Home Research Research Library The Evolution of Knowledge Assessment: ABFM’s Strategy Going Forward The Evolution of Knowledge Assessment: ABFM’s Strategy Going Forward 2021 Author(s) Newton, Warren P, O’Neill, Thomas R, and Price, David W Volume Annals of Family Medicine Source Annals of Family Medicine Knowledge is a foundation of the public trust in physicians. Knowledge drives diagnosis, treatment, and the shared decision making central to health care. Assessment of medical knowledge has thus been a cornerstone of Board Certification since 1914, when the American Board of Ophthalmology developed the first Board examination. As ABFM rethinks its certification portfolio, it is appropriate to revisit the scientific rationale for assessment of knowledge. What follows frames the key questions and evidence that drive ABFM policy and describes next steps. ABFM Research Read all 2026 Demonstrating the Reliability and Structural Validity of Creating Patient-Level and Clinician-Level Scores on the Person Centered Primary Care Measure Go to Demonstrating the Reliability and Structural Validity of Creating Patient-Level and Clinician-Level Scores on the Person Centered Primary Care Measure 2026 Reflections on Family Medicine’s First Year of Program Signals and Other New ERAS Features Go to Reflections on Family Medicine’s First Year of Program Signals and Other New ERAS Features 2026 Estimation of Mortality via the Neighborhood Atlas and Reproducible Area Deprivation Indices Go to Estimation of Mortality via the Neighborhood Atlas and Reproducible Area Deprivation Indices 2026 Primary Care Physician Continuity Is a Consistent Measure Associated with Lower Costs and Hospitalizations Go to Primary Care Physician Continuity Is a Consistent Measure Associated with Lower Costs and Hospitalizations
Author(s) Newton, Warren P, O’Neill, Thomas R, and Price, David W Volume Annals of Family Medicine Source Annals of Family Medicine
ABFM Research Read all 2026 Demonstrating the Reliability and Structural Validity of Creating Patient-Level and Clinician-Level Scores on the Person Centered Primary Care Measure Go to Demonstrating the Reliability and Structural Validity of Creating Patient-Level and Clinician-Level Scores on the Person Centered Primary Care Measure 2026 Reflections on Family Medicine’s First Year of Program Signals and Other New ERAS Features Go to Reflections on Family Medicine’s First Year of Program Signals and Other New ERAS Features 2026 Estimation of Mortality via the Neighborhood Atlas and Reproducible Area Deprivation Indices Go to Estimation of Mortality via the Neighborhood Atlas and Reproducible Area Deprivation Indices 2026 Primary Care Physician Continuity Is a Consistent Measure Associated with Lower Costs and Hospitalizations Go to Primary Care Physician Continuity Is a Consistent Measure Associated with Lower Costs and Hospitalizations
2026 Demonstrating the Reliability and Structural Validity of Creating Patient-Level and Clinician-Level Scores on the Person Centered Primary Care Measure Go to Demonstrating the Reliability and Structural Validity of Creating Patient-Level and Clinician-Level Scores on the Person Centered Primary Care Measure
2026 Reflections on Family Medicine’s First Year of Program Signals and Other New ERAS Features Go to Reflections on Family Medicine’s First Year of Program Signals and Other New ERAS Features
2026 Estimation of Mortality via the Neighborhood Atlas and Reproducible Area Deprivation Indices Go to Estimation of Mortality via the Neighborhood Atlas and Reproducible Area Deprivation Indices
2026 Primary Care Physician Continuity Is a Consistent Measure Associated with Lower Costs and Hospitalizations Go to Primary Care Physician Continuity Is a Consistent Measure Associated with Lower Costs and Hospitalizations
