- The CCC-A Passing Score: The Core Number
- Praxis Audiology (5343) Format and Timing
- How the Passing Score Maps to the 5 Domains
- What Scoring 162 Actually Requires
- Fees, Registration, and the ETS-to-PSI Transition
- Where to Spend Study Hours by Domain
- After You Hit 162: Certification and Maintenance
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The passing score for the CCC-A is 162 on ETS's 100-200 scale for Praxis Audiology (5343).
- The exam has 120 selected-response questions in 2 hours and may include unscored items.
- Assessment is the largest domain at 35%, so it deserves the largest share of study time.
- The exam costs $146; initial ASHA certification runs $446 without membership or $490 with it.
The CCC-A Passing Score: The Core Number
If you're pursuing the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology, one number matters more than any other on exam day: 162. That is the passing score ASHA's Council for Clinical Certification in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology requires on Praxis Audiology (5343), the national examination owned and administered by ETS. Scores on this test are reported on a 100-200 scale, and 162 is the threshold candidates must reach or exceed to satisfy the examination standard for CCC-A eligibility.
It's worth being precise about this because "CCC-A" is used loosely across the internet, and other credentials share the same acronym with different sponsoring bodies, different exams, and different cutoffs. For the audiology certification covered on this site, the passing score, the exam, and the certifying council are exactly as described above - nothing borrowed from another field's testing program.
For a broader orientation to what the credential actually represents before you dig into scoring mechanics, see What Is CCC-A? or the more detailed CCC-A Certification overview.
Praxis Audiology (5343) Format and Timing
Understanding the passing score in isolation isn't enough - you need to understand the container it lives in. Praxis Audiology (5343) is a computer-delivered exam consisting of 120 selected-response questions administered in a 2-hour window. Some of those items may be unscored field-test questions used by ETS to evaluate future exam content, which means your actual scored item count could be slightly lower than 120, even though you won't know which items are unscored while you're testing.
This format has direct implications for pacing. With 120 questions in 120 minutes, you have roughly one minute per item on average, but real exams are never evenly distributed - some questions are short recall items, others require working through a case vignette or interpreting audiometric data before you even get to the question stem. Practicing under realistic timed conditions, rather than untimed review, is one of the most reliable ways to internalize this rhythm. That's a central focus of the CCC-A Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, which walks through pacing strategy in more depth.
Key Takeaway
Because unscored items may be mixed in, don't waste mental energy trying to guess which questions "count." Treat every item as if it affects your score of 162.
How the Passing Score Maps to the 5 Domains
The 162 passing score isn't calculated domain-by-domain - it's a single composite score across the whole test. But because each of the five content domains carries a different weight, your performance on higher-weighted domains has proportionally more influence on whether you clear that threshold. Here's the official domain structure:
| Domain | Weight | Relative Influence on Your Score |
|---|---|---|
| Domain 3: Assessment | 35% | Highest - over a third of the exam |
| Domain 4: Intervention | 25% | Second-highest |
| Domain 1: Foundations of Audiology | 20% | Moderate |
| Domain 2: Prevention and Screening | 10% | Lower |
| Domain 5: Professional and Ethical Responsivities | 10% | Lower |
Because Assessment alone accounts for 35% of the exam, a candidate who is strong on Foundations and Intervention but shaky on Assessment will have a much harder time reaching 162 than one whose weaknesses sit in the lower-weighted domains. For a full breakdown of what each domain actually covers content-wise, see the CCC-A Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 5 Content Areas.
Domain 3: Assessment (35%)
The largest domain on the exam, covering the diagnostic core of clinical audiology practice.
- Interpreting audiometric, immittance, and electrophysiologic test results
- Selecting appropriate assessment protocols for different patient populations
- Differentiating conductive, sensorineural, and mixed hearing loss patterns from test data
Domain 4: Intervention (25%)
The second-largest domain, focused on management and rehabilitation decisions after assessment.
- Hearing aid and amplification fitting considerations
- Aural rehabilitation and counseling approaches
- Candidacy decisions for devices and follow-up care planning
What Scoring 162 Actually Requires
A common question from candidates is whether 162 corresponds to a specific percentage of correct answers, like "you need 80% right." ASHA and ETS do not publish a fixed percent-correct equivalent, because the 100-200 scale is a scaled score, not a raw percentage - it accounts for the relative difficulty of the specific set of items a candidate receives. This means you should not fixate on trying to translate 162 into a percentage target while studying. Instead, focus on being consistently strong across all five domains, with particular depth in Assessment and Intervention, since together they make up 60% of the exam.
This also means that "just barely knowing" the material is a risky strategy. Because the scaled score reflects performance across the entire exam rather than a single easy section, gaps in foundational knowledge tend to compound. A candidate who is weak in Domain 1 foundations often struggles to correctly interpret Domain 3 assessment scenarios, since assessment questions frequently assume solid grounding in anatomy, acoustics, and psychoacoustic principles first.
If you're trying to gauge realistically how difficult reaching 162 will be for your background and preparation timeline, the How Hard Is the CCC-A Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 article walks through the factors that make the exam more or less challenging depending on your clinical practicum exposure. You may also want to review aggregate outcome data in the CCC-A Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows guide.
Fees, Registration, and the ETS-to-PSI Transition
Reaching a passing score of 162 is only part of the certification picture - there are cost and logistics factors candidates need to plan around too. Praxis Audiology (5343) costs $146 to register and sit for, paid directly through the testing administrator. This is separate from ASHA's certification application fee: initial CCC-A certification costs $490 if you hold ASHA membership, or $446 if you do not.
A significant logistical change is coming. Through 2026, ETS owns and administers Praxis Audiology (5343). Starting January 11, 2027, administration transitions to PSI. Importantly, ASHA has confirmed that the exam content and the passing score of 162 remain unchanged through this transition - only the testing administrator changes. If you're planning your exam date near that boundary, it's worth checking current scheduling windows before you commit, which is covered in the CCC-A Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling guide.
Key Takeaway
Don't wait until late 2026 to register if you can help it - administrative transitions are a good reason to sit the exam earlier rather than closer to the PSI changeover.
Beyond the exam fee and certification fee, candidates should also budget for the full picture of costs - application processing, potential retake fees if you don't reach 162 on the first attempt, and ongoing renewal costs. The CCC-A Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown article lays out the complete financial picture in one place, and if you're still weighing whether the investment is justified relative to career outcomes, Is the CCC-A Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 and the CCC-A Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis are useful companion reads.
Where to Spend Study Hours by Domain
Given that a single scaled score of 162 covers all five domains, and that Assessment (35%) and Intervention (25%) together represent 60% of the test, your study time allocation should roughly mirror that weighting rather than being split evenly across five domains. Spending equal time on Domain 5 (Professional and Ethical Responsibilities, 10%) as you do on Domain 3 (Assessment, 35%) is a common and costly miscalculation.
Foundations of Audiology (20%)
- Build the anatomy, physiology, and acoustic principles that later assessment questions assume you already know
- Review auditory pathway and psychoacoustic concepts before moving to diagnostic interpretation
Assessment (35%)
- Practice interpreting audiograms, tympanometry, and electrophysiologic results under timed conditions
- Work through case-style vignettes that mirror the selected-response format used on Praxis Audiology (5343)
Intervention (25%)
- Focus on amplification candidacy, fitting rationale, and rehabilitation planning scenarios
- Connect intervention decisions back to the assessment findings that justify them
Prevention/Screening + Professional-Ethical (10% each)
- Cover these lower-weighted but still testable domains without over-investing time
- Run a full-length timed practice session to rehearse the 120-question, 2-hour format
This weighting-based approach is expanded on in the CCC-A Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, and if you want a condensed, single-page reference to keep nearby during final review, the CCC-A Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts compiles the must-know facts in one place. You can also build timed practice reps on our practice test platform to simulate the actual 120-item, 2-hour Praxis Audiology format before test day.
After You Hit 162: Certification and Maintenance
Passing the exam with a score of 162 or higher satisfies the examination standard, but it's one of several requirements ASHA evaluates for CCC-A eligibility. Applicants must also meet doctoral-degree, knowledge-and-skills, and supervised-clinical-practicum standards before certification is granted. If you haven't yet confirmed you meet all four pillars, the CCC-A Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify guide walks through each one in detail.
Once certified, maintaining the CCC-A isn't a one-time event. Holders must pay annual dues or certification fees and complete 30 professional-development hours every three years. This includes 1 hour specifically in ethics, plus - effective in 2026 - 2 hours in designated person-centered, reflective, or collaborative practice topics. Passing the exam gets you in the door; ongoing compliance keeps the credential active.
For candidates evaluating career paths after certification, it helps to know who's actually hiring credential holders - audiology clinics, hospital systems, ENT practices, and school-based hearing programs are common employers seeking the CCC-A specifically. The CCC-A Jobs page and the ongoing coursework options in CCC-A Training are good next stops once you've locked in your passing score.
To reinforce accuracy on terminology as you study - since "CCC-A" gets used inconsistently across the web - it can help to review the plain-language explainers on CCC-A Meaning, What Does CCC-A Stand For?, What Is A CCC-A?, What Does CCC-A Mean?, and What Is CCC-A Certification? - all specific to the audiology credential discussed here. You can also run a diagnostic practice session on the main practice test site to see how close your current knowledge is to the 162 benchmark before scheduling your official exam.
Frequently Asked Questions
The passing score set by ASHA for Praxis Audiology (5343) is 162 on a 100-200 scale. This applies to the audiology certification exam administered through ETS.
No. Starting January 11, 2027, PSI becomes the administrator, but ASHA has confirmed the exam content and the 162 passing score remain unchanged during this transition.
Not exactly. The 100-200 range is a scaled score, not a raw point total or straight percentage, so it reflects overall performance across the 120-question exam rather than a simple fraction of items answered correctly.
Assessment, at 35% of the exam, carries the most weight, followed by Intervention at 25%. Together they make up 60% of the content, making them the highest-leverage areas for study time.
The Praxis Audiology (5343) exam fee is $146. Initial ASHA certification afterward costs $490 with ASHA membership or $446 without it, separate from the exam fee itself.