FTCE General Knowledge (082) Scoring Guide
What is the FTCE General Knowledge (082) Passing Score?
The FTCE General Knowledge (082) consists of one essay and several multiple choice parts. The essay requires a score of 8/12 to pass, while the multiple choice segments require a scaled score of 200 to pass. Each subtest must be passed individually.
How is the FTCE 082 Exam Scored?
Each examinee’s response on the General Knowledge Essay is scored holistically by two raters using the scoring rubric available in the Test Information Guide for the General Knowledge Test, which evaluates both the substance of the essay and the composition skills demonstrated by the examinee. These elements include ideas, focus, organization, style (diction and sentence structure), and mechanics (capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and usage). The two raters’ scores are combined to achieve the examinee’s total score. (If the raters’ scores differ by more than one point, an FTCE Chief Rater resolves the discrepancy.) The scoring rubric ranges from 1 to 6 score points, resulting in combined totals that range from 2 to 12 score points. To achieve a passing score of 8 score points, an examinee’s response would require a minimum score point of 4 from each rater.
For the multiple choice segments, Florida uses a centralized bank of questions for each exam, out of which each student will receive different sets of questions. Since the questions are all different, a direct head-to-head comparison (known as a raw score) is impossible, so the questions are weighted by difficulty. To sum up a complicated issue, this means that getting 20 really hard questions correct could be enough to reach the 75% scoring threshold, even though the raw score would be below 75%; inversely, answering 24 questions correctly which are all rated as “easy” could mean that the exam is scored below 75%. Make sense? Of course not, but it’s the system! On the whole, when preparing for the exam, aiming for that 75%/23 questions correct target is a safe benchmark to work with, even though your final score report may ultimately vary a bit.
When Will I Get My Score?
Official score reports will be posted to your account within 4 weeks of your test date.
How Do I Understand My Score Report?
This one’s easy: if you pass, you will see the “PASS” status on your score report. If you do not pass, you will see the “NOT PASS” status on your score report with a numeric score.
For those who pass the exam, this is probably the end of what you need to know. For those who fail the exam, you will want to study your comprehensive score report closely in order to dissect what you did wrong so that you can correct it for next time.
For more information on understanding your score report, see here.
What if I Need to Retake the FTCE General Knowledge Exam?
If you happen to fail the exam, don’t fret, it happens all the time: the first-attempt pass rate for the General Knowledge Test in Florida is only 62%. To retake the exam, you will just need to wait 31 days and pay the exam fee again. No problem!
Please PAY ATTENTION to that ‘31 days’ part: the registration system does not block you from re-registering within 31 days. Instead, it allows you to register and take the exam again, but when your score is processed and the administrators figure out that you didn’t wait the full time, they’ll then invalidate the new score and keep your fee payment (no refunds). So be wary and make sure to wait it out.
Also: if you happen to fail the exam, there is an option called a Score Verification session, wherein for $75 you can review your test and submit scoring challenges for review. This could result in a score being changed from a Fail to a Pass, so it’s an option worth knowing about should you find yourself in this position!
Final Thoughts
The FTCE General Knowledge (082) can be tough, but it shouldn’t feel daunting. With the right preparation you can go into the test feeling confident, and confidence pays dividends. Please feel free to peruse our resources and put them to full use- we want you to succeed! Good luck and please reach out to us if you have any questions or if we can help in any way.
More FTCE General Knowledge (082) Resources
