As a licensed psychologist, I support lowering this score. Unfortunately, my experience with this test has been less than positive. I passed the EPPP on my third attempt.

I received excellent training through graduate school, practicums, an internship, and a postdoc. The EPPP was discussed, and we were encouraged to take it as soon as we could and felt able to.

This test claims to protect the public and keep them safe. However, many graduate students must postpone or give up their choice to become psychologists because they need a passing score of 500, and the cost of retaking the test is high (unlicensed folk don't make a lot of money), which reduces the number of licensed clinicians available to provide services, which inadvertently hurts the public by limiting access to care.

The first time I took the test, I was highly anxious- more anxious than I had ever been in my whole life. As a result of trying to manage my anxiety, I missed answering 20 questions due to running out of time. I was three questions away from passing. I had studied for months and felt prepared, but reading the questions, I suddenly felt like I was spending five minutes just trying to understand what the question was asking me (English is my first language, but I was not born or raised in the USA).

Again, I took the test a second time and missed one question. I had again studied the material and felt at a loss to pass the test. The last time I took the test, I did not restudy the materials; I studied how the questions were written and what potential answers they were looking for. This test isn't based on psychological knowledge, ability, or morality but on how well you can take a test.

I agree that there should be a licensure process. However, research has shown that the EPPP has an adverse impact, which needs to be addressed. Additionally, the EPPP includes non-scoreable test items to create items for subsequent tests. We do not get the option to opt out of this, which may increase the chances of confirmation bias in the test taker, leading to a negative performance.