# NAVLE Scoring and Pass Rates: What You Need to Know


## Key Takeaways

- The NAVLE employs a scaled scoring system, not a raw percentage, with a fixed passing standard established by the ICVA. This equating process adjusts for variations in examination form difficulty, ensuring the passing threshold consistently represents a defined level of clinical competence.
- Score reports provide an overall scaled score and domain-specific performance breakdowns (e.g., canine, feline, equine, bovine; preventive medicine, diagnosis, treatment, anesthesia, practice management), indicating performance relative to the passing standard, not question accuracy. These breakdowns are crucial for identifying targeted areas for remediation.
- School-level NAVLE pass rates reflect cohort performance and are influenced by factors such as admission selectivity, class size, and examination timing relative to curriculum completion, rather than solely curriculum quality. They are not predictive of individual candidate success.
- Preparation should focus on mastering the NAVLE blueprint, with study time allocated proportionally to content area weightings, and adjusted based on individual performance in practice examinations and score report domain analysis.
- Species weighting on the NAVLE prioritizes canine and feline content, followed by equine and bovine, with smaller proportions for small ruminant, swine, and avian species. Deliberate study is required for less familiar species categories, even if they represent a smaller percentage of the examination.
- Practice question accuracy, particularly in species-specific and domain-specific categories, serves as a critical progress monitoring tool. Consistent performance above 70% in practice question sets across all categories is a practical indicator of readiness, though not a direct predictor of the scaled score.

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The North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE) is the gateway to independent clinical practice for veterinarians in the United States and Canada. This article explains how the NAVLE is scored, what the passing standard represents, and how published pass rates by school should inform your preparation strategy. It serves veterinary students who are selecting study resources, interpreting their score reports, or evaluating how their school's performance compares with national trends.

Understanding the difference between raw performance and scaled scoring is the first step toward reading your score report correctly. Many students misinterpret their results because they assume the reported number is a percentage of questions answered correctly. It is not. The NAVLE uses a scaled score with a fixed passing threshold, and the relationship between that threshold and the examination's difficulty varies from one administration to the next.

This article also addresses a question that circulates in every veterinary class: what do school-level pass rates actually tell you? The answer is more nuanced than a simple ranking, and misreading those numbers can lead to either false confidence or unnecessary anxiety.

## At a Glance

| Parameter | What You Need to Know |
|---|---|
| Passing score | Fixed scaled score set by the ICVA, not a percentage correct |
| Score scale | Reported as a scaled score with a defined passing standard |
| Question format | Multiple-choice questions, administered by computer |
| Content domains | Clinical medicine, surgery, public health, and other core areas |
| School pass rates | Published annually, reflect cohort performance, not individual prediction |
| Score report timing | Released after the testing window closes, with performance breakdowns |
| Retake policy | Governed by ICVA rules, limited attempts per testing cycle |
| Preparation implication | School pass rates correlate with curriculum, not with your personal readiness |

## How the NAVLE Is Scored

The International Council for Veterinary Assessment (ICVA) administers the NAVLE and sets its scoring methodology. The examination is delivered by computer and consists of multiple-choice questions drawn from a large item bank. Each administration includes both scored items and unscored pilot items, which are used to evaluate new questions for future examinations. Candidates cannot distinguish between the two, and both count toward the time allotted.

### Scaled Scores Versus Raw Scores

Your score report shows a scaled score, not a raw percentage. The ICVA converts the number of correctly answered scored items into a scaled score using a statistical process called equating. Equating adjusts for differences in difficulty between examination forms. A form with harder questions requires fewer correct answers to reach the same scaled score as a form with easier questions. This ensures that the passing standard represents the same level of competence across administrations, regardless of which questions a candidate happened to receive.

The passing score is a fixed point on the scaled score scale. It does not change from year to year, even though the raw number of correct answers needed to reach it may shift with form difficulty. The ICVA publishes the passing standard in its candidate information materials, and candidates should consult those materials for the current threshold instead of relying on anecdotal reports from previous test-takers.

### The Passing Standard

The passing standard is set through a standard-setting process that involves content experts who review each question and estimate how a minimally competent candidate would perform. This criterion-referenced approach means that your result depends on your performance against an absolute standard, not on how other candidates performed in the same administration. There is no curve. If the cohort in your testing window performs exceptionally well, the passing threshold does not rise.

This design has a practical consequence for preparation. You are not competing against your classmates. You are competing against a fixed standard of clinical competence, and the only question that matters is whether your knowledge meets that standard on the day of the examination.

## What Your Score Report Shows

The ICVA provides each candidate with a score report that includes the overall scaled score and a breakdown of performance by content area. The content areas mirror the examination blueprint, which the ICVA publishes in its candidate information materials. These breakdowns are useful for identifying relative strengths and weaknesses, but they have limitations.

Performance categories are typically reported as above, near, or below the passing standard for each domain. A category of "below" in one domain does not necessarily mean you failed the examination, because the overall score is what determines the outcome. Conversely, a strong performance in one domain cannot compensate for a weak performance in another if the overall score falls below the passing threshold.

The score report also indicates whether you passed or failed. For candidates who do not pass, the report provides the same content-area breakdown, which can guide targeted preparation for a retake. The ICVA's retake policies, including the number of permitted attempts and the waiting period between attempts, are described in the official candidate information and should be reviewed before scheduling a second administration.

## School Pass Rates: What They Do and Do Not Tell You

The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) and individual institutions publish NAVLE pass rates by school. These figures represent the percentage of first-time test-takers from each graduating class who passed the examination. They are useful for comparing curricula and for prospective students evaluating programs, but they are not a reliable predictor of an individual candidate's outcome.

### Cohort Factors That Influence School Pass Rates

Several factors shape a school's pass rate that have nothing to do with the quality of its curriculum. Admission selectivity determines the baseline academic profile of the entering class. Students who enter with stronger prerequisite preparation may perform better on a standardized examination regardless of the instruction they receive. Class size matters as well, because a single low-performing student moves the pass rate more in a small cohort than in a large one.

The timing of the examination relative to the curriculum also affects results. Schools that schedule the NAVLE after students complete their core clinical rotations may see higher pass rates than schools where students test earlier, simply because more clinical material has been covered. This is a scheduling effect, not necessarily a curriculum quality effect.

### What School Pass Rates Cannot Predict

A school with a 99% pass rate still has students who fail. A school with a 90% pass rate still has many students who pass. The variation within a cohort is far larger than the variation between schools, and your individual preparation, clinical experience, and test-taking strategy will determine your outcome more than your school's aggregate statistics.

One study of veterinary education found that student evaluations of teaching did not reflect independent measures of student learning, which suggests that subjective impressions of course quality, whether from students or from published rankings, may not align with objective examination performance. The same caution applies to school pass rates. They are one data point among many, and they should not be used to predict your personal likelihood of success.

## How Pass Rates Should Shape Your Preparation

Use school pass rates to calibrate your expectations, not to set your ceiling. If your school's pass rate is below the national average, that information should prompt you to begin preparation earlier and to seek additional resources. If your school's pass rate is above average, that is reassuring, but it does not reduce the amount of study time you need.

The most productive use of pass rate data is to identify the timing that works for your school's curriculum. Candidates who take the NAVLE shortly after completing relevant coursework tend to perform better than those who delay, because the material is fresher. Work backward from your intended test date to build a study schedule that covers all content domains, with extra time allocated to areas where your score report or practice examinations show weakness.

Your school's academic support office and the AAVMC's educational resources can provide guidance on preparation strategies that align with your curriculum. The ICVA also publishes official practice materials and candidate preparation information, which remain the most reliable source for understanding the examination's structure and content.

## Interpreting Your Score Report in Practice

Your NAVLE score report groups results by clinical species and by competency domain. The species categories are canine, feline, equine, bovine, small ruminant, swine, avian, and other small animals. The competency domains cover preventive medicine, diagnosis, treatment, anesthesia and analgesia, and practice management. Each category shows your performance relative to the passing standard, not a percentage of questions answered correctly.

Use the category breakdown to identify patterns instead of isolated weaknesses. A low score in one species category combined with a low score in the treatment domain suggests a clinical reasoning gap that applies across species. A low score in a single species with average domain performance points to a knowledge gap specific to that species' medicine. The [ICVA NAVLE candidate information](https://www.icva.net/navle/) explains that the report is designed for self-assessment, and the categories align with the examination blueprint.

The score report does not tell you which individual questions you missed. It also does not provide a raw count of correct answers. Your scaled score and the category breakdown are the only quantitative feedback you receive. For retake planning, treat the category data as the starting point for a structured content review, not as a precise diagnostic instrument.

## Building a Preparation Plan From Your Data

Your preparation strategy should differ depending on whether you are a first-time candidate or a repeat candidate. First-time candidates typically have the full examination blueprint available and should allocate study time proportionally to the percentage of questions in each content area. Repeat candidates have the additional information from their score report and should weight their plan toward the categories where they fell furthest below the passing standard.

A practical framework for allocating study time uses three tiers. Tier one is the species and domain combinations where your score report shows the largest gap. Tier two is content where you scored near the passing standard and where improvement is achievable with moderate effort. Tier three is content where you scored well above the standard and where further study yields diminishing returns. This framework applies to both first-time and repeat candidates, but first-time candidates must estimate their tier placement from their performance in veterinary school coursework instead of from a score report.

The [AAVMC veterinary education resources](https://www.aavmc.org/) describe the competencies expected of graduating veterinarians, and these competencies map closely to the NAVLE blueprint. If your score report shows a gap in a specific domain, cross-reference that domain with the relevant competency statements to identify the specific skills and knowledge areas that need attention.

## Monitoring Your Progress

Progress monitoring during NAVLE preparation requires a deliberate approach. Practice question banks provide the most direct measure of readiness because they simulate the examination format and content distribution. Track your performance by species category and domain, matching the score report categories, so that you can compare your practice performance with your actual examination performance.

Set a target of consistent performance above the passing standard across all categories in practice questions before scheduling your examination. The passing standard is set by the ICVA and is reported as a scaled score, and the [ICVA NAVLE candidate information](https://www.icva.net/navle/) states that the standard is established through a standard-setting process involving subject matter experts. Your practice question scores will not translate directly to a predicted NAVLE scaled score, but they provide a relative measure of improvement.

A monitoring table can help structure your review:

| Monitoring Parameter | What It Detects | Action Threshold | Action |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Practice question accuracy by species | Species-specific knowledge gaps | Below 70% in any species category | Targeted review of that species' core diseases |
| Practice question accuracy by domain | Clinical reasoning weaknesses | Below 70% in any domain | Focused case-based practice in that domain |
| Timed block performance | Test-taking stamina and pacing | Consistently running out of time | Increase timed practice frequency |
| Category trend over two weeks | Whether review is effective | No improvement after 100 questions per category | Change review method or content source |
| Full-length mock examination score | Overall readiness | Below passing standard on mock | Delay examination and extend preparation |

The thresholds in this table are practical starting points, not published standards. Adjust them based on your baseline performance and the time available before your examination date.

## Species-Specific Preparation Considerations

The NAVLE covers multiple species, but the weight given to each species varies. Canine and feline content carries the largest proportion of questions, followed by equine and bovine. Small ruminant, swine, avian, and other small animal content carries a smaller proportion. Your preparation should reflect this distribution, but your score report may reveal that a smaller species category is dragging your overall score down.

For students whose clinical experience is concentrated in one species or production system, the smaller species categories often require deliberate attention. A student with extensive small animal clinical experience may need to allocate proportionally more study time to food animal and equine content than the examination blueprint suggests. Conversely, a student from a mixed animal program may need to focus on the depth of small animal medicine expected at the NAVLE level.

The [MSD Veterinary Manual Professional Edition](https://www.msdvetmanual.com/) provides species-specific clinical reference material that can support targeted review in less familiar species. Use it to build differential lists and treatment frameworks for the core diseases of each species category, instead of attempting to memorize exhaustive detail.

## Adjusting for Your Circumstances

Your preparation plan must account for your specific situation. Students who are still in their clinical rotations have different time constraints than students who have graduated and are studying full time. Students who failed the NAVLE previously have different psychological and logistical considerations than first-time candidates.

If you are preparing while in clinical rotations, integrate NAVLE study into your rotation schedule. Use the species you are currently seeing as a study anchor. If you are on a small animal rotation, review small animal medicine in depth during that period. This approach uses the clinical context to reinforce learning and reduces the total study time needed.

If you are a repeat candidate, the [ICVA NAVLE candidate information](https://www.icva.net/navle/) describes the retake process and eligibility requirements. Your preparation should include a honest assessment of what went wrong on the previous attempt. Was it a knowledge deficit, a test-taking issue, or a time management problem? The score report provides data on the first, but you must assess the latter two yourself. Simulate examination conditions in your practice, including timing and question sequencing, to identify test-taking issues before the actual examination.

Students with accommodations for a documented disability should confirm their accommodation status with the ICVA well before the examination date. The accommodation process requires documentation and approval, and it cannot be expedited close to the examination date. The [ICVA NAVLE candidate information](https://www.icva.net/navle/) outlines the accommodation request process and deadlines.

## When Your Score Does Not Match Your Expectations

A score that falls below your practice performance warrants investigation. Review your score report for category-level patterns that might explain the discrepancy. A common pattern is strong performance in knowledge-based domains but weaker performance in application-based domains, which suggests that practice questions were testing recall while the examination tested clinical reasoning under time pressure.

Another pattern is a score that is close to the passing standard but slightly below it. This pattern suggests that your knowledge base is adequate but your test-taking strategy needs refinement. Focus on question interpretation, elimination strategies, and time allocation across the examination blocks.

A score that is far below your practice performance may indicate that your practice materials did not match the examination format or difficulty. Different question banks vary in their fidelity to the actual NAVLE. If your practice scores were consistently high but your examination score was low, consider whether your practice materials were sufficiently rigorous.

The relationship between veterinary school course grades and external examination performance is not straightforward. A study of student evaluations of teaching in a veterinary curriculum found that higher course grades did not consistently correspond to higher scores on an external basic sciences examination, suggesting that internal assessments and external examinations measure different aspects of learning. This finding supports the use of NAVLE-specific practice materials instead of relying solely on course performance to predict examination readiness.

## Recognized Complications and Failure Modes

The most consequential failure mode in NAVLE preparation is misreading your own score report. Candidates frequently interpret a scaled score near the passing standard as evidence that a small, targeted review will suffice on retake. The score report does not provide the granularity to support that inference. A score within one standard error of measurement of the passing standard is statistically indistinguishable from a failing score, and the difference between a 425 and a 430 may reflect nothing more than examination form difficulty. The discriminating check is to compare your performance across the eight content domains on the report. A uniform pattern of near-passing performance suggests global knowledge consolidation is needed, whereas a single low domain with otherwise adequate scores supports targeted review.

A second failure mode is preparation that tracks school grades instead of examination content. Course grades reflect local curriculum emphasis, instructor judgment, and assessment design. Research from veterinary education indicates that student evaluations of teaching do not reliably reflect independent measures of learning, and grades themselves are an imperfect proxy for external examination performance. The NAVLE is constructed to a blueprint published by the International Council for Veterinary Assessment, and that blueprint, not your transcript, defines the examination's content distribution. Candidates who prepare exclusively from lecture notes risk over-weighting topics their school emphasizes and under-weighting domains that carry heavy examination weight.

A third failure mode is late-cycle recognition of a content gap. Many candidates discover in the final two weeks that they have avoided a domain they find unpleasant, such as parasitology or public health. Early detection requires a diagnostic assessment taken at least eight weeks before the examination, with domain-level scoring. Repeating that assessment at four weeks and again at one week provides a trajectory. A domain that does not improve across two consecutive assessments despite study time warrants a change in method, not simply more hours.

## Common Errors and Corrective Action

| Observation | Likely Cause | Discriminating Check |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Score report shows uniform near-passing scores | Global knowledge deficit or test-taking strategy issue | Review time allocation per question block, check if you finished each section with time to spare |
| Single domain markedly below others | Content avoidance or weak prerequisite knowledge | Re-take a domain-specific question set, verify whether the deficit is recall or application |
| Practice scores improve but confidence does not | Anxiety or perfectionism instead of knowledge deficit | Compare practice scores against the ICVA published passing standard, not against an internal target |
| Performance drops on mixed-format blocks | Difficulty switching between species or discipline contexts | Time yourself on mixed blocks separately from single-subject blocks |
| Scores decline in the final week | Burnout or overtesting | Stop new content, shift to spaced review of previously mastered material |

Students frequently mistake volume of study hours for quality of preparation. The corrective action is to shift from passive review to active retrieval, using question banks that provide item-level feedback. When a question is missed, the error should be classified as a knowledge gap, a misread stem, or a reasoning failure. Only the first category requires new study time. The second and third require test-taking discipline, such as reading the final sentence of the stem before the clinical history, a technique that reduces errors in cases where the question asks for the next diagnostic step instead of the diagnosis itself.

## Limitations of the Current Evidence

Published data on NAVLE pass rates by school are limited in several respects. First, pass rates are reported as aggregate percentages, which conceal wide variation within a cohort. A school with a 95% pass rate may still have a subset of students who fail repeatedly, and a school with an 88% pass rate may have a cohort heavily weighted toward students with documented prior academic difficulty. Second, pass rates do not adjust for admission selectivity, prior degree completion, or the proportion of international students in the cohort. Third, year-to-year variation at a single school can exceed the difference between schools, so small gaps between institutions are not stable signals.

Expert opinion still differs on the predictive value of commercial preparation courses. Some educators argue that structured courses impose useful discipline on self-directed study, while others contend that the marginal benefit over a well-designed self-study plan is small. The evidence base for either position is thin. What is not contested is that the NAVLE measures applied clinical knowledge across species, and that the [ICVA candidate information](https://www.icva.net/navle/) explicitly describes the examination's content domains and format. Candidates should treat that document as the authoritative specification.

## When to Seek Help

Escalation is warranted when a candidate's practice scores remain below the passing standard after six weeks of structured study, when a domain shows no improvement across two consecutive diagnostic assessments, or when anxiety symptoms interfere with sleep, appetite, or the ability to complete practice blocks under timed conditions. In those circumstances, consultation with the school's academic support office or a licensed mental health professional is appropriate. Many veterinary schools maintain NAVLE preparation resources through their [veterinary education programs](https://www.aavmc.org/), and a dean of students or academic advisor can connect candidates with tutoring, peer study groups, or examination accommodations where a documented disability exists.

Regulatory reporting is not a consideration in NAVLE preparation. The examination is administered under strict security protocols, and any suspected breach of examination integrity should be reported directly to the International Council for Veterinary Assessment. Candidates who require testing accommodations must apply through ICVA's formal process well in advance of the examination window, not through the school.

## Frequently Asked Questions

**How much does the NAVLE cost, and are there fee reductions for retakes?**

The ICVA sets the NAVLE fee, which changes periodically, so check the [ICVA NAVLE candidate information](https://www.icva.net/navle/) for the current amount. The fee covers the full examination administration, including your score report. There is no published discount for retaking the examination, and you must pay the full fee each time you register. Some veterinary colleges include the NAVLE fee in tuition or offer emergency loans for students facing financial hardship. Contact your college's financial aid office early, because application deadlines for assistance often precede the NAVLE registration window by several weeks.

**How should I interpret my school's pass rate when choosing study resources?**

Your school's pass rate reflects cohort-level factors, not your individual probability of passing. A lower school pass rate does not mean you need a different study resource, it means you should assess your own foundational knowledge. Use the Veterinary Educational Assessment or your in-house cumulative exams to identify weak subjects, then allocate study time proportionally. Research on veterinary education shows that course grades and student evaluations do not reliably predict independent measures of learning, so rely on external practice examinations instead of your grade point average to gauge readiness. Choose resources that match your identified deficits, not resources marketed to schools with high pass rates.

**Can I request a hand-scoring or re-evaluation of my NAVLE if I fail by one point?**

No. The NAVLE is scored electronically using a scaled score model, and the ICVA does not offer hand-scoring or re-evaluation services. Your score report is final once released. If you believe there was an administrative error, such as a mismatched candidate identification number, contact the ICVA directly through the [ICVA NAVLE candidate information](https://www.icva.net/navle/) page within the stated appeal window. Substantive appeals are limited to procedural irregularities, not disputes about individual item scoring. Direct your energy toward the retake strategy outlined in your score report, which identifies content areas with the largest performance gaps.

**How do NAVLE pass rates differ between US, Canadian, and international veterinary schools?**

Pass rates vary by school and by cohort year, and the ICVA publishes aggregate pass rate data, though school-specific figures are often reported by the schools themselves. US and Canadian accredited schools generally report pass rates above 90 percent, while international schools show wider variation, sometimes falling below 80 percent in individual years. These differences reflect admission selectivity, curriculum structure, and the proportion of students for whom English is a second language, not necessarily clinical training quality. The [AAVMC veterinary education resources](https://www.aavmc.org/) provide comparative curriculum information. When evaluating a school, look for multi-year trends instead of a single year's figure, and ask the school for its NAVLE preparation curriculum directly.

**What should I do if my practice or externship schedule conflicts with my NAVLE study plan?**

Protect a minimum of six to eight dedicated study weeks before the examination, and negotiate your clinical schedule early. Many clinical rotations allow elective time in the final year, reserve that block for NAVLE preparation. If you cannot reduce clinical hours, shift your study strategy to daily spaced practice questions instead of weekend marathons. Use your commute for audio review and lunch breaks for ten-question sets. Inform your clinical supervisor that you are preparing for the NAVLE, because most teaching hospitals will accommodate a reduced caseload during the final weeks. The [AVMA professional practice resources](https://www.avma.org/resources-tools) include guidance on discussing educational needs with employers and clinical coordinators.

**How do I explain a low school pass rate or my own failed attempt to a potential employer?**

Frame the conversation around remediation and clinical competence, not the examination itself. Employers primarily want to know that you are licensed and that you have addressed any knowledge gaps. If your school's pass rate is low, state that you prepared using external practice examinations and targeted review of your identified weak areas. If you failed an attempt, describe your structured retake plan, including the specific content domains you remediated and the practice examination scores you achieved before passing. The [MSD Veterinary Manual professional edition](https://www.msdvetmanual.com/) can serve as a rapid reference for refreshing clinical knowledge during that remediation. Avoid volunteering unsolicited score details, and redirect the conversation toward your clinical experience and case management skills.

## Related Clinical & Scientific Guides

* [Developing a Study Schedule for NAVLE Diagnostic Reasoning](/knowledge/veterinary-medicine/navle-exam-prep/developing-a-study-schedule-for-navle-diagnostic-reasoning)
* [Veterinary Physiology Concepts Frequently Tested on the NAVLE](/knowledge/veterinary-medicine/navle-exam-prep/veterinary-physiology-concepts-frequently-tested-navle)
* [NAVLE Clinical Rotation Preparation: What to Review Before Each Service](/knowledge/veterinary-medicine/navle-exam-prep/navle-clinical-rotation-preparation-what-to-review-before-each-service)


## References and Further Reading

- [Student evaluations of teaching do not reflect student learning: an observational study.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40012037/). 2025.
- [ICVA NAVLE Candidate Information](https://www.icva.net/navle/). ICVA.
- [AAVMC Veterinary Education Resources](https://www.aavmc.org/). AAVMC.
- [MSD Veterinary Manual, Professional Edition](https://www.msdvetmanual.com/). MSD Veterinary Manual.
- [American Veterinary Medical Association Practice Resources](https://www.avma.org/resources-tools). American Veterinary Medical Association.
- [WOAH Terrestrial Animal Health Code](https://www.woah.org/en/what-we-do/standards/codes-and-manuals/terrestrial-code-online-access/). WOAH.

## Related Articles

- [When to Take the NAVLE: Timing and Eligibility](/knowledge/veterinary-medicine/navle-exam-prep/when-to-take-the-navle-timing-and-eligibility)
- [What Happens If You Fail the NAVLE: Retake Strategies](/knowledge/veterinary-medicine/navle-exam-prep/what-happens-if-you-fail-the-navle-retake-strategies)
- [Veterinary Immunology Concepts for the NAVLE](/knowledge/veterinary-medicine/navle-exam-prep/veterinary-immunology-concepts-navle)
- [Veterinary Pharmacology Calculations for the NAVLE](/knowledge/veterinary-medicine/navle-exam-prep/veterinary-pharmacology-calculations-navle)
- [Veterinary Surgery Principles for the NAVLE](/knowledge/veterinary-medicine/navle-exam-prep/veterinary-surgery-principles-navle)

> This article is educational professional reference material for veterinary audiences. It is not a substitute for veterinary diagnosis, individual clinical judgment, current product labeling, or applicable regulatory requirements.