Additional practical examination feedback now available

We are pleased to announce that candidates sitting the practical examination on or after 31 August 2026 will receive additional feedback about their performance in the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) component of the examination.

This enhancement represents the final stage of a three-phase program designed to provide candidates with more detailed information about their practical examination results and performance.

Over the past year, the ADC has progressively introduced additional feedback to support candidates in understanding their examination outcomes:

• In Period 3, 2025 we introduced the reporting of critical errors on the Candidate Results Profile.
• In Period 1, 2026, we began providing detailed feedback for candidates who did not achieve the required standard in tasks completed in the simulation clinic, during the technical skills day of the practical examination.
• From the start of Period 3, 2026, candidates will receive feedback about their performance in the OSCE stations.

Feedback is provided at the individual station level, where the result for the station is a ‘fail’. The report identifies the competency areas where performance did not meet the required standard, based on the marking criteria used by examiners. To assist candidates in understanding the report, it is important to note that:

• Individual marking criteria are not reported.
• All assessment criteria are mapped to the competencies outlined in the Professional competencies of the newly qualified dental practitioner.
• Not all competencies are assessed in the practical examination.

The information provided is intended to help candidates better understand the areas of performance that contributed to their examination outcome and support future preparation. A sample feedback report is available on our website to help candidates understand the format of the report and how to interpret the information it contains.

The introduction of OSCE station feedback completes the program of enhancements previously communicated to candidates and reflects the ADC’s ongoing commitment to providing meaningful and informative feedback while maintaining the validity, reliability and integrity of the assessment process.

As with the current process, the feedback report will be available by close of business on the same day that results are released.