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For opticians preparing for certification

Prepare for the ABO and NCLE exams the way you will work at the bench.


Practice questions with worked math, timed mock exams, flashcards and hands-on instrument trainers for spectacle and contact lens opticianry. No account needed: your progress stays in this browser.

What’s inside

Counted from the question bank, flashcard decks, lessons and labs on this site.

ABO practice questions
247
NCLE practice questions
199
Flashcards
102
Study lessons
6
Calculation drills
5
Hands-on labs
7
ABO

Ophthalmic optics

Try a sample question

Transpose −1.00 −0.75 × 180 to plus-cylinder form.

  1. A−1.75 +0.75 × 180
  2. B−1.75 +0.75 × 090
  3. C−2.50 −0.75 × 090
  4. D−1.75 −0.75 × 090
Show the answer

Sphere −1.00 + (−0.75) = −1.75. The cylinder changes sign to +0.75, and the axis moves 90° to 090. Answer: −1.75 +0.75 × 090. It is the same lens, written in the other form.

More ophthalmic optics questions

Two certifications, one place to study

The ABO covers spectacle dispensing and the NCLE covers contact lenses. Every question, card and tool here is tagged with the exam it serves.

ABO

National Opticianry Competency Examination (NOCE)

American Board of Opticianry

The spectacle dispensing certification: ophthalmic optics, lens and frame products, measurements and fitting, ocular anatomy and the ANSI Z80.1 standards.

  • Transposition and optical cross
  • Prentice's rule and decentration
  • Frame and PD measurement
  • Lensometry and ANSI tolerances
Try the lensometer
NCLE

Contact Lens Registry Examination (CLRE)

National Contact Lens Examiners

The contact lens certification: corneal anatomy and the tear film, keratometry, soft and rigid lens fitting, contact lens optics, care systems and complications.

  • Vertex and spectacle-to-CL power
  • Keratometry and base curve
  • Fluorescein patterns and SAM-FAP
  • Materials, care and complications
Read a fluorescein pattern

A study path in three steps

Work through them in order, or jump straight to whatever you need today.

  1. Step 1

    Learn

    Read a short lesson on each topic, build recall with spaced-repetition flashcards and keep the formula sheets open while you work.

  2. Step 2

    Practise

    Answer questions with instant feedback and step-by-step math, then drill the calculations until they are automatic.

  3. Step 3

    Test yourself

    Sit a timed mock exam with flags and a navigator, then review every answer and your score by domain.

Ready for exam day?

Timed, flagged and scored by domain

Sit a full mock exam under the clock, then walk back through every answer with the worked math beside it.

Sit a mock exam

Hands-on tools

Simulations of the instruments and calculations you use every day in the dispensary, graded by the same engine that marks the exam questions.

LensometerFocus the eyepiece, find the sphere lines, then turn on to the cylinder lines.Open the lensometer lab
RefractionPush plus to the best line, check the duochrome, then refine with the cross-cylinder.Open the refraction lab
  • ABO

    Lensometer trainer

    Focus the eyepiece, turn the power drum and axis wheel, and read sphere, cylinder, axis and prism from a hidden lens.

    Neutralize a lens
  • ABO + NCLE

    Refraction lab

    Dial a phoropter with the duochrome and cross-cylinder until the chart is sharp, then over-refract over a contact lens.

    Refract a patient
  • ABO

    Measuring tools

    Frame calipers for boxing measurements, a Geneva lens clock, and re-marking a progressive lens.

    Pick up the calipers
  • NCLE

    Contact lens labs

    Read fluorescein patterns on rigid lenses and take K readings on a keratometer simulator.

    Fit a contact lens
  • ABO + NCLE

    Calculators

    Lens power, prism and vertex distance, with the exam method shown beside exact optics.

    Check your working
  • ABO + NCLE

    ANSI tolerance checker

    Call pass or fail on finished spectacle and contact lens orders, then see the tolerance that applies.

    Verify a job
  • ABO + NCLE

    Formula cheat-sheets

    Every ABO optics and NCLE contact lens formula with a worked example. Printable.

    View the formulas