How to Study for Your ABPN Board Exam: Prioritize “the Big and the Bad” for Smarter Board Prep

No matter how much time you have remaining to prepare for your ABPN board exam, you must still prioritize certain exam topics over others. This is true because even if you go through ALL the material once or even twice during your board exam prep, there will always remain topics that you’ll perform worse on during your practice tests. 

How do you know which topics you’re weaker on as you’re progressing through your studies? If you took the exam previously and failed, you should review your score document to assess your relative performance levels. And if you’re a first-time exam-taker, you ABSOLUTELY should do practice tests periodically throughout your board exam prep.  

Using Q Banks to Customize Your Board Exam Prep 

Many Q Banks, including all Q Banks from Beat the Boards!, allow two modes of study: the Flashcard (or Study) Mode and the Practice Test (or Exam) Mode. In the Flashcard Mode, you read and respond to each question one at a time and review your answer and the included explanation before moving on to the next question. In Practice Test (or Exam) Mode, you choose ‘exam mode’ from the drop-down and then take a full board-reflective practice exam to assess your overall performance and performance on individual topic areas. And you do this while you still have sufficient time in the board review process (prior to your real exam) to strengthen your performance on the weak topics. 

When you do this to direct your further study, you should always prioritize the topics that are both “Big and Bad,” that is, topics that account for a large percentage of total exam questions and that you did poorly on. Start with your worst Big and Bad topic. As soon as you deepen your knowledge and improve your practice exam scores on it, move on to the next Big and Bad Topic. 

Don’t Aim for Perfection During Board Review: Passing Your ABPN Board Exam Is a Numbers Game 

The importance of prioritization is that nearly all exam candidates end up running out of preparation time. It is imperative that you leave the lowest value / lowest leverage topics for last because they’re likely to remain untouched. And that’s ok. You live in the real world. You and virtually everyone else are struggling to find the time, energy, and mental focus to prepare for your boards. In my nearly two and a half decades of running board preparation courses, I’ve never had any physician tell me that they ended up studying as much as they hoped to and planned for. 

The reason that running out of time for ABPN board exam prep is usually ok is because passing board exams is a numbers game. On average, on board exams across the different medical specialties, you need to get a score of about 75% or 3 out of 4 questions right to pass. You will – undoubtedly – get many questions wrong, and most of them are likely to be concentrated in a handful of subjects you’re weakest in. Again, that’s ok. But ensure that these handful of weak topics are associated with the fewest exam questions! 

Now, it would not necessarily make sense to focus on a big topic vs a small topic (in cases in which your performance was more or less equivalent on both), if the study effort on both was proportional to their impact on your exam score. For example, if you had to spend ‘X’ amount of time studying a small topic for ‘Y’ positive effect on your exam score, and ‘2X’ amount of time studying a bid topic for ‘2Y’ positive exam effect, then it wouldn’t matter which topics you focused on – all else being equal. 

But that’s not how it usually works: the time spent studying small topics during ABPN board review usually has less of a positive effect on your exam score than studying big topics. For example, if you again spend ‘X’ amount of time on a small topic for ‘Y’ effect, then you might only need to spend ‘1.5X’ amount of time to achieve a ‘2Y’ positive exam effect. 

It is not unusual that preparing for a subject that accounts for perhaps 3-4% of the exam may take nearly as much prep time prepping on a topic that accounts for 10-12% of the entire exam! 

Summary: Focus on the Big and Bad topics because they better leverage your study investment in terms of effect on your ABPN board exam score. 

Get Started with High-Yield Board Exam Prep Today 

Check out our entire catalogue of board courses here. They all come with a “better than money back” guarantee because they’re that good! So, don’t fret, waste time, or procrastinate. Instead, start prepping for your ABPN board exam today with Beat the Boards! 

ABPN Board Exam: Frequently Asked Questions 

How do I prepare for ABPN board exam questions? 

To study effectively for the ABPN board exam, it’s essential to take a focused and strategic approach—the quality of study matters more than quantity. Start by identifying the “Big and Bad” topics: these are subjects that not only make up a significant portion of the exam but are also the areas where your practice test scores are lowest. Prioritizing these will help you maximize your performance. 

Here’s how to get started: 

• Use Q Banks Wisely: Platforms like Beat the Boards! offer two modes: Flashcard Mode (for review) and Practice Test Mode (to simulate exam conditions). Start with practice exams to assess your strengths and weaknesses. 

• Focus on High-Yield Topics: Allocate a majority of your study time to topics that carry the most weight on the exam and that you struggle with the most. 

• Track Progress with Metrics: Regularly take full-length practice exams to monitor improvement and redirect study time to areas still underperforming. 

• Don’t Aim for 100%: Most board exams require a passing score of around 75%. You don’t need to master everything—just the most impactful areas. 

This targeted strategy ensures you maximize your study investment and improve your chances of passing the APBN psychiatry board exam or APBN neurology board exam. 

What exam score do I need to pass the APBN psychiatry board exam? 

The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) does not disclose a specific numerical score required to pass the Psychiatry Certification Examination. Instead, the exam employs a criterion-referenced standard, meaning that the passing threshold is determined based on a predefined level of competence, not on a curve relative to other test-takers. This approach ensures that all examinees who meet the established standard can pass, regardless of how others perform. 

While the exact passing score is not publicly available, historical data provides insight into overall performance trends. For instance, in 2024, the pass rate for first-time takers of the ABPN psychiatry board exam was approximately 90% (Beat the Boards! clients have a pass rate of 97%). This high pass rate suggests that with adequate preparation, the majority of candidates succeed on their first attempt.  

The bottom line: The APBN psychiatry board exam is designed to be challenging but passable with the right preparation strategy, especially one focusing on big, high-yield topics.  

What exam score do I need to pass the APBN neurology board exam? 

The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) does not disclose a specific numerical score required to pass the Neurology Certification Examination. Instead, the exam utilizes a criterion-referenced standard, meaning that the passing threshold is based on a predefined level of competence rather than a comparison to other test-takers. This approach ensures that all candidates who meet the established standard can pass, regardless of the performance of their peers. 

While the exact passing score is not publicly available, historical data provides insight into overall performance trends. For instance, in 2023, the pass rate for first-time takers of the Neurology Certification Exam was approximately 84%, and the Neurology CC Exam was 92% (last year, Beat the Boards! Clients had a 100% pass rate!).  

The bottom line: These pass rates indicate that with adequate preparation, the majority of candidates succeed on their first attempt. Focus on the “big and the bad” topics to make the board of your ABPN board exam prep.  

Who fails their board exams? 

If you’re wondering, “Who fails their board exams?” The answer is complicated – ABPN board exam failure can happen for various reasons. However, there are common patterns among those who struggle: 

• Lack of Prioritization: Candidates who try to study everything equally often run out of time and neglect high-impact topics. 

• Infrequent Self-Assessment: Without regular practice tests, it’s difficult to know which subjects need more attention. 

• Inefficient Study Habits: Spending too much time on low-yield or familiar topics instead of tackling weak areas that are highly represented on the exam. 

• Time Constraints: Many candidates are practicing physicians balancing work, family, and study. It’s common to run out of time or energy. 

As the blog points out, the goal isn’t perfection. It’s about being smart with limited time – prioritizing the most testable, high-impact content to ensure you’re not missing easy points due to inefficient prep. Check out our entire catalogue of board courses to start prepping and ensure you aren’t someone who fails their boards.