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How many PTCE questions are allowed incorrect to pass the exam?

by Sue
(NYC)

On the PTCB Exam - there are 10 questions that do not count towards the scoring of the test. So, out of the 90 questions, how many can I get wrong and still pass the test? My test is this Monday.

Also, my course book states "For national certification exams, you will need to know the main GROUPS of drugs used. More specific classifications are NOT emphasized."
Can you verify this? Need some advice.
Thank you

Comments for How many PTCE questions are allowed incorrect to pass the exam?

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PTCB Scoring
by: Kathy

The PTCB has 90 items asked across 1 hour and 50 minutes. Ten of the 90 questions do not count toward candidates' scores. Therefore, only 80 of them count.

As far as how many you can miss of the 80, that's complicated. Each question has a certain score value. As far as I know, the test writers decide how much knowledge each one taps into. As such, a question like "which one is a beta blocker?" may only be worth 4 points. But, a complicated math problem may be worth 11 points. And so on.

So really, you could miss just a few and have it really hurt your score, or miss several and still pass with a high score. Just depends on which ones you miss.
NYC
by: Sue

I PASSED MY TEST TODAY!!!! SO HAPPY AND I'M FLOATING ON CLOUD 9, - this website did it for me!!!!

My test was so weird, not one question on DEA drugs, not one question on beta blockers, CCB, Ace Inhibitors, lots of math, the laws, but deeper than what we are taught, not just they're main function. it was crazy. they give you this ridiculous board, but the pen that you use needs to be recapped because it drys quickly, if its not a math question your not using it and your not thinking about capping the pen, so i go to write and its dry. I was freaking out cause it was taking time from me. then it started to work again. i had 12 minutes left. i went back to check my flagged questions that i wasn't sure about and felt I'm still not sure so i left them as they were. The questions are not at all what ive been studying about for the past 6 months. except the math. I do believe it was the math that got me through this, complicated math questions have higher scores. Well good luck to you all! :)
Try to miss less than 10
by: Anonymous

They take out 10 questions which are the Un-scored, then you have 80 questions worth 1600 points. So each question is +/- 20 points. In theory, try not to miss more than 10. Especially the math, which some believe carry higher point value.
my results
by: Anonymous

I took the test early January,and passed. I missed 15 questions and got a score of 1513. Not sure how they are scored, but I passed!
DEEP SIGH
by: Anonymous

I TOOK THE TEST TWICE AND FAILED BOTH TIMES WITH MY SCORES BEING VERY NEAR. I DONT UNDERSTAND HOW THE TEST IS SCORED OR EVEN FORMULATED. I WORK IN RETAIL SETTING AND SOME OF THE QUESTIONS ASKED ARE RIDICULOUS. I'VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR NEW WAYS TO STUDY BUT HAVE COME UP WITH NOTHING. ANY SUGGESTIONS?
PTCB Questions and Getting ready
by: CSM

I went to a local medical college just for the Pharmacy tech program ($3,000); Passed with a "B" in it. I also have friends who are already CPht for years and someone of them didn't even go to school, but they are where they are. I challenged the board and received a 1274 out of 1600. You need at least 1400 70% to pass. Coming right out of the test center, I wrote down everything I could remember so I could more or less study them even though they change the test every so often. A week and some odd days later I received an email from the test center with my exact results. If you don't already know, the test is broken up into categories consisting of a different amount of questions per subject. They even show you how many questions you got right in each category out of how many etc. Medication Safety: (5 of 10) and so on. I made a percentage of each category and concentrated my studying on those categories I received the lowest percentages on. My professor always said to our Pharmacy class you can always miss all the math questions and still pass. WRONG!!! Everyone who passed is saying that the math questions are worth more than most other questions. So, concentrate more on those. Who knows one RIGHT math question might save you 2 non-math wrong questions. I'm re-taking the board next month. I hope this helps! Good luck future Pharmacy techs! I'll see you on the other side of the counter! ;)
Hope this helps
by: Anonymous

Hello. I've been working I a retail pharmacy for about a year and today I took the test and passed. I didn't do much studying however I spent about 4 to 6 hours taking these online test right before taking the real exam. This website helped me prepared for the test and after taking the quizzes it helped my brain retain the information that I once knew. I truly recommend this website as a way to stimulate your brain.

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