Results
When you can expect your TDM Examination results and how to understand them.
Only your most recent result will be valid regardless of previous pass/fail results.
Results are valid across jurisdictional PRA programs that require the TDM Examination, no matter which province you took the TDM Examination. Candidates are required to declare previous TDM Examination attempts at time of application.
A pass result will be valid for a period of three years. If your result is close to expiring or has reached expiry, you will need to retake the exam to be considered for a PRA program. You are allowed a maximum of two pass results.
Your final TDM Examination result (e.g., pass, fail) is based solely on where your total score falls in relation to the pass score. A total score equal to or greater than the pass score is a pass, and a total score less than the pass score is a fail. This means that you will pass if you meet or exceed the pass score regardless of how well other candidates perform.
The TDM Examination currently reports only a pass/fail result. Scores are not reported to candidates or PRA programs at this time.
The Exam Oversight Committee (EOC), composed of physicians and medical educators from across the country, is responsible for approving pass/fail results for TDM Examination candidates.
Your written responses to the TDM Examination questions are evaluated by physician markers. Physician markers are trained to use the pre-established and validated answer keys, established by the TDM Examination Committee, and follow a standardized marking process that is supported through orientation, practice, and discussion.
All the cases, and embedded questions, are marked twice by two physician markers. They are marked independently (without consulting each other). Any differences in marking are resolved by a third marker (usually a physician subject matter expert who was involved in developing the exam and answer keys). Marking data is entered electronically and reviewed by following a stringent, quality-assurance procedure.
The scoring is done through two independent but parallel processes using the Statistical Analysis System (SAS®). The results from the two processes are compared and must match before being released to the PRA programs and exam candidates.
The TDM Examination is a criterion-referenced exam. This means that a pass or fail result is determined by comparing your individual performance to a performance standard, but not to the performance of other candidates.
When an exam is criterion-referenced, the only thing that really matters is your performance relative to the passing standard. For the TDM Examination, passing is considered as “acceptably competent.” A passing candidate who scored a few points higher is not necessarily more “acceptably competent” than someone who passed with a few points lower, or vice versa.
Every few years, the MCC brings together a panel of Canadian physicians to define an acceptable level of performance and establish the pass score for the TDM Examination through a standard-setting exercise.
In February 2026, the MCC will conduct a rigorous standard-setting exercise with a panel of family medicine physicians from across the country. During this exercise, the panel will be guided through best practice methods to recommend a pass score that will be presented to the EOC for review and approval. The new pass score approved by the EOC will be applied to the 2026 and subsequent exam sessions.