Sample assessment question items are provided here that represent the form of items that candidates may expect on the Canadian Standard Assessment In Optometry. The subject matter contained in these items is limited in scope and should not be regarded as representative of the full range of material that is tested.

The correct responses for these items are identified by displaying them bold and red.

1. Which one of the four orbital walls has the thickest diameter? 

1. superior wall (roof) 
2. inferior wall (floor) 
3. lateral wall
4. medial wall 

2. Which of the following has a high success rate without matching for first transplantation and HLA-B and -DR identification for secondary transplantation?

1. kidney
2. bone marrow
3. lung
4. cornea

3. Which of the following choline esters has the strongest muscarinic action?

1. methacholine chloride (provocholine)
2. acetylcholine chloride (Miogan)
3. carbachol chloride (Carbastat)
4. bethanechol chloride (urecholine) 

4. Injury following a myocardial infarction is generally reversible up to:

1. 1 hour
2. 4 hours
3. 18 hours
4. 24 hours 

5. A patient has poor best-corrected visual acuity with spectacles.  Corneal mires are distorted.  Slit lamp findings include central corneal thinning, a Fleischer’s ring and vertical endothelia striae.  The most appropriate diagnosis is:

1. pellucid marginal corneal degeneration
2. keratomalaci
3. keratoconus
4. keratoglobus 

6. When performing the clock dial test, a patient reports that the lines at 7:00 are the darkest. What is the axis of the correcting cylinder (minus cylinder form)?

1. 180 degrees
2. 30 degrees
3. 60 degrees
4. 90 degrees 

7. Which one of the following conditions causes both visual deprivation and abnormal binocular interaction?

1. constant unilateral strabismus
2. anisometropia
3. isometropia
4. binocular congenital cataracts 

8. What type of optic nerve disease is associated with a centrocecal scotoma?

1. ischemic anterior optic neuritis
2. posterior ischemic optic neuropathy
3. toxic optic neuropathy
4. idiopathic optic neuritis 

9. What is the youngest age at which an ocular vergence response could be elicited?

1. 1 week
2. 3 weeks
3. 5 weeks
4. 7 weeks  

10. What would be the effective power of an eye if a -5 dioptre lens was placed 10 mm from the eye?

1. -4.00 dioptres
2. -4.76 dioptres
3. -5.24 dioptres
4. -6.00 dioptres