FTCE MGGS 5-9 (004) Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows

The Pass Rate Question: What Florida Actually Publishes

Candidates researching the FTCE Middle Grades General Science 5-9 (004) exam almost always start with the same question: what percentage of people pass? Florida's Department of Education, through Pearson Evaluation Systems (NES), does not publish a simple national-style pass-rate percentage the way some other certification programs do. What is available instead is scoring structure: a candidate must reach a scaled score of at least 200 to pass, and Florida's own maximum-percentage table indicates the highest achievable raw-score percentage on any given form tops out at approximately 72% correct. That detail alone tells you something important - this is not an exam where getting roughly 70% of items right guarantees a comfortable pass. Because forms are equated for difficulty, the actual number of items you need correct shifts slightly from one test date to another.

Rather than chase an unofficial pass-rate figure, the more useful exercise is understanding exactly how the exam is built, scored, and weighted, so you can estimate your own readiness domain by domain. That's the approach we take throughout this article, and it pairs well with the deeper domain breakdown in our FTCE MGGS 5-9 (004) Exam Domains 2026 guide.

How Scoring Works and Why It Matters More Than a Headline Number

The exam consists of approximately 80 multiple-choice questions delivered in 2 hours and 30 minutes. Items appear in several formats - direct questions, command items, sentence completions, scenario-based prompts, and graphic-based items - each with four answer options. Some forms also include unscored field-test questions, meaning not every item you see counts toward your score, though you won't know which ones those are, so every question deserves full attention.

Because the passing standard is a scaled score rather than a fixed raw percentage, two candidates who each answer a slightly different number of items correctly on different test dates could both land right at the passing line. This is why obsessing over "how many can I miss" is less productive than building consistent, broad content mastery across all nine domains. For a full explanation of how the 200 cut score is derived and what it means in practice, see our dedicated FTCE MGGS 5-9 (004) Passing Score breakdown.

Which Domains Carry the Most Risk on Test Day

Domain weighting is the clearest predictor of where most of your points - and most of your risk - will come from. The exam's nine domains break down as follows:

Two things jump out. First, Matter and Processes of Life are tied as the largest domains at 14% each. Second, the three physical-science domains - Matter, Forces and Motion, and Energy - combine for 39% of the entire test, making physical science collectively the single largest content region, larger than life science and Earth/space science combined. Meanwhile, Space Science sits at just 4%, the smallest domain by far.

For a domain-by-domain walkthrough with specific subtopics, cross-reference the complete guide to all 9 content areas.

Who Tends to Struggle and Why

The FTCE Middle Grades General Science 5-9 (004) is a broad, generalist science exam. Candidates coming from a narrow science background - say, a biology-heavy degree - often feel confident about Processes of Life and the environmental factors domain but underestimate how much weight the physical sciences carry. Conversely, candidates with a physics or chemistry background sometimes breeze through the quantitative sections but lose points in the teaching-focused domains covering lab safety protocols and investigation design, simply because those topics live outside a typical science-major curriculum.

This is also a computer-based test with no reference sheet and no calculator provided, so anyone relying on formula lookups during practice will feel a gap on test day. Building fluency without external aids is a distinct skill that takes deliberate practice, not just content review. Our difficulty guide goes deeper into which candidate profiles tend to find which sections hardest.

How Question Format Affects Outcomes

Because items appear as direct questions, command items, sentence completions, scenario-based prompts, and graphic-based items, candidates who only drill flashcard-style recall often underperform relative to their actual content knowledge. Scenario and graphic-based items require you to apply a concept to a described classroom situation or interpret a chart, graph, or diagram - a different cognitive task than simply recognizing a definition.

Practicing exclusively with vocabulary lists will not prepare you for a graphic-based item asking you to interpret a data table showing reaction rates, or a scenario item describing a lab safety violation you must identify and correct. Rotating practice formats - definition recall, applied scenarios, and data interpretation - mirrors the actual exam blueprint far more closely than single-format review.

What Happens If You Don't Pass: Retake Mechanics

If your scaled score falls short of 200, Florida's retake policy is straightforward but not free of cost or time considerations. You must wait a minimum of 31 calendar days before retesting, there is no cap on the number of attempts, and each retake carries the same $150 registration fee as the first attempt - Florida no longer splits pricing between first attempts and retakes. Once you do pass, that same test cannot be retaken for three years, so there's no incentive to "bank" a passing score by testing early with weak preparation.

Score reports are typically released within four weeks of testing, and if you want your raw score double-checked, score verification is available for a $75 fee. All of this makes a first-attempt pass the more efficient path, both financially and in terms of certification timeline. For the complete cost picture across registration, retakes, and verification, see our certification cost breakdown.

A Domain-Aligned Prep Timeline

Generic weekly study templates don't account for how unevenly weighted this exam is. Instead, allocate study time roughly in proportion to domain weight, front-loading the heaviest domains first while they still get repeated review before test day.

This sequencing is intentionally weighted toward the domains that dominate the scoring - a strategy explained in more detail in our FTCE MGGS 5-9 (004) Study Guide.

Practical Ways to Improve Your Odds

Beyond content review, a few test-specific habits directly address the format and scoring realities described above:

• Practice under real time pressure. With roughly 80 items in 150 minutes, you have under two minutes per question on average - timed full-length runs on our practice test platform build the pacing instinct needed on test day.
• Drill calculator-free math. Since no calculator or reference sheet is provided, rehearse unit conversions and basic formula manipulation by hand until they're automatic.
• Weight your review by domain percentage. Spending equal time on Space Science (4%) and Matter (14%) is a common but avoidable mistake.
• Rotate through all five item formats. Direct questions, command items, sentence completions, scenarios, and graphic items each demand a slightly different skill.
• Confirm your eligibility path early. There's no prerequisite exam to register, but certification does require a bachelor's degree and subject-area preparation - details worth reviewing in our requirements guide before you commit to a test date.

Combining a proportional study plan with realistic, mixed-format practice on a full-length practice exam is the most direct way to close the gap between your current knowledge and the scaled score of 200 you need on test day.

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