What Is a Passing Score on the PANCE? Here’s Everything You Need to Know

Introduction

If you’re a PA student preparing for the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE), one of the biggest questions on your mind is likely: What score do I need to pass? Understanding the passing score for the PANCE is crucial—not just to ease anxiety, but to set realistic study goals.

In this blog, we’ll break down:

• What the PANCE is
• How it’s scored
• What constitutes a passing score
• Strategies to help you pass on the first try
• How a PANCE tutor and review course can give you an edge

What Is the PANCE?

The PANCE is the certifying exam administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). It’s required to become a certified PA (PA-C) and is taken after graduating from an ARC-PA accredited PA program.

The exam consists of:

• 300 multiple-choice questions
• Split into five blocks of 60 questions
• Administered over five hours

The PANCE tests your ability to apply medical knowledge and manage patients across all organ systems and age groups. It’s more than just a knowledge test—it’s a test of clinical reasoning, prioritization, and decision-making under pressure.

How Is the PANCE Scored?

PANCE scores are not given as raw percentages. Instead, they’re scaled on a 200 to 800 range, with 350 being the minimum passing score.

This means:

• A score below 350 is considered a fail.
• A score of 350 or higher indicates you passed, though many successful examinees aim for a score of 400+ as a buffer.

Each version of the PANCE is equated through psychometric analysis to ensure fairness, so you don’t need to worry if one exam form feels harder than another—your score reflects your performance relative to a standard.

How Many People Pass the PANCE?

As of recent NCCPA data:

• The first-time pass rate is typically between 91–93%
• The overall pass rate (including retakes) is around 95–97%

While these numbers are encouraging, they shouldn’t make you complacent. The students who pass the PANCE on the first try tend to have one thing in common: a structured, focused study plan.

How to Prepare for the PANCE

Here’s what top-performing students consistently do:

1. Set a Realistic Study Timeline 

   Cramming doesn’t work for the PANCE. Most successful test takers begin studying 8–12 weeks before the exam. Build a weekly plan that includes review, practice questions, and simulated exams.

2. Use a PANCE Tutor 

   If you struggle with test anxiety, content retention, or time management, a PANCE tutor can help:

   • Pinpoint your weak areas
   • Customize your study strategy
   • Provide 1-on-1 accountability

   Look for tutors who are certified PAs and have experience teaching board review content.

3. Take a PANCE Review Course 

   Live and on-demand PANCE review courses help condense the firehose of information into what’s most testable. Courses like CME4Life’s PANCE Review include:

   • • Daily high-yield lectures
     • Interactive question breakdowns
     • Clinical pearls
     • Memory hacks

   They’re also a great option if you’re looking for structure without having to create a study schedule from scratch.

4. Practice with Timed Question Banks
   • Simulate the 60-question blocks in timed settings.
   • Focus on understanding the rationale behind each answer, not just memorizing facts.
   • Use resources like Rosh Review, UWorld, or CME4Life’s question sets.
5. Review the NCCPA Blueprint
   
   The NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint outlines exactly what topics and systems are covered. Don’t ignore it—let it guide your study priorities.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Ignoring weak areas: If you avoid cardiology or EKGs because they’re difficult, those are likely the questions that will cost you most on the exam.
• Not practicing under pressure: Test day stress can reduce your performance if you haven’t practiced under real exam conditions.
• Skipping review courses: A good review course often pays for itself by saving time, improving retention, and boosting confidence.

Final Thoughts: Don’t Just Aim to Pass—Aim to Excel

While the magic number is 350, your goal shouldn’t just be to barely pass. Think of your PANCE prep as the foundation for the rest of your PA career. The deeper your understanding now, the better provider you’ll be.

A PANCE tutor or structured review course can help you:

• Understand complex content faster
• Build test-taking endurance
• Gain confidence before test day

At CME4Life, we offer interactive, engaging resources tailored to visual and kinesthetic learners. Our mission is to help you not only pass—but dominate the boards.