United States
Hong KongWhat a scaled 200 means
200 is the passing scaled score on each FTCE subtest. It is a converted value, not a mark out of a total and not a percentage. Conversion exists so that the same scaled score represents the same standard whichever version of a subtest you happened to sit.
Candidates see 200 and try to work out what it is 200 out of. Nothing. That is the first and most useful thing to understand about it.
What a scaled score is doing
Your raw performance - how many questions you actually got right - is converted onto a fixed reporting scale. On the FTCE subtests, the point on that scale that represents the required standard is 200.
The conversion is not decoration. Versions of a subtest differ slightly in difficulty, and without scaling a candidate who drew a harder version would be held to a higher standard than one who drew an easier version, for the same Florida certificate. Scaling moves the conversion so that the standard stays put.
There are 30 questions in English Language Skills and 30 in Reading and 35 in Mathematics. None of those is 200 of anything. Treating the scaled score as a mark out of a total is the most common misreading of this test, and it makes people imagine a standard far above the one they actually face.
How the raw count relates to it
The Department publishes what a scaled 200 is worth as a share of correct answers, per subtest, and it publishes those as maximums.
| Subtest | Questions | Maximum share correct for a scaled 200 |
|---|---|---|
| English Language Skills | 30 | At most 63 percent |
| Reading | 30 | At most 70 percent |
| Mathematics | 35 | At most 63 percent |
"At most" is doing real work in that column. On a harder version, a scaled 200 may sit at slightly fewer correct answers. It will not sit at more. Which is exactly why the raw count behind the pass is not published as a fixed figure, and why anyone quoting you one is guessing.
The three numbers are not interchangeable
Each subtest has its own conversion and its own published maximum. A scaled 200 in Reading and a scaled 200 in Mathematics represent the same decision - pass - but they sit at different raw percentages, because they are different tests measuring different things.
Never average them. A single blended pass mark for the FTCE General Knowledge Test does not exist, and building one out of 63, 70 and 63 produces a number that describes no subtest anyone sits.
What your scaled score tells you
- Whether you met the standard on that subtest, which is the only decision it makes
- Roughly how far above or below the standard you were, since the scale is ordered
- Nothing about which specific questions you got wrong
- Nothing about which items on your version were experimental and unscored
That second point is worth more than candidates give it credit for. A fail three points under 200 and a fail forty points under are different problems, and only one of them is fixed in thirty days.
The honest limit of it
A scaled score is a verdict, not a diagnosis. It will not tell you that your comma rules are fine and your modifier placement is not, which is the thing you actually need to know before you re-register.
For that you need a full timed paper with an answer key, sat under the same clock. Our view is that anyone who has just failed a subtest should do exactly that before spending money on materials, because half the time the diagnosis is pacing rather than knowledge, and no course fixes pacing.
Common questions
What is a scaled score of 200 on the FTCE?
It is the passing standard on each subtest, expressed on a fixed reporting scale rather than as a raw mark. A scaled 200 represents the same standard on every version of a subtest, which is the point of scaling.
Is 200 a percentage?
No. It is a converted value, not a share of anything. The Department separately publishes what a scaled 200 is worth as a share of correct answers, and those figures are maximums: at most 63, 70 and 63 percent by subtest.
How many questions must you get right to score 200?
It varies by version, which is why no fixed count is published. The published maximums put the ceiling at 63 percent of 30 in English Language Skills, 70 percent of 30 in Reading and 63 percent of 35 in Mathematics.
Why does the Department scale scores?
So that the same scaled score means the same standard whichever version of a subtest a candidate sat. Versions differ slightly in difficulty, and scaling stops that difference turning into a harder or easier certification requirement.
Does a scaled 200 mean the same thing in every subtest?
It means the same decision - a pass - but it sits at a different share of correct answers in each subtest. Reading's published maximum is higher than the other two, so the three cannot be averaged into one pass mark.