizing single tests.
Domains 3 and 2: Case Management, Counseling and Habilitation
- Work through scenario-based questions asking for the best next step.
- Review verification, outcomes monitoring and care-coordination pathways.
Domains 4, 5 and 6
- Cover etiology and referral logic, ethics and regulatory content, and educational frameworks.
Mixed practice and logistics
- Take timed, mixed-domain sets that include multiple-response items.
- Rehearse your remote-testing setup.
Timed practice is the single most useful tool in the final stretch. Run full-length sets on the PASC Exam Prep practice test site so you build pacing across 120 questions and get comfortable choosing two or three correct answers on a single item.
Remote Proctoring: Prepare the Room, Not Just the Mind
Testing is delivered through Prolydian with Proctor360 live remote proctoring. Older material referencing Examity delivery language should not override the current Prolydian/Proctor360 instructions, so rely on the ABA's current exam-information page. Requirements to settle well before test day:
- A desktop or laptop with a webcam and microphone. Tablets, phones and Chromebooks do not meet the device requirements.
- A private room, with identity and room checks completed before you begin.
- Current government-issued photo and signature ID that matches your registered name exactly.
- No notes, calculators or second monitors, and no ordinary breaks during the 2 hours 30 minutes.
Key Takeaway
Run a full technical and room check days before your window opens, and confirm your ID name matches your registration. Preventable logistics problems are the most avoidable way to lose a first attempt.
Fees, Deadlines and the 2027 Window
The application and the exam registration are separate steps with separate fees. The amounts below exclude membership.
| Item | Academy Member | Non-Member |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | USD 125 | USD 160 |
| Exam registration fee | USD 395 | USD 440 |
| Combined first application and exam | USD 520 | USD 600 |
A second-certification application receives a USD 50 application-fee reduction. For a full cost picture including renewal, see PASC Certification Cost 2026.
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Exam registration period | January 12-April 13, 2027 |
| Application deadline | March 9, 2027 |
| Testing window | May 3-17, 2027 |
Notice that the application deadline falls well before the end of exam registration. Submit your application early so documentation review does not squeeze your registration. Results arrive approximately eight weeks after the administration. Track updates at PASC Exam Dates 2026.
Retake eligibility and a source conflict
The current handbook permits testing and retakes for five years beginning on the first day of the next testing window after application approval. An older FAQ counts that period from the first test date instead. Follow the current handbook, but confirm your specific clock with the ABA if you may need a retake. Once eligibility expires, you must submit a new application, documentation and fees.
Reading the Pass-Rate Data Correctly
The ABA's August 6, 2026 report gives a Spring 2026 first-time pass rate of 82.6%, while 20 of 25 candidates passed overall. These figures use different denominators: one counts first-time candidates only, the other counts everyone who tested, including repeat candidates. The reported 2025 first-time rate of 86.9% describes a different cohort and should not be treated as a 2026 number.
The takeaway for planning is practical rather than statistical: with small cohorts, year-to-year differences say little about difficulty. Prepare to the blueprint instead of trying to infer your odds. For fuller context, see PASC Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows and How Hard Is the PASC Exam?.
After You Pass: Employers and Renewal
BC-PA signals focused pediatric expertise to the settings that serve children with hearing loss: children's hospitals, pediatric otolaryngology and audiology clinics, cochlear implant programs, early intervention and early hearing detection and intervention programs, and educational or school-based audiology roles. Because the credential is voluntary, its value depends on your setting and goals. Explore PASC Jobs, the PASC Salary Guide and Is the PASC Certification Worth It? before committing.
Renewal basics
Renewal is every three years and requires 60 CE hours total, with continued ethics and licensure compliance and a USD 360 fee for either membership group. Within the 60 hours, you need 30 pediatric hours, 15 Tier 1 hours and 3 professional-ethics hours. These categories are subsets of the same 60-hour total, not additions to it, and excess hours do not carry forward to the next cycle. Starting a CE log from your first month of certification makes renewal straightforward.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are 120 questions in 2 hours 30 minutes. 100 are scored and 20 are unscored beta items, and you cannot tell which is which, so answer every question carefully.
No. There is no guessing penalty, so leaving an item unanswered offers no scoring advantage. Always select an answer, including on multiple-response items that have two or three correct options.
Assessment and Diagnosis (24%), Case Management and Counseling (22%) and Habilitation/Rehabilitation (21%) make up 67 of the 100 scored items. Give them the most study time, then cover Medical Audiology (16%), Professional and Regulatory Issues (9%) and Educational Audiology (8%).
No. Under the current handbook and program page, general ABA certification, CCC-A and professional membership are not prerequisites. Older prerequisite language, including that in the January 2024 handbook introduction, has been superseded.
The next window is May 3-17, 2027. The application deadline is March 9, 2027, and exam registration runs January 12-April 13, 2027. Results arrive approximately eight weeks after the administration.
For a broader walkthrough that ties these pieces together, revisit the PASC Study Guide 2026, and use the PASC Exam Prep practice tests to check your readiness against the exam's actual format.