The short answer
The Veterinary Technician National Exam (VTNE) is a three-hour test of 170 multiple-choice questions. Only 150 of those questions count toward the score [2]. The American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSB), which runs the exam, offers several kinds of official prep material [1]:
- a content outline
- skills and tasks lists
- free sample questions
- common abbreviations and references
- three paid practice tests that report results by domain
The AAVSB pages cited here do not give a study schedule or a recommended number of study hours. Published reviews in health professions education support two methods: spacing study over time and practicing recall from memory. Neither review addressed the VTNE, and neither identifies veterinary technician students as a studied population [3][4].
Key takeaways
- The AAVSB describes its VTNE content outline as "one of the most important materials to review before taking the VTNE" [1].
- The AAVSB offers three versions of its official online practice test. Each has 75 questions, runs 90 minutes, and costs $50 USD per attempt [1].
- According to the AAVSB, the exam has 170 multiple-choice questions, and 20 of them are unscored pilot items used to build future exams [2].
- A 2024 systematic review of 56 studies in health professions education found that 43 of 63 experiments showed significant benefits of spaced and/or retrieval practice on grades [3].
- A 2025 review reports that retrieval practice helps most when the practice format matches the kind of thinking the real exam requires [4].
- The AAVSB states that its practice test questions may not be removed by any means, and it names memorization as one of those means [1].
How the exam is built
The AAVSB lists the VTNE as a three-hour exam with 170 multiple-choice questions. The score is based on 150 scored items, and the other 20 are pilot questions that do not count [2]. The exam is offered in English or French. Candidates can take it at a PSI test center in the U.S. or Canada, or at home through live remote proctoring [2]. The AAVSB says the species covered are the ones specified by the AVMA Standards of Accreditation in their Veterinary Technology Student Essential and Recommended Skills list [1].
The exam is divided into 10 domain areas [1]. The text of the AAVSB outline itself was not part of the sources for this guide. Mometrix, a commercial test-prep company, lists these per-domain question counts [7]:
| Domain | Questions (per Mometrix) |
|---|
| Pharmacy and pharmacology | 20 |
| Surgical nursing | 20 |
| Dentistry | 10 |
| Laboratory procedures | 14 |
| Animal care and nursing | 30 |
| Diagnostic imaging | 9 |
| Anesthesia | 20 |
| Emergency medicine/critical care | 10 |
| Pain management/analgesia | 10 |
| Communication and veterinary professional support services | 7 |
These counts add up to 150, which matches the AAVSB's figure for scored items [2][7]. Mometrix also lists tasks under each domain [7]. Mometrix states that the AAVSB is not affiliated with it and does not endorse its page [7]. Its lists are therefore a vendor's account, not the official outline.
The official AAVSB prep materials
The AAVSB study page offers a content outline, skills and tasks lists, sample questions, a list of common abbreviations, and references [1]. There are 10 sample questions, which represent the 10 domain areas, followed by an answer key. The AAVSB says it changes these questions periodically [1].
The paid online practice tests come in three versions. According to the AAVSB, they assess strengths and weaknesses in each of the 10 domains and provide feedback on results after the attempt [1]. Group pricing is available for bulk orders [1].
The AAVSB attaches one firm condition to the practice tests. It states that the practice test is "copyrighted and questions from the practice test are not to be removed in any manner, including memorization" [1]. The AAVSB presents the practice tests as a way to assess strengths and weaknesses by domain, not as a bank of questions to learn by heart. The AAVSB also asks candidates to report suspected misconduct and exam security concerns [2].
The AAVSB pages do not give a recommended number of weeks or hours of study, and they do not suggest a sequence for the materials.
What the research says about study method
Spaced and retrieval practice
Trumble and colleagues define two methods [3]:
- Distributed practice: spacing study over time instead of cramming.
- Retrieval practice: recalling information from memory, for example by taking practice tests.
Their 2024 systematic review searched seven databases in November 2022 and included 56 studies containing 63 experiments [3]. Of those experiments, 43 showed a significant benefit for spaced and/or retrieval practice compared with massed practice, rereading, normal class, or no intervention. One study found a negative effect for distributed practice [3]. The authors concluded that both methods "are effective at improving academic grades in health professions education" [3].
The review also looked at study schedules. Five studies compared different spacing patterns. An expanding schedule, with gaps between sessions that grow over time, came out ahead in three of the five [3]. The authors described these results as mixed and said more research is needed [3]. When studies compared types of recall, free recall beat recognition questions such as multiple choice [3]. The Learning Scientists, a research blog, summarized the review in October 2024. The blog reported that 3 of the 5 schedule studies favored an expanding schedule and that free recall was more effective than recognition or cued recall [5].
Matching practice to the exam
Serra and colleagues' 2025 review examines retrieval practice in the health professions, including medicine, nursing, and dentistry, and covers its use in preparing for licensing exams [4]. The authors wrote that retrieval practice "will be most beneficial when the type of retrieval practice matches the processing required on the exam" [4]. They warn that students who rely on flashcards for isolated facts may still struggle on exams that require applied reasoning [4].
The same review lists common ways students weaken the effect [4]:
- dropping a flashcard after one correct answer
- waiting until shortly before an exam to start practice questions
- preferring rereading because it feels easier
The review cites studies by Giuliodori et al. (2008) and Kleinsorgen et al. (2018) as indicating that retrieval practice aids the learning of veterinary medicine content [4].
Limits of the evidence for VTNE candidates
Neither review addressed the VTNE, and neither identifies veterinary technician students as a studied population [3][4]. Trumble's review included one veterinary anatomy and physiology course, but introductory psychology was the most common setting, with 16 studies [3]. Its authors named several limitations [3]:
- The study designs varied too much for a meta-analysis.
- Validity evidence for assessment instruments was generally weak.
- Time on task was rarely reported.
- Most studies came from a single institution.
- A single reviewer scored study quality, which the authors acknowledged may raise the risk of error.
The Learning Scientists post adds a further caution. Results from undergraduate introductory courses may not carry over to programs with different goals and time pressures [5]. Penn Foster states that its students pass at 78% compared with a 70% overall pass rate [6]. Apart from that statement, no source here links a prep program or product, official or commercial, to VTNE pass rates.
How sources suggest reviewing practice tests
Mometrix recommends reviewing three groups of questions after each practice test [7]:
- questions answered wrong
- questions guessed, even if guessed correctly
- questions that were difficult or slow
It also suggests a sequence [7]:
- Take the first test untimed, with notes.
- Take the second test with notes, but timed.
- Take later tests under simulated test-day conditions.
Mometrix cautions that memorizing practice questions is unlikely to help, because the real exam will probably not repeat them [7]. That advice fits the AAVSB's restriction on memorizing its own practice test [1].
Penn Foster quotes Shawna Burke, a licensed veterinary technician and educator. She recommends study blocks of under an hour, often 45 minutes of study followed by a 15-minute break, along with flashcards and self-care [6]. That is one instructor's advice, not study findings.
Our read is that the sources fit together into a simple structure:
- The AAVSB outline and domain feedback show where to spend time.
- The reviews favor spaced study over massed study, and retrieval practice over rereading [3].
- Practice is most useful when it matches the processing the exam requires [4].
- The schedule itself is left to the candidate, because no source supplies one.
