ABFAS Case Review Appeals Policy

Case Review Appeals Policy

1. Purpose

The Case Review Appeal process provides candidates with a fair and consistent mechanism to request an additional evaluation of their original Case Review materials.

 2. Scope

• The Appeal applies to the candidate’s original Case Review materials submission and the evaluation of those materials.
• The appeal is initiated by the candidate following release of results.
• The appeal provides an additional independent evaluation of all cases as originally submitted, and no supplemental materials may be submitted.
• The appeal applies the same evaluation standards and scoring procedures used during the initial Case Review.

3. Eligibility

• Only candidates who do not achieve a passing result on the Case Review examination may submit an Outcome Appeal per examination administration.
• Only one Outcome Appeal may be submitted per examination administration.

4. Timelines and Process Requirements

• Outcome Appeal timelines and procedural steps are established annually by ABFAS staff and will provide appellants reasonable time to complete each step, including defined response periods for ABFAS review, scoring, and final reporting.
• The initial Outcome Appeal request must be submitted within 14 days of notification of results (the date when results are first posted).
• Case evaluations and scoring conducted during the Appeal process are performed using the same established standards and evaluation criteria applied during the initial Case Review.
• ABFAS will issue the final determination and notify the candidate within 90 days of the Case Review Results Release Date.

5. Submission Requirements

• An Outcome Appeal request must be submitted through the designated ABFAS process within 14 calendar days of the Results Release Date.
• An Outcome Appeal request must include payment of the applicable fee. The appeal will not be processed until payment is received.

6. Candidate Communication

• Communication regarding Case Review results or an Outcome Appeal must occur in accordance with established ABFAS procedures.
• Communications submitted outside of those procedures will not be reviewed.
• Candidates may not contact Board members, examiners, or reviewers directly regarding Case Review results or an Outcome Appeal.

7. Independence, Blinding, and Psychometric Oversight

• Appeal reviewers are independent of prior reviews and blind to earlier scores and notes.
• ABFAS’s psychometrician oversees reliability/defensibility and performs rescoring consistent with approved scoring rules.

6. Final Determination and Notification

• ABFAS will render a determination based on its established scoring procedures, which are grounded in psychometric principles.
• The Outcome Appeal process described in this policy constitutes the sole and final review available regarding Case Review results.
• The candidate notification is limited to a pass or fail determination; no additional scoring information or feedback is provided.
• ABFAS shall notify the candidate of the outcome via formal letter or electronic communication.

7. Confidentiality

• ABFAS maintains confidentiality of candidate materials, reviewer identities, scoring data, and deliberations consistent with examination security expectations.
• The Review Panel’s members will remain confidential, and each member is prohibited from having any other communication with the candidate that is in any way related to the appeal.
• The appealing candidate may not initiate any other communication with Review Panel members related to the appeal and may not be present for the Review Panel’s review of the candidate’s submission.

8. Fees

• Outcome Appeal fees are established by ABFAS and published separately.
• If the rescore results in a passing final score (≥ 500 scale score), the fee is refunded, otherwise, the fee is retained.

Effective Date: February 25, 2026