United States
Hong KongHow it is scored
Your answers to the 80 scored questions produce a raw score, which is converted onto a 1,000 to 1,600 scale. A scaled score of 1,400 is a pass. There is no penalty for a wrong answer.
Three steps, and the middle one is the one people misread.
Step one: the raw score
The 80 scored questions are marked. The 10 pilot items are set aside.
There is no penalty for a wrong answer, which has a direct consequence: never leave a question blank. A guess has positive expected value and a blank has none.
Step two: the conversion
The raw score is converted onto a scale running 1,000 to 1,600. The conversion accounts for the difficulty of the particular form you sat, so that the same scaled score means the same standard across forms.
The number of correct answers producing 1,400 differs between forms. Publishing a single percentage would be wrong for most of them. Any source that tells you a specific percentage is required has invented it, however confidently it is stated.
Step three: the decision
A scaled score of 1,400 or above is a pass. Below it is a fail.
The scale does not start at zero, so 1,400 out of 1,600 cannot be read as a percentage. Treating it as 87.5 percent overstates the standard badly.
What you get and when
A preliminary pass or fail on screen at the test center, with the official scaled score following from PTCB.
Reading a fail
The scaled score tells you how far short you were, and that distance matters more than the fact of the fail.
A near miss is a repair job on one or two domains. A wide miss is a different plan, and treating one as the other is how second attempts go the same way as first ones.
A practical rule for the day
Answer everything. With no penalty and four options, an eliminated option or two turns a guess into a reasonable bet, and an unanswered question is a guaranteed nothing.
Common questions
How is the PTCE scored?
The 80 scored questions produce a raw score, converted onto a 1,000 to 1,600 scale. A 1,400 is a pass.
Is there a penalty for wrong answers?
No. Never leave a question blank.
Why is there no percentage pass mark?
The raw count producing 1,400 differs by form, so no single percentage would be correct.
Is 1,400 out of 1,600 the same as 87.5 percent?
No. The scale starts at 1,000, not zero.
When do I get my result?
A preliminary pass or fail on screen, with the official scaled score following from PTCB.