The American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) has offered the In-Training Examination (ITE) annually since 1971 to pediatric trainees in US and Canadian programs as a service to residents and program directors. The ITE is a 3-hour written exam consisting of approximately 150 multiple-choice questions. The ITE is administered on designated days in July.

The purpose of the ITE is:

To enable residents to assess strengths and weaknesses in general pediatric knowledge at the time of the exam

To assess progress from year to year

To compare performance with national peer groups

In addition, program directors can use results from the ITE to provide counseling and remediation to residents. Directors can also accumulate and analyze results over several years to evaluate the quality of training their program has provided