How Hard Is the EPPP? What ASPPB's Pass Rates by Program Show

EPPP pass rates in ASPPB's 2026 report

ASPPB publishes one official source of EPPP pass rates: its yearly Psychology Licensing Exam Scores by Doctoral Program. The 2026 edition, the 27th, covers first-time takers of Part 1 from January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2025, and counts a pass as a scaled score of 500 or more:

Two caveats come from the report itself. ASPPB writes that across most sample years, first-time takers from accredited programs average a pass rate above 80%, and it notes that the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected training, with possible residual effects in this period, which includes 2021 and 2022. The program each candidate is counted under is the one they entered when registering.

So the honest summary: for a graduate of an accredited program taking Part 1 for the first time, passing is the usual outcome, but about one in four in this five-year window didn't reach 500.

Where EPPP candidates lose points

The same report gives the average share of questions answered correctly in each content area by first-time takers:

These are averages across everyone who tested, passers and non-passers alike; they aren't passing thresholds. Three patterns stand out:

• Growth and lifespan development and research methods and statistics have the lowest averages for accredited-program candidates, under 66% each.
• Ethics has the highest average in both groups, and it's also one of the two heaviest areas at 16%.
• Assessment and diagnosis combines a heavy weight (16%) with the third-lowest average.

That last point matters more than it looks. Multiply each area's weight by the 175 scored items and by the share answered wrong, and assessment and diagnosis comes out as the area where the average accredited-program candidate drops the most scored items, about 9, ahead of treatment (about 7.5) and lifespan development (about 7). Research methods and statistics, despite its low average, carries only about 12 scored items, so it costs about 4. This is Passy's arithmetic on ASPPB's averages and approximate item counts, but the direction holds: the lowest percentage isn't always where the most points go. To put that into practice, drill research methods and lifespan development in the planned domain practice without neglecting the heavier assessment area.

Why the EPPP feels hard

The numbers above point to breadth more than to any trick in the questions:

• Eight areas, 71 knowledge statements. ASPPB's content areas run from neurobiology and psychopharmacology to program evaluation, supervision models and the laws that govern practice. Few candidates use all of that in daily training.
• Distance from coursework. ASPPB recommends taking Part 1 as soon as possible after academic training, while foundational knowledge is fresh, according to its Which Exam Should I Take? page. If you sit it years after coursework, once your training has narrowed to one specialty, more of it has to be relearned.
• One best answer. Each question has three or four options and the handbook asks for the single best answer. In practice that means more than one option can sound reasonable, and the right one depends on precise knowledge, such as a specific research design, a developmental milestone or the wording of an ethical standard.
• Stamina. The format guide breaks down 225 questions in 4 hours 15 minutes with no scheduled break: 68 seconds per question for over four hours.
• Fifty questions that don't count. Pretest items are mixed in, and a cluster of unfamiliar questions can shake confidence even though some of them won't be scored.

None of this is a reason to expect failure. It's a reason to prepare across all eight areas rather than leaning on your strongest, which is how planned EPPP practice weighted across the eight content areas is organized.

Looking up your program's EPPP results

ASPPB's Exam Scores by Doctoral Program page links the full report. For each accredited program with five or more first-time takers, it lists the number tested, the pass rate and the average percent correct in each area; programs with four or fewer takers show neither number nor pass rate, to protect privacy. ASPPB asks readers to be careful comparing schools and to treat EPPP results as only one measure of a program.

If your program's averages are below the national figures in an area, that's a reasonable hint about where your training put less weight. It isn't a forecast of your own score.

What EPPP pass rates can't tell you

• Your chance of passing. Group pass rates describe past first-time takers; your result depends on your preparation, not your cohort's.
• Retake outcomes. The report covers first-time takers only.
• What a passing raw score is. ASPPB doesn't publish one, and the number changes by form; the passing score guide explains why.

Turning the EPPP's difficulty into a plan

Start by finding your weak areas honestly. The 20 free EPPP practice questions give a first read across the domains, and the EPPP study plan turns weights and weak spots into a schedule. If your plan runs about three months, the planned 90-day EPPP access period is sized for it, though checkout isn't open yet. If you've already had a first attempt, the retake guide shows how to read your domain feedback.