United States
Hong Kong"Maximum percent correct", explained
FLDOE publishes the maximum share of correct answers a scaled score of 200 can require: at most 63 percent for English Language Skills, at most 70 percent for Reading, at most 63 percent for Mathematics. They are ceilings. A harder version can need slightly fewer, never more.
The table is called Maximum Percentages of Correct Answers Needed to Achieve a Minimum Passing Score. Every word in that title is load-bearing, and the one that matters most is the first.
What the Department publishes
| Subtest | Questions | Maximum share correct for a scaled 200 |
|---|---|---|
| English Language Skills (826) | 30 | At most 63 percent |
| Reading (827) | 30 | At most 70 percent |
| Mathematics (828) | 35 | At most 63 percent |
From the FTCE and FELE maximum percentages table, updated 2 February 2026 and effective 1 January 2026. The essay is not in it, because the essay is not scored as a share of correct answers.
Why a maximum rather than a threshold
Because the pass is a scaled score, not a raw count. Versions of a subtest vary slightly in difficulty, and the conversion from raw to scaled moves with them so that a scaled 200 always represents the same standard.
On an easier version, clearing 200 takes a higher share of correct answers. On a harder one, fewer. The published figure is the top of that range - the most it will ever take. There is no published floor, and there cannot be a useful one, because it moves per version.
"At most 70 percent" means the Reading standard will never demand more than that on any version you could be given. It does not mean 70 percent is the line. Sites that print these as fixed pass marks have quietly turned a guarantee into a threshold, which is the opposite of what the word maximum does.
What that is in questions
Applying the published maximums to the published question counts gives a ceiling in whole questions. This arithmetic is ours, not the Department's, and it is a ceiling in exactly the same sense.
| Subtest | Questions | Maximum | Questions right, at most |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Skills | 30 | At most 63 percent | 19 |
| Reading | 30 | At most 70 percent | 21 |
| Mathematics | 35 | At most 63 percent | 22 |
63 percent of 30 is 18.9, which rounds up to 19 whole questions. 70 percent of 30 is exactly 21. 63 percent of 35 is 22.05, so 22. We are showing the working because the rounding is ours and you should be able to check it rather than trust it.
Notice how small those numbers look written out. Nineteen right out of thirty. That is a lower bar than most candidates carry in their heads, and it is one of the few places where this test is genuinely easier than its reputation.
Where the maximums mislead people
Two ways, and they pull in opposite directions.
The first is treating the maximum as the target. Aim at exactly 63 percent in Mathematics and a slightly easier version puts you under the line with no margin at all. The second is averaging the three into a single figure, which produces a target too low for Reading and describes no subtest anybody sits.
Our answer to both is the same: set a target per subtest, comfortably above that subtest's published maximum, and treat Reading as the one that needs the highest. Our own readiness figure sits above the highest published cut for exactly that reason. It is our number against our papers, not a pass mark, and we label it that way everywhere it appears.
What the table does not cover
- The essay, which is summed from at least two raters against a passing total of 6
- The raw count on the specific version you will sit, which is not published
- Experimental questions, which a version may contain and which the Department does not count publicly
- Any combined figure across subtests, because passing status requires all four separately
The honest limit here: nobody outside the Department can tell you how many questions your version will take. The maximum table is the closest thing to an answer that exists, and reading it as a ceiling is the whole skill.
Common questions
What does maximum percent correct mean on the FTCE?
It is the highest share of correct answers that a scaled score of 200 can require on that subtest. Because versions vary in difficulty, a harder version may need slightly fewer. It will never need more than the published figure.
How many questions do you need right to pass?
At most 19 of 30 in English Language Skills, at most 21 of 30 in Reading and at most 22 of 35 in Mathematics. That arithmetic is ours, applied to the published maximums, and it is a ceiling rather than a fixed threshold.
Are these the pass marks?
No. The pass mark is a scaled score of 200 on each subtest. The percentages describe what that scaled score is worth in raw terms at most, which is a different and weaker claim than a fixed pass percentage.
Why is the Reading figure higher?
Standards are set per subtest, and Reading's is at most 70 percent against at most 63 percent for English Language Skills and Mathematics. The three are not comparable and must never be averaged into one number.
What target should you set?
One per subtest, above that subtest's published maximum so a harder or easier version cannot catch you out. Reading needs the highest of the three. A single blended target points you away from the subtest with the highest bar.