Study app · Certified Paraoptometric Assistant (CPOA) exam

Study for the CPOA exam like a game.

CPOA Certify is a free study app built around the CPC's own outline for the assistant-level exam: a lesson for every task, tools you actually work with, and a daily habit that feels like playing instead of cramming.

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PlayStreaks, XP, badges and a mascot named Scout
  • In development
  • Free, no ads
  • No account, stays on your phone
CPOA Certify study road with a stop for each module
CPOA Certify home screen with a streak, level, exam countdown and today's mission
The prescription calculators lesson, with steppers for sphere, cylinder, axis and add
  • Every task in the CPC's CPOA outline
  • Learn and play at the same time
  • Calculators, simulators and a frame-boxing drawing
  • A game you can switch off
  • Your progress stays on your phone

See it in action

What studying actually looks like.

Swipe through the app, or use the arrows. Every screen below is the real thing.

Screens are from the app itself, running with a sample learner's progress.

The exam

What you're preparing for.

The Certified Paraoptometric Assistant (CPOA) exam is run by the AOA's Commission on Paraoptometric Certification. CPOA Certify is built against its published outline, task by task.

200/135 Exam items (180 scored) / minutes allowed
69 Tasks in the CPC's CPOA outline, every one covered by a lesson
804 Original practice questions, each with a teaching explanation

Play while you learn

Studying that feels like a game.

CPOA Certify borrows what makes games fun and leaves out what makes them stressful. You earn a streak, XP and badges for actually learning, and a miss is never punished.

Every day

A daily habit that forgives.

Pick a goal of about 5, 10 or 20 minutes a day, and Home shows how far along you are, with a short mission built around your weak spots. Miss a day and a Streak Freeze or a rest day covers it.

  • XP for learning, not tapping. A question pays once a day, and pays more when you get it right after a break or turn a miss around.
  • A forgiving streak. Freezes are earned, rest days are yours to choose, and nothing can be bought or repaired with money.
  • An exam countdown. Set your exam date for a pacing guide, plus optional reminders your phone shows on its own.
CPOA Certify home screen with a streak counter, an exam countdown and today's mission

Your study plan

The Road to CPOA.

Your modules laid out as a map: one stretch of road for each exam domain, heaviest first, with a challenge at the end of each. Exam Day, the full mock exam, is the finish. Nothing is locked, and Scout stands at the stop we would suggest next.

  • Domain challenges. A short set of questions from one domain. Miss it and you get a plain “not cleared yet,” the questions to review, and a fresh set to try.
  • The Daily Challenge. Five questions, one from each domain, the same for everyone each day. Share your result without giving anything away.
  • Task mastery. A level for each of the 69 tasks in the CPC outline, so you can see exactly what is left.
The Road to CPOA: a map of modules with stars on the finished ones

Little rewards

Scout, badges and a wardrobe.

Scout, the app's mascot, cheers your wins and never scolds a miss. Badges reward good habits like coming back, spacing out your practice and turning misses around, not hours logged.

  • Over 30 badges for habits, not grinding. Counters move once per question per day, so repeating a question earns nothing extra.
  • Outfits for Scout are earned by leveling up and earning badges. They are never for sale and change nothing but how Scout looks.
  • A weekly recap each Monday: days studied, XP, accuracy and the task you improved most. It reports, and it never scolds.
Scout's closet, with Scout wearing items that were earned
Optional Prefer plain studying? Turn the game down or off in Settings.
How that works

How you study

Tools you work with, not just text.

The assistant-level exam is full of things you do every day: reading a prescription, measuring a frame, calling a cover test. So the lessons let you do them.

Practice

Practice that teaches.

57 modules teach all 69 tasks in the CPC's outline, and every lesson has built-in checkpoints. Practice questions are tagged by domain and task and come with a teaching explanation, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

  • Quick 10, per-domain drills, an auto-picked weak-area drill, and a review queue for missed and flagged questions
  • 348 spaced-repetition flashcards that bring material back right before you would forget it, plus a searchable terminology reference
  • A 60-question pre-test shows which domains need the most work first, and an honest pass-likelihood estimate follows your mock exams
A CPOA Certify practice question with the answer explained

Hands-on tools

Draw the frame. Call the cover test.

Prescription calculators, a frame drawn to scale for boxing measurements, a cover-test simulator, a swinging-flashlight simulator, a visual-field mapper, an Amsler grid viewer and an eye anatomy explorer.

  • Prescription math: transposition, spherical equivalent, near and intermediate powers, vertex distance and PD, with the working shown
  • Every numeric answer in the question bank is recomputed by an automated check before the app ships
  • Five simulator challenges built on the lessons: Spot the RAPD, Name the field defect, Call the cover test, Label the eye and Box the frame
The frame boxing lesson with a frame drawn to scale

Quick play

Five spare minutes? Play a round.

Quick-play modes keep studying light. They still build the skill, they stay available when the game is off, and none of them punishes a miss.

  • Rx Math Sprint: ten fresh optics calculations with the working shown after each answer
  • Pace Run: practice at exam pace, with a bar that is only a guide and never cuts a question off
  • Term Match and a Lunch-break duel for two people on one phone, so a coworker can test you on the same ten questions
An Rx Math Sprint question with the working shown

What's inside

Everything you need to study for it.

Blueprint coverage

Every module and question is mapped to the exam's five official domains and 69 tasks, and an automated check fails if any task has no lesson.

  • 50% Clinical Principles, Testing & Procedures
  • 16.3% Contact Lenses
  • 13.15% Ophthalmic Optics & Dispensing
  • 13.15% Professional Issues
  • 7.4% Science of the Eye

Timed mock exams

A full 200-item practice exam under real conditions: 135 minutes, with 180 scored and 20 unscored items mixed like the real form.

Missed-question review

Missed and flagged questions land in a review queue, and flashcards bring material back right before you would forget it.

Progress analytics

A clear readout of where you stand by domain and by task, so you know exactly what to review before you schedule the exam.

Modules
57 modules with 131 short lessons, and 240 built-in checkpoints
Practice questions
804 original questions, each with a teaching explanation, and every numeric answer recomputed by an automated check
Hands-on tools
Eye anatomy, refractive error, eye movement, swinging flashlight, visual fields, acuity notation, transposition, prescription calculators, frame boxing, cover test and an Amsler grid
Tests
A 60-item pre-test with a study plan, and a full 200-item, 135-minute mock exam
Practice tools
Quick 10, domain drills, weak-area drill, missed and flagged review, 348 flashcards and a 181-term terminology reference
Quick play
Pace Run, Rx Math Sprint, Term Match, Lunch-break duel and five simulator challenges
Privacy
No account, no server, no analytics. Your progress is saved only on your phone

Why it's different

Not another generic quiz bank.

Most study apps are a recycled trivia bank with a paywall around it. CPOA Certify starts from the CPC's own exam outline, then builds the app that outline calls for.

Feature CPOA Certify Typical study apps
Content structure 57 modules & 804 questions covering all 69 tasks in the CPC's published CPOA outline, weighted to match the real domain proportions A generic trivia bank not tied to any specific exam blueprint
Lessons Hands-on tools: prescription calculators, a frame-boxing drawing, a cover-test simulator and more Static text pages or PDFs
Practice tests Full 200-item mock exam, 135 minutes, scored and unscored items mixed like the real form Untimed quizzes that don't mirror real exam conditions
Staying motivated A game layer that rewards learning: a forgiving streak, XP, badges and a mascot. Switch it off any time Plain quizzes with no reason to come back tomorrow
Weak-area review A review queue for missed questions, spaced-repetition flashcards, and an auto-selected weak-area drill No follow-up: you retake the same static quiz
Pass-likelihood estimate An honest, uncertainty-ranged estimate against a raw-score target you choose, never a fake “predicted score” Vague or unexplained “readiness” percentages
Cost and your data Free, with no ads and nothing to buy. Stored only on your device, with no account and no tracking Subscriptions, ads, and accounts that track what you do

Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced by the AOA or the Commission on Paraoptometric Certification. All lesson content and practice questions are original, written against the CPC's publicly available exam outline. Nothing is reproduced from AOA materials, and nothing in the app is presented as a real exam question.

Questions

Good things to know.

Is CPOA Certify really free?

Yes. It is a free, independent study app. There are no ads and nothing to buy, and streaks can’t be repaired with money.

Is it affiliated with the AOA or the CPC?

No. CPOA Certify is independent, and not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced by the American Optometric Association or the Commission on Paraoptometric Certification. All lesson text and practice questions are original, written against the CPC’s publicly available outline. Nothing is copied from AOA materials, and nothing is presented as a real exam question.

Will it get me a passing score?

No app can promise that. CPOA Certify gives you a pre-test, a full mock exam and an honest estimate of how likely you are to clear a raw-score target you choose. It is an estimate because the CPC does not publish how raw scores convert to its 200 to 800 scale. The app also links the official study resources in Settings, and they are worth using alongside it.

How is it different from CPO Certify?

Same game-style engine, different exam. CPOA Certify follows the CPC’s CPOA outline: 69 tasks, a 200-item, 135-minute exam, and the hands-on tools an assistant uses, like prescription calculators, frame boxing and a cover-test simulator. If you are studying for the Certified Paraoptometric exam, see CPO Certify.

Can I turn the game parts off?

Yes. In Settings, Game features can be Full, Light or Off. Light keeps the tracking and drops the pop-ups, combos and sound. Off removes streaks, XP, badges and Scout from the screen and gives you a plain study guide. The practice modes stay either way.

When can I get it?

CPOA Certify is still in development. Join the beta list and tell us your platform, and we will send an invite when there is a build ready for you. Your feedback goes straight back into the app.

Questions about the app?

Ask us anything about CPOA Certify, or tell us what you would like it to do next.

Email us
In development · beta list open

Join the CPOA Certify beta.

Tell us your platform and we'll send an invite when there's a build ready for you. It's free, and your feedback goes straight back into the app.

Studying for the Certified Paraoptometric exam instead? See CPO Certify.

Join the beta list