PANCE Exam Pass Rate 2026: Scores, Percentiles & First-Time Pass Odds

If you’re planning to sit for the PANCE in 2026, you’ve probably already Googled “PANCE exam pass rate” and fallen into a rabbit hole of NCCPA PDFs, school outcome pages, and Reddit threads. Let’s clean that up.

Below is a straight-talk breakdown of the latest PANCE pass rates, how scoring actually works, what “good” scores and percentiles really mean, and how to think about 2026 if you’re still in school.

PANCE exam pass rate: 2025 update from NCCPA data

The most reliable numbers come directly from the NCCPA’s “Five Year Pass Rates for PANCE” report. The latest version (updated with 2024 data and released in early 2025) shows:

• Overall PANCE pass rate (all exam attempts) has sat around the high 80s to low 90s over the last five years.
• First-time PANCE pass rate has been remarkably steady at about 92–95% each year.
• Average PANCE score over recent years has hovered in the mid-450s on the 200–800 scale.

To put some numbers to that:

• 2024
  • Overall pass rate: ~89%
  • First-time pass rate: ~92%
  • Mean score: ≈456 with a standard deviation around 77
• 2020–2023
  • Overall pass rate: peaked around 93% in 2020, then eased down to ~89% by 2022–2024
  • First-time pass rate: 95% in 2020, then 93% in 2021, and 92% from 2022–2024
• 2025
  • data for 2025 will be available in September 2026.

So, even with blueprint tweaks and all the “is PANCE getting harder?” chatter, roughly 9 out of 10 exams still pass, and about 9 out of 10 first-time takers pass.

In 2024 alone, over 12,400 people passed PANCE, bringing the total number of certified PAs to almost 190,000 by the end of that year.

That’s your 2025 reality check: the bar is serious, but it’s absolutely passable.

PANCE pass score and how the scoring works

Here’s what matters for your score, in plain language:

• Score range: 200–800
• PANCE pass score: 350
• Anything at or above 350 = pass; below 350 = fail (NCCPA)

The NCCPA uses a scaled score, which means your raw percentage (how many questions you got right) gets converted to that 200–800 scale. This lets them keep the standard consistent even when different versions of the exam vary slightly in difficulty.

A few practical takeaways:

• 350 is not “half the questions right.” Because of scaling, you can’t directly convert percentage correct to a scaled PANCE score.
• With a 2024 mean around 456 and a standard deviation around 77, the passing score of 350 is well below the average test-taker.
• If you’re consistently scoring around the mid-400s on good practice exams, you’re likely in a comfortable zone.

PANCE score percentiles: what do they actually mean?

Officially, NCCPA does not publish a public percentile table. They give you your scaled score and a performance profile by content area, not “you’re 63rd percentile.”

When people talk about PANCE score percentiles, one of three things is happening:

1. They’re using internal percentiles from a Qbank (e.g., “you are scoring in the 65th percentile vs other users”).
2. They’re estimating percentiles using mean and standard deviation numbers from NCCPA reports.
3. They’re just… guessing.

If you assume a roughly bell-shaped distribution with a mean around 455 and SD ~77, then:

• 350 is about 1–1.5 standard deviations below the mean, i.e., a relatively low percentile but still passing.

That’s a helpful mental model, but it’s not official. Treat any exact “PANCE score percentile chart” you see online with skepticism unless it clearly cites NCCPA.

First-time PANCE pass rate vs overall pass rate

You’ll see two different phrases thrown around:

• “First time PANCE pass rate” – percent of people who pass on their first attempt that year.
• “PANCE exam pass rate” (overall) – includes all attempts, so it’s a bit lower because it counts retakes.

From the NCCPA data:

• First-time pass rate has held around 92–95% over the last five years.
• Overall pass rate sits slightly lower, around 89–93%.

This is why PA programs brag with lines like “Our first-time PANCE pass rate is above the national average.” They know that’s what prospective students care about.

For you, the takeaway is simple:

The exam is designed for a prepared new grad to pass on the first attempt. If you’re studying consistently, you’re playing in a field where about 9 out of 10 people pass the first time.

PANCE pass rate by school: how to actually compare programs

There’s no big public NCCPA table that lists PANCE pass rate by school in one place. What NCCPA does instead is give each program a detailed report and publish the national first-time pass rate for context. (King’s College)

Because of accreditation rules, individual PA programs then publish their results on their own websites. For example:

• Some programs show five-year first-time pass rates with comparisons to the national average. (evms.edu)

If you search “PANCE pass rate by school,” you’re really looking at:

• Dozens of separate program pages
• Each with its own table of cohorts (Class of 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024…)
• Usually comparing program first-time pass rate vs national first-time pass rate for each year

How to read those tables without overthinking them:

1. Check the five-year average, not just one year. Small classes swing wildly with one or two fails.
2. See how the program trends vs the national first-time pass rate (usually ~92–95%).
3. Don’t panic over a single low year; ask whether they’ve rebounded in later cohorts.

PANCE pass rate 2026 and average PANCE score 2026: what can you expect?

Right now, we only have official numbers through 2024, released by NCCPA in early 2025.

Here’s what we can say based on trends and recent changes:

1. Blueprint and exam content
   • The PANCE blueprint is periodically updated. A new blueprint was rolled out for 2025 to reflect current practice and reorganize content weightings. (pa.uworld.com)
   • These changes can nudge mean scores a little, but NCCPA adjusts the passing standard so the exam remains fair.
2. Trend in pass rates and mean scores
   • From 2020–2024, first-time pass rates barely moved, staying clustered around 92–95%.
   • Mean scores dropped a bit from ~473 in 2020 to the mid-450s in later years but remained comfortably above the 350 passing standard.

If you’re taking the exam in 2025 or 2026, the most realistic expectation is:

• First-time PANCE pass rate will likely stay somewhere around 90–95%, even with minor blueprint tweaks.
• Average PANCE score for your cohort will probably still land near the mid-450s, with year-to-year wiggle.

We’ll only know the actual PANCE pass rate 2026 and average PANCE score 2026 once NCCPA publishes those numbers, usually the following year.

So instead of chasing mythical “future” numbers, use current data to set goals:

• Aim for practice scores solidly above 350 on scaled tools.
• Ideally, push into the 400–450+ range to give yourself margin.

What this all means for your personal study plan

The statistics are reassuring, but they don’t pass the exam for you. Here’s how to use all this pass-rate and score talk in a practical way.

1. Calibrate expectations with the national average

Knowing the average PANCE score is in the mid-450s and the first-time pass rate hovers around 92% tells you:

• You don’t need a “perfect” score; you need to be competently prepared across the blueprint.

If your practice exams are consistently:

• < 350 (scaled equivalent): you’re at real risk; you need more time and targeted review.
• 350–400: borderline; you might pass, but it’ll feel close.
• 400–450+: you’re probably in a solid zone as long as you’re not tanking specific sections.

2. Focus on blueprint-weighted topics

The 2025 blueprint continues to weight bread-and-butter systems heavily (cardio, pulmonary, GI, etc.) and key tasks like diagnosis and clinical management.

Pass rates and scores don’t help if you’re:

• Guessing on cardio and pulmonary
• Weak on diagnostics and therapeutics

Build your schedule around:

• High-yield organ systems
• High-weight task areas
• Repeated retrieval practice (Qbanks, spaced repetition, short reviews)

3. Use program and national pass rates to keep perspective

If your program had a rough year and you’re seeing a lower PANCE pass rate by school:

• Look at the five-year average, not just one bad cohort.
• Focus on what you can control: your practice scores, your weak areas, your consistency.

If you’re doom-scrolling “PANCE pass rate by school Reddit” threads:

• Remember that Reddit posts capture the loudest voices, not the full data set.
• Nationally, the odds are still heavily in favor of a prepared first-time test taker.

Quick FAQ: PANCE pass rate & score basics

What is the current PANCE pass score?

The PANCE passing score is 350 on a 200–800 scale. Anything 350 or above is a pass. (NCCPA)

What is the average PANCE score?

In 2024, the mean PANCE score was around 456, with a standard deviation of about 77. Recent years have all landed in a similar mid-450 range.

What is the national first-time PANCE pass rate?

Over the last few years, the national first-time PANCE pass rate has stayed around 92–95%, with an overall pass rate around 89–93%.

Where can I see PANCE pass rate by school?

Check each PA program’s website. Most have a “PANCE outcomes” or “Program performance” page showing five-year first-time pass rates compared to the national average. (ohio.edu)

Is PANCE getting harder?

Blueprints and passing standards are periodically updated, but the national pass rate and mean score have stayed pretty stable. The exam is challenging, but not a moving target designed to fail you.

Bottom line:

If you’re aiming for the 2025 or 2026 PANCE, ignore the noise and look at the real data. The PANCE exam pass rate is high, the PANCE pass score is clear, and the mean scores are comfortably above that line. If you’re systematically working through the blueprint, tracking your practice scores, and learning from your misses, the statistics are firmly on your side.

That’s your 2025 reality check: the bar is serious, but it’s absolutely passable