What the NES 519 passing score of 220 actually means
A scaled score, not a percentage, and why no practice test can convert to it.
Last verified 14 October 2026. Figures are from the NES 519 test page and framework on the official NYSTCE site.
220 is not a percentage
The NES 519 passing score is 220, and it is a scaled score. It does not mean 220 questions, and it is not a percentage of 80. Your number of correct answers is converted to a scale, and 220 is the point on that scale that passes.
Why tests use a scale
A testing program runs more than one version of a test. Scaling lets a candidate who met a slightly harder version be judged by the same standard as one who met an easier version. The same raw score can scale a little differently from one version to the next.
What is not published
The conversion from correct answers to the scale is not published. Neither is the number of unscored questions, which the test says some items may be. Put those together and nobody outside the testing program can tell you how many of the 80 you need to get right.
Be wary of any practice test that reports a predicted scaled score. It is reporting a number it made up.
How to use a practice score instead
Our practice exams report how many you got right out of 80 and how you did in each of the four domains. That is the useful part. Because the domains carry roughly equal weight, a weak domain is a real risk whatever the conversion turns out to be. Bring the weakest one up and every version of the test gets easier.
A rough guide to readiness
Sit a second full form after you have reviewed the first. If your domain scores have evened out and you are finishing with time to spare, you are working the way a passing candidate does. That is as far as any honest practice test can take the question.
Practice the real thing
Our three practice exams for NES 519 report your score out of 80 and by domain. They are on /teaching-assistant.