About Your June CRRN 2022 Exam Results Delay

The Association of Rehabilitation Nurses (ARN) is aware of our June 2022 Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse (CRRN) exam test takers' experience, and we hope to bring clarity to the situation. We greatly appreciate your feedback and patience during this time. We'd like to shed light on the root cause of the delay, which is the exam standard setting process.

We want to thank you for advancing your career by taking the CRRN.
As your certification organization, ARN knows you value your practice and strive to take your career further. You made the decision and put in the hard work to be among the more than 13,000 CRRN holders who set themselves apart by becoming certified. We understand your desire to demonstrate your experience and expertise is important not only to yourself but also to your patients and employment.

Every fifth year, we conduct a standard setting.
Did you know that waiting on the CRRN exam results is something that happens only once every five years? This occurs due to the standard setting process. Standard setting is an official research study conducted by an organization that sponsors tests to determine a cut score for the test. To be legally defensible in the United States for high-stakes assessments and to meet the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, a cut score cannot be arbitrarily determined; it must be empirically justified.

This is not typical and happens only once every five years.
We have heard your feedback, and we understand the dissatisfaction of waiting for your CRRN test results. You were among the first applicants and test takers to have experienced a standard setting, and your results will set the standards for the next five years.

Taking the test can be hard but getting the results should not be.
Because of the standard setting, the June test takers will not get their scores right away. Scantron, the testing company contracted by ARN to provide the CRRN, must wait for all applicants to take their exam by June 30 before determining the passing score. Following the test, a 4–6 weeks' review of the results occurs after the exam window closes. Scores for this testing group will be released after August 20, 2022. Candidates will receive an email from Scantron with instructions on how to access the online score report portal.

We could have done a better job at communicating.
In our current world of instant gratification, it's almost impossible to think about this long of a delay for results of a digital exam. While we understand the frustration of waiting, we also understand the frustration of not being aware of the timeline for results. Though we look to our testing provider, Scantron, to relay thorough information to our test takers, ARN recognizes the need to provide additional communication from our end moving forward.

Let's talk about scoring.
The cut score, which is what the standard setting determines, is a technique currently considered by the testing profession to be one of the most defensible criterion-referenced methods available for setting passing points. It relies on the pooled judgments of content experts. For example, in this approach, a group of experts is asked to judge each item on the test. The criterion used to judge each item is formed into a question: "What is the probability that a 'minimally acceptable' candidate will answer this item correctly?" This question prompts the judges to consider a group of minimally acceptable candidates and what proportion of that group will answer each item correctly.

The individual score report will indicate whether the test taker has passed or failed the examination. Passing or failing is based on the scaled score indicated on the score report. A scaled score of 500 is needed to pass the CRRN examination. The score report also will provide information about subscore areas. Subscores represent content from specific areas of the content outline and are helpful because they highlight areas where further study is indicated.

The average of the proportions, or probabilities, is multiplied by the total number of items on the test. The result then represents the minimally acceptable score. The final passing score for the examination is based on this pooled judgment and includes a statistical adjustment for testing error.

When will this happen again?
Every group of applicants after the June 2022 exam will get their scores immediately at the end of the exam. Again, you are among the one-in-five-years group that have had to wait for their results. The next time this will occur will be in 2027.

Give yourself a high-five.
We'd like to congratulate you for pushing yourself to take the exam and working hard to do so. We would also like to thank you for your patience, your understanding, and your assistance in helping us to recognize your needs during this process. Your feedback is important to us, and we hope that we can continue to grow from our experiences.

Please email us.
Please email Ewa Aksamit, ARN Certification Coordinator, directly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for any further concerns or questions.