CST Passing Score: 98 of 150, How NBSTSA Set It, and When Results Arrive

To pass the CST exam, you need at least 98 correct answers on the 150 scored questions. NBSTSA's prepare page lists that standard as effective January 1, 2024, and it is still the current value as checked on October 25, 2026. The other 25 questions on the 175-question exam are unscored pretest items and do not count either way.

The CST cut score: 98 correct out of 150 scored questions

NBSTSA's certification page states the same number in one line: 98 on scored questions means you have passed. The content outline defines the passing score as the minimum number of questions you must answer correctly, and says the 25 pretest items are randomly distributed through the exam for statistical analysis.

Some Passy arithmetic, labeled as such:

• 98 out of 150 is 65.3% of the scored questions.
• 150 minus 98 means you can miss up to 52 scored questions and still pass.
• Because you cannot tell pretest items from scored ones, your raw total on all 175 questions is not your score. Only the 150 count.

Treat 65.3% only as a way to picture today's number. NBSTSA states its standard as a count, and the count is what appears on its pages.

Why the CST passing score is a count, not a percentage or a scale

You will find other numbers online: 390 out of 600, 70%, or the pre-2024 standard of 102. None of them is NBSTSA's current standard. NBSTSA does not publish a scaled score for the CST, and the outline itself does not print the cut score. It tells candidates to check nbstsa.org for the number, which is one reason older study guides drift out of date.

Practicing against a count rather than a percentage is easier with a full-length run. The CST prep page describes the 175-question timed mock exam planned for launch, built on the same three subject areas.

How NBSTSA set the 98 in November 2023

NBSTSA publishes the standard-setting report behind the current number. The study used a method based on Angoff (1971) and ran in three steps at an in-person meeting in Olathe, Kansas, on November 11, 2023:

1. Defining minimum competence. Seven judges described a minimally competent practitioner: someone who can practice safely and competently without being an expert.
2. Rating every item. For each question, each judge estimated what percentage of minimally competent candidates would answer it correctly.
3. Checking against data. Judges then saw the answer key and each item's actual difficulty, revised their ratings, and discussed the items where their estimates were far from the data or from each other.

The judges' individual estimates ranged from 59.96% to 69.17%, and their average pointed to a cut of 96 out of 150. The report says NBSTSA was advised to pick a value within two standard errors of that estimate, 92 to 101. After the results were presented on November 15, 2023, NBSTSA set 98. The candidate handbook adds that NBSTSA's Board of Directors has final approval of the cut score.

Why the 98 holds across CST exam forms

Different candidates see different questions. NBSTSA's exam development guide says it launches new test forms each January and, in the years between standard-setting studies, uses statistical equating so the difficulty of all forms stays consistent. The 2023 report adds that the form used for standard setting became the base form for later forms, which are built to be parallel and to follow the outline's item counts.

NBSTSA says it typically changes the cut score only at a standard setting that follows a new job analysis, a cycle its documents put at 4 to 5 years in some places and 5 to 7 years in others, and that a new cut score is announced at the same time new exam forms launch. No new standard setting is announced as of October 25, 2026. The CST 2027 guide covers what that means for 2027 test dates.

Because every form follows the same item counts, practice that mirrors those counts is more useful than a random mix. See how full CST prep groups its planned questions by subject area.

When CST results arrive: on campus, at PSI, or after graduation

How fast you see a result depends on where and when you test. As checked on October 25, 2026:

The details come from NBSTSA's On Test Day page, its educator guidelines and its application page. For on-campus candidates, the educator guidelines say NBSTSA processes graduation documents in three to five business days, then emails each student the official pass or fail result. If proof of graduation is not in within 60 days, the results are invalidated and the fees are forfeited.

Two smaller rules from the candidate handbook: the photo taken at check-in prints on your score report, and you must sign and return your scratch paper or you will not receive one.

What the CST score report tells you, and what it does not

NBSTSA says score reports are provided to all candidates. The pages and handbook checked for this guide do not describe a breakdown by subject area, so do not count on one. If your report does show results by area, use them to rank what to study next. If it does not, rate yourself on the eight sub-areas with NBSTSA's Study Evaluation, then carry those ratings into the three subject areas of the free CST retake planner, which weights your weeks by them.

To see where points are easiest to lose, the CST content outline guide shows how the 150 scored items split across the sub-areas.

If you miss 98: CST scores are not appealable, but retakes are immediate

The handbook says pass/fail scores cannot be appealed to NBSTSA's Board of Directors. They fall under the complaint policy instead, and a complaint must be filed within 30 days of the decision. You can, however, retest without waiting: NBSTSA sets no waiting period, allows up to three attempts per calendar year, and requires a new application and the $300 retake fee each time (as checked on October 25, 2026).

What a Passy practice score can and cannot tell you about the 98

Passy's 20 free CST practice questions are original items, not NBSTSA questions, and they are not equated to an NBSTSA form. One item is 5 percentage points, so a percentage on the set cannot tell you whether you would reach 98 of 150. What the set can show is which kinds of decisions you get wrong, with the reasoning behind every option. When you want more than that, check what full CST prep will include when it launches.