Since there's a lot of outdated info floating around on this, worth clarifying where the
mccqe passing score actually stands as of the current scoring system.
After a standard-setting exercise in July 2025, the MCC moved to a new 300–600 scale, with the passing score set at 439. That replaced the old 100–400 scale where 226 was the cutoff, so if you're reading an older guide quoting that 226 number, it's talking about a scale that's no longer in use. Scores from before the 2025 change also aren't directly comparable to scores now, since the whole scale shifted.
Worth knowing too, the exam itself changed shape around the same time. As of April 2025, the clinical decision-making case section was removed entirely, so it's now a fully multiple-choice exam, roughly 230 questions split across two sections. Each correct answer scores a point, there's no penalty for guessing, so you want to answer everything even if you're not sure.
One thing that trips people up is thinking a 439 is some kind of average or benchmark score. It's not, it's a criterion-referenced cutoff, meaning you're being measured against a fixed standard, not against how other candidates did. So there's no curve, and technically 439 or above is a pass regardless of what anyone else scores that session.
If you're aiming for competitive residency specialties, some people target comfortably above the national mean, which sits around 450, just to build in a margin rather than banking on hitting the bare minimum. Anyone else recalibrating their prep now that the CDM section's gone?
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