PASC Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows

What the Published Numbers Say

Pediatric Audiology Specialty Certification (PASC), offered by the American Board of Audiology (ABA), awards the designation Board Certified in Pediatric Audiology (BC-PA). Candidates naturally want to know how many people pass before committing to the application, the fees, and months of preparation. The issuer's August 6, 2026 report provides the most current answer, and it contains two numbers that are easy to confuse.

The honest summary is that PASC has a high published pass rate relative to many professional exams, but the candidate pool is small and heavily pre-screened. That context matters more than the headline percentage. For a broader look at difficulty, see How Hard Is the PASC Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.

Two Denominators, Two Different Questions

The 82.6% first-time rate and the "20 of 25" overall result do not conflict. They answer different questions.

• First-time pass rate (82.6%): Of the candidates attempting the exam for the first time, what share passed?
• Overall result (20 of 25): Of everyone who sat the exam in the window, including anyone retesting, how many passed?

Because the denominators differ, you cannot back-calculate one from the other with certainty, and you should not try to derive a retake success rate from them. The issuer did not publish a retake-specific rate in the material reviewed, so any figure claiming to describe how retakers perform would be invented.

Why 2025 and 2026 Should Not Be Blended

The issuer reported a 2025 first-time pass rate of 86.9%. It is tempting to average this with 82.6% and call PASC "about 85%." Resist that. Each figure describes a different cohort sitting a different administration, and with candidate pools this small, a shift of a few people moves a percentage noticeably.

The practical reading is that both years sit in the same general range, which suggests that candidates who meet the eligibility requirements and prepare against the published blueprint tend to do well. It does not mean the exam is easy, and it does not guarantee your result. If you want the current year's figures kept in one place, the dedicated page on the PASC pass rate tracks them.

How Passing Is Decided

PASC uses criterion-referenced scoring. Passing is established through modified Angoff standard setting, in which subject-matter experts judge how a minimally qualified candidate would perform on each item. Your result is based on the overall raw score on the 100 scored items, with difficulty adjustment.

Three consequences follow:

• No fixed universal percentage. There is no published "you need X% correct" that applies to every form of the exam. Be skeptical of any source that states one.
• Not graded on a curve. Your result does not depend on how other candidates in your window perform.
• No guessing penalty. Leaving an item blank offers no scoring advantage, so answer every question.

The exam contains 120 questions in 2 hours 30 minutes: 100 scored items plus 20 unscored beta items. You cannot tell which are which, so treat every question as if it counts. More detail is in PASC Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.

Who Actually Sits the Exam

Pass rates are shaped by who is allowed to test. PASC is voluntary and independent of other certification, so general ABA certification, CCC-A, and professional membership are not prerequisites under the current handbook and program page. But the eligibility bar is still substantial:

• A graduate audiology degree from a regionally accredited institution
• An appropriate audiology license or work authorization (a permanent U.S. audiology license, or valid license/work authorization for international and U.S.-territory applicants)
• Paid post-degree professional experience
• 550 pediatric direct-patient hours and 50 pediatric case-management hours over two consecutive years within the preceding five years
• Two professional references, including a supervisor
• An official transcript, documented experience, and an ethics agreement

Externship hours do not qualify. The live application specifies a minimum of 2,000 professional hours within two years, while the handbook phrases the same idea as two years of post-degree, full-time (2,000) hours. Treat that as a wording discrepancy between sources, and confirm the exact language on the current application before you submit. Do not assume a larger threshold than either source states.

Older prerequisite language that referenced other certifications, including the January 2024 handbook introduction, is superseded. Use the current handbook (Edition 23, November 2025) as your authority.

Where Candidates Lose Points: Domain by Domain

The issuer does not publish domain-level pass or fail data, so no one can honestly tell you which domain candidates miss most. What is published is the scored-item allocation, which tells you where the points are. The handbook allocates 24, 21, 22, 16, 9, and 8 scored items out of 100, and the issuer's November 13, 2023 revised-blueprint announcement publishes the matching percentage weights.

One wording note: the 2023 announcement adds "patients with" to the Domain 1 heading, but the current handbook and live-page wording controls the heading used here. Also remember these six domains are formal exam content domains, not a preparation curriculum. They describe what is tested, not the order in which you should study.

For a full walk through of every content area, see PASC Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 6 Content Areas.

Format, Delivery, and Test-Day Risk

A pass rate reflects knowledge, but also logistics. Testing uses Prolydian with Proctor360 live remote proctoring. Older language referring to Examity delivery should not override the current Prolydian/Proctor360 instructions.

• All questions have four options.
• Single-answer items have one correct answer; multiple-response items have two or three correct answers.
• The exam is English-only and closed book: no calculators, notes, dual monitors, or ordinary breaks.
• You need a desktop or laptop, webcam, microphone, and a private room. Tablets, phones, and Chromebooks do not meet the device requirements.
• Expect identity and room checks, with current government photo/signature ID matching your registered name.

The multiple-response format deserves practice. Items asking for two or three correct options punish partial knowledge differently than single-answer items, and you should be comfortable evaluating each option independently rather than hunting for one "best" answer. Approved accommodations are governed separately, so request them through the issuer's process well ahead of your window.

Fees, Retake Windows, and the Cost of a Miss

Because a failed attempt carries real cost, it helps to know the fee structure. Figures below exclude membership.

A second-certification application receives a USD 50 application-fee reduction. For the full breakdown, see PASC Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.

On retakes, the current handbook permits testing and retakes for five years beginning on the first day of the next testing window after application approval. An older FAQ counts the five years from the first test date. These sources conflict, so follow the current handbook and verify your own eligibility dates with the issuer. Once eligibility expires, a new application, documentation, and fees are required. Results arrive approximately eight weeks after the administration, so a retake decision cannot be made quickly.

A Domain-Weighted Preparation Plan

Since your readiness is judged by raw score on scored items, preparation should follow where the points are. A sensible sequence front-loads the heavy domains and uses the small domains as confidence builders later.

Adjust this to your own practice. A clinician who works in a school setting may already be strong in educational audiology and weaker in medical audiology, and vice versa. A diagnostic baseline quiz will show you where to shift time; you can take one on the main practice test site. For a fuller study framework, read the PASC Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, and keep the PASC Cheat Sheet 2026 handy for final review.

Planning for the May 2027 Window

The next exam window is May 3-17, 2027. Work backward from the dates below.

Approval of your application must precede registration, and your documentation (transcript, references, hour logs, ethics agreement) takes time to assemble, so start well before the March deadline. Sources were checked October 14, 2026; confirm the dates on the issuer's upcoming-exams page before you commit. More scheduling detail is in PASC Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.

If you are weighing whether the credential justifies the effort, the ROI analysis and salary guide cover the career side. Once certified, renewal is every three years with 60 CE hours total (including 30 pediatric hours, 15 Tier 1 hours, and 3 professional-ethics hours, all as subsets of the same 60), continued ethics and licensure compliance, and a USD 360 fee for either membership group. Excess hours do not carry forward.

To test your readiness against realistic items before you apply, try the practice questions at PASC Exam Prep.

Frequently Asked Questions