Your Score Report Is Feedback - Whether You Passed or Failed
After sitting for an ARE division, you receive a score report from NCARB - typically within a few days of your exam date, delivered to your NCARB online record. The score report tells you whether you passed or failed and, if you failed, provides section-level performance feedback that is intended to guide your retake preparation. Understanding how to read and use score report information is important regardless of the outcome: a passing result needs to be understood in the context of your overall licensure progress, and a failing result contains specific information that should directly influence how you study for a retake.
What a Passing Score Report Shows
The ARE is scored as pass/fail - there is no numerical score reported to candidates. If you pass, your score report simply indicates a passing result and records the date. The passing score is added to your NCARB record and the rolling clock begins (or continues, if you have previous passing scores). There is no way to know how close to the cutoff you were - NCARB deliberately does not report this to prevent candidates from gaming the exam by stopping effort once they believe they have crossed the passing threshold. A passing result is simply a passing result, regardless of margin.
What a Failing Score Report Shows
A failing score report provides section-level performance feedback without revealing a specific numerical score. The report divides the exam into its major content areas (the sections listed in the NCARB Exam Guide for that division) and indicates your performance in each section as one of three categories: Weak, Borderline, or Strong. This feedback is directional - it tells you which content areas contributed to the failing result and which areas were relative strengths. A "Weak" rating in a section means your performance in that area significantly contributed to the overall failing result; "Borderline" means performance was near the passing threshold; "Strong" means you performed well in that area despite the overall failing result.
Using Section Feedback for Retake Preparation
The section feedback on a failing score report should be the starting point for retake preparation planning. "Weak" sections deserve the most intensive additional study - these are the areas where your knowledge gap was greatest and where additional preparation time will have the most impact on your retake score. "Borderline" sections warrant meaningful attention - a small improvement in borderline sections may be sufficient to cross the passing threshold. "Strong" sections do not require heavy additional study, but they should not be completely ignored because the exam is adaptive and strong sections may receive more difficult questions on the retake. After identifying your weak and borderline sections, revisit the NCARB Exam Guide for that division to understand exactly what content is covered in those sections and build a targeted study plan.
The Retake Window
NCARB requires a 60-day waiting period between a failing attempt and a retake of the same division. This waiting period is both a requirement and an opportunity - it gives you time to address the gaps the score report identifies. A retake attempted without any change in preparation approach is unlikely to produce a different result. A focused 60-day preparation period targeting the specific weak and borderline areas identified in the score report significantly improves the retake pass probability.
Key Score Report Points
- Pass/fail result only - no numerical score reported to candidates.
- Failing report: section-level performance as Weak, Borderline, or Strong.
- Weak sections: prioritize in retake preparation. Borderline: meaningful study needed. Strong: light review only.
- 60-day waiting period required before retake - use it purposefully.
- Address the specific weak areas identified; do not simply repeat the same preparation approach.
Start Studying on AREprep
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