United States
Hong KongWhat is the pass rate for the FTCE?
There is no single pass rate. FLDOE publishes four, one per subtest, for first attempts in 2025: essay 64%, English Language Skills 68%, Reading 78%, Mathematics 71%. Because all four have to be passed, our own multiplication of those rates puts roughly a quarter of candidates through the whole test first time.
Four subtests are passed separately, so four rates are published and none of them describes the test. Anyone quoting you one FTCE pass rate has picked a subtest and dropped its name.
The published rates
| Subtest | First attempt | Best attempt |
|---|---|---|
| Essay (825) | 64% | 79% |
| English Language Skills (826) | 68% | 83% |
| Reading (827) | 78% | 86% |
| Mathematics (828) | 71% | 83% |
FTCE/FELE 2025 Annual Administration and Technical Report. First attempt means the first time a candidate sat that subtest. Best attempt counts a candidate as passing if they eventually did, which is why every figure in the second column is higher.
The number people are actually asking for
How many clear the whole thing first time. FLDOE does not publish it, so we worked it out: multiply the four first-attempt rates and roughly a quarter of candidates pass all four at the first attempt. That figure is ours and it is derived, it assumes the four results are independent, and that assumption is a simplification, which is why we give it as roughly a quarter rather than to a decimal.
It checks out from the other direction. 37.2% of candidates retook at least one subtest, which is the same story told backwards. The full working is in why roughly a quarter pass all four first time.
Why the headline rate flatters this test
Reading's first-attempt rate is the number most likely to be quoted at you, because it is the friendliest one in the report. It describes 30 questions in 55 minutes and nothing else. The essay, at 64%, is the rate to plan around.
One more figure that gets misread
34,252 General Knowledge administrations in 2025, and 10,120 people. Those are not the same number and plenty of sources print the first as a count of candidates. A candidate sits 3.38 subtest administrations on average, which is what four subtests and a 25.4% retake share of administrations produce between them. We wrote that out in why thirty-four thousand sittings are ten thousand people.
Our concession on all of this: the rates tell you who passed and nothing about who they were. FLDOE publishes no breakdown by background, by preparation route or by how long anyone studied, so nobody can honestly tell you what the rate is for someone like you.
Common questions
What is the pass rate for the FTCE General Knowledge Test?
FLDOE publishes one rate per subtest rather than a combined figure. For first attempts in 2025 they were 64% for the essay, 68% for English Language Skills, 78% for Reading and 71% for Mathematics.
How many people pass all four subtests first time?
Roughly a quarter, by our own arithmetic. Multiplying the four published first-attempt rates gives that figure, it assumes the four results are independent, and FLDOE publishes no combined rate of its own.
What is the hardest subtest by pass rate?
The essay, at 64% at the first attempt, is the lowest of the four. English Language Skills follows at 68%, then Mathematics at 71%, with Reading the highest at 78%.
What is the difference between first-attempt and best-attempt rates?
First attempt counts only a candidate's first sitting of a subtest. Best attempt counts them as passing if they passed eventually, which is why the best-attempt figures run from 79% to 86%.
How many people take the FTCE General Knowledge Test?
In 2025 there were 34,252 subtest administrations and 10,120 unique examinees. The first number is sittings, not people, and a candidate averages 3.38 subtest administrations across the four subtests.