ASWB Clinical Passing Scores and Pass Rates Explained

For tests on or after August 3, 2026, use the 122-question Clinical format and current blueprint. Equating and form-specific raw passing scores are not new concepts introduced by this change. This guide explains the current scored-item denominator, report fields and historical pass-rate data.

How the new exam is scored

The post-August 2026 ASWB Clinical exam contains 122 total questions: 110 scored items and 12 pretest items. The pretest items do not count toward your result; they are being evaluated for future exams. Your performance is based only on the 110 scored items.

ASWB uses psychometric equating across exam forms. That means the passing standard is held constant, but the exact number of items you must answer correctly can vary slightly from one form to another because forms differ in difficulty. A harder form may require fewer correct answers to pass than an easier form, and vice versa.

When your official score report arrives, it shows whether you passed, the number of questions you answered correctly, and the number needed to pass for your specific form. It does not show a percentage, a letter grade, or a scaled score. ASWB does not publish a scaled passing score for public use.

The official pass rates

ASWB publishes annual pass-rate tables on its official exam-pass-rates page. The most recent Clinical figure available is for 2025: a first-time pass rate of 75.7% across 26,439 exams.

The 2025 cohort predates the August 3, 2026 format change and took the older format. The 75.7% figure is a first-time rate, not a forecast for the current format. The selected annual summary is not an all-attempt rate or a longitudinal account of what happened to unsuccessful candidates later.

Why old thresholds do not apply

Before August 2026, the ASWB Clinical exam had 170 total questions: 150 scored and 20 pretest. Some older blog posts, forums, and prep materials translated that structure into an informal rule such as "you need about 70% of the 150 scored items." That math described a different exam.

The new exam has 48 fewer total questions and 40 fewer scored items. The content areas have been reorganized into three areas instead of four, and the mix of three- and four-option items has changed. Any advice that assumes the old 150-scored-item denominator, the old four-area blueprint, or a fixed 70% threshold is outdated for tests taken on or after August 3, 2026.

Reading your score report

Your official ASWB score report is intentionally brief. It typically includes your overall pass/fail status, the number of scored items you answered correctly, and the number needed to pass for the form you took.

• Pass/Fail. This reports the exam outcome; the licensing board also applies its other eligibility requirements.
• Number correct. Your raw count on the 110 scored items.
• Number needed to pass. The equated cutoff for your specific form. If your number correct is at or above this value, you pass.

If you fail, ASWB’s August 2026 guidebook says the unofficial report includes the number answered correctly and total questions in each content area. Use that feedback alongside your practice errors and the current blueprint. A content-area breakdown is useful review information, not a precise diagnosis of every knowledge gap.

What a practice-test percentage can and cannot tell you

A current-format practice set can be useful for building stamina and spotting knowledge gaps, but a raw percentage is not a direct translation of your official result.

• Format rehearsal: A full current-format simulation would present 122 total items in two 61-question sections, allowing two hours per section. PrepSolution’s free practice page is a short sampler, not that full-length simulation.
• No official conversion: These original practice questions have not been equated to ASWB forms. Their percentage correct cannot be converted into the official number needed to pass.
• It cannot predict form difficulty. Your official form may be easier or harder than any single practice set, which changes the number correct required to pass.
• Old-format percentages are misleading. Scoring 80% on a 150-scored-item legacy test does not mean you will score 80% on the 110-scored-item current test, or that either percentage maps to a pass.

Use practice results to decide where to focus — not to declare yourself ready. Combine practice scores with timed section rehearsal, weak-area review, and the official ASWB guidebook before you register or retake.