United States
Hong KongWhat 1,400 means
A scaled score converts a raw count into a value on a fixed range so that the same score means the same standard whichever form was sat. 1,400 is the pass on a 1,000 to 1,600 scale.
Candidates read 1,400 out of 1,600 as 87.5 percent and conclude the exam is brutal. It is not that kind of number.
What a scaled score is
A translation. Your raw performance is converted onto a fixed range so that a given scaled score represents the same standard regardless of which form you sat.
The scale runs 1,000 to 1,600 and the pass is 1,400. Those endpoints are not a count of anything - there are 90 questions, not 1,600.
The scale does not start at zero. It starts at 1,000, which is the floor of the reporting range and not a score of nothing. Treating the range as a percentage is the single most common misreading of this exam, and it makes people believe a standard far higher than the one they face.
Why the conversion exists
Forms differ slightly in difficulty. Without scaling, a candidate who happened to draw a harder paper would be held to a higher standard than one who drew an easier paper, for the same credential.
Scaling removes that unfairness by adjusting the conversion per form. The consequence is that the raw count behind 1,400 is not fixed and is not published.
What your score can tell you
- Whether you met the standard, which is the only decision it makes
- Roughly where you sat relative to the standard, since the scale is ordered
- Nothing about which specific questions were wrong
- Nothing about which of the 90 were the 10 unscored pilot items
The unscored ten
Ninety questions are administered and 80 are scored. The 10 pilot items do not count towards your score and cannot be identified while you sit.
The only sane response is to answer all 90 as though they count, because you cannot tell and guessing wrong costs you a real mark.
What to do with a preliminary result
A preliminary pass or fail appears on screen at the test center, with the official scaled score following from PTCB.
If it is a fail, the scaled score is worth waiting for. It tells you how far short you were, which is the difference between a repair job and a rebuild.
Common questions
What does a scaled score of 1,400 mean?
It is the pass standard on a 1,000 to 1,600 reporting scale, not a mark out of 1,600.
Is 1,400 out of 1,600 the same as 87.5 percent?
No. The scale starts at 1,000, not zero, so it cannot be read as a percentage.
Why does PTCB scale scores?
So that the same score means the same standard whichever form a candidate sat.
How many questions do I need right?
Not published, and it varies by form. That is what scaling is for.
What about the unscored questions?
Ten of the 90 do not count and cannot be identified. Answer all 90 as though they do.