Does this mean someone might get an invitation to the Foreign Service Officer Assessment (FSOA) even if they performed poorly on the Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT)?

The FSOT will still factor into the decision of whether to advance a candidate to the Foreign Service Officer Assessment (FSOA). However, the FSOT will no longer be a pass/fail gateway test.

Rather, we will give all candidates the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and abilities via their responses to Personal Narrative prompts and their professional experience.

These responses, in addition to their FSOT score, will determine who gets invited to the FSOA Assessment.