At its June 2025 meeting, the USMLE® Management Committee
conducted a review of the USMLE Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK) passing
standard. Management Committee members include individuals with
experience on state medical boards, medical school and residency program
faculty from across the United States, practicing physicians,
residents, and public members. The Committee decided that a
four-point increase in the passing standard – used to determine a Pass
or Fail outcome – will apply to Step 2 CK examinees testing on or after
July 1, 2025. On the three-digit score scale, the passing standard will change from 214 to 218.
As part of the USMLE program’s operational
procedures and in alignment with best practices for licensing and
certification exams, a scheduled comprehensive review and analysis of
the passing standard for each Step exam typically occurs every three to
four years. This ensures that the passing standard reflects current
expectations concerning knowledge and skills needed to support effective
medical practice and patient care.The Management Committee determined this adjustment
to the passing standard through the careful and thorough consideration
of information from multiple sources, including:
unaffiliated with the USMLE who participated in content-based
standard-setting panels in March and April 2025; Results of surveys of various groups (e.g., residency program
directors, medical school faculty, state licensing representatives,
examinees) concerning the appropriateness of the current passing
standard for the Step 2 CK examination; Data on trends in examinee performance; and Score precision and its effect on the pass/fail outcome.
The USMLE program provides advanced notice of Step exam passing standard reviews and any adjustments on the USMLE website. Details about the review process also appear in the USMLE Bulletin of Information.