The EPPP evaluates the broad knowledge base for practice in all areas of professional psychology, not limited to clinical practice. In the future it may be possible to include more assessment of clinical skill on the EPPP as we move from paper and pencil delivery to computer delivery, where performance related item formats can be more readily accommodated. As an examination of the knowledge base of candidates for licensure this is an important component in professional quality assurance and protection of the public. That the EPPP discriminates between different groups of candidates may be evidence for the validity of the exam. For example, first time examinees score higher than those who are retaking the exam.
Doctoral candidates score about a standard deviation higher than masters candidates.
This is not a judgement of differential overall qualifications for professional practice, rather it is an index of depth and breadth of knowledge in professional psychology. Other factors may be better evaluated in other ways. Individual licensure candidates and doctoral training programs now receive feedback in terms of domain subscores as well as overall exam scores. The intent is to provide programs with feedback about the different patterns of knowledge and skill. It will be interesting in the future to see if the pattern of subscores follows the same or different patterns.