Short version: there is no percentage to hit. The exam measures where your ability sits, and the passing standard is a point on that scale — which is why two people can answer a different number of questions and both walk out certified.
Results are reported against a passing standard of 950 on a scale of 100 to 1500. It is a level of ability, not a share of questions. Your practice-test percentages are useful for tracking progress, and they do not convert to this scale.
EMR, EMT and Paramedic sit a computer-adaptive exam. After each answer it updates its estimate of your ability and chooses the next question near that level while still meeting the blueprint's content targets. It stops when it is confident, to a set statistical standard, that you are above or below the passing standard — or when you hit the maximum length or the clock.
The AEMT exam is the exception: 135 questions, fixed, for everyone, in 180 minutes.
The "it shut off at 70" rumour is noise. A short exam means the test became confident quickly. It does not say which way. The only thing a short exam rules out is a long one.
Every form carries unscored pilot items the Registry is trialling. They look exactly like scored ones and you cannot tell them apart, so the only workable strategy is to treat every question as if it counts.
Your results break down by domain, relative to the standard. Start the retake there rather than with the chapter that felt hardest — a domain that is both weak and heavily weighted is where the next attempt is won. See what to do after a failed attempt.
National Registry certification and a state licence are two different things: the Registry certifies, your state EMS office licenses you to practise. The requirements, fees and timelines are your state's, so check them with the office that issues the licence where you intend to work.
Free on this site: practice tests by level, questions by domain, flashcards and cheat sheets.
Results are reported against a passing standard of 950 on a scale of 100 to 1500. The standard is a level of ability, not a percentage of questions answered correctly.
No. On an adaptive exam the length tells you how quickly the test reached a confident decision, not which decision it reached. People pass at the minimum length and people fail at it.
Six in total. After three unsuccessful attempts, EMT, AEMT and Paramedic candidates must document a remedial training program before testing again. After six, you complete an entire state-approved education program again.
After an unsuccessful attempt there is a 15-day wait before the next one.
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