CNA Pass Rate 2026: State Data + FREE 4-Week Study Plan

Source check: October 10, 2026. The reported results below are labeled by period; they are not a national average or forecast.

What is the CNA exam pass rate?

A CNA pass rate is useful only when you know whose results, which exam component, which attempt, and which reporting period it describes. Base your plan on a source that identifies the tested group. The official examples below describe specific state populations, with different denominators and reporting methods.

For your own preparation, track two things separately: whether you understand knowledge questions and whether you can demonstrate the required skills using your current state checklist. A strong practice score cannot make up for an unsuccessful skills evaluation where both components are required.

This article gives you verified examples, a method for checking a training program's claim, and a free four-week review plan. The schedule is our suggested study framework after training, not an official eligibility rule or a promise of passing.

Verified state examples: keep the denominators attached

Sources: Minnesota second-quarter 2026 workbook, published July 29, 2026; Minnesota 2025 end-of-year workbook, published April 30, 2026; Florida fourth-quarter 2025 report.

Minnesota's workbooks include approved-program candidates and people testing through challenge or waiver pathways. Its knowledge and skills totals describe separate component groups. The Florida figure comes from a differently structured report that separates combined and written first-time outcomes before its total column. It is not a national rate or a simple both-components rate, and it is not directly comparable to either Minnesota component percentage.

These are historical examples, not a ranking of states by exam difficulty. The second-quarter 2026 workbook was the newest report linked on Minnesota's training-program test-data page at this source check. Use the latest relevant period when assessing a current program, and keep the source's original scope rather than relabeling a previous year's result as a 2026 pass rate.

Pass rate and passing score answer different questions

• Pass rate: the proportion of a reported candidate group that passed.
• Passing score: the standard an individual must meet on a particular test.
• Practice accuracy: your result on an independent learning exercise.

For example, Minnesota's testing information specifies 52 correct answers out of 70 for its knowledge test, described by MDH as a 74% passing score. That threshold is not the 87.73% second-quarter 2026 first-attempt pass rate above. Neither number is your personal probability of success, and neither establishes another state's passing standard.

How to check a CNA school's pass-rate claim

Before accepting a school advertisement such as "95% pass," ask for a report with these fields:

Start at the state nurse aide registry or health department. Minnesota and Florida publish the reports linked above. If your state does not publish the measure you need, request the underlying figures from the program and label them as program-reported. Do not substitute nursing-school NCLEX results, college graduation rates, or employment statistics for CNA competency-exam results.

Hypothetical comparison: a program with 19 passes among 20 first-time candidates has a 95% pass rate. Another with 190 passes among 200 also has 95%. If one passing result instead becomes a failure while the candidate counts stay fixed, the first rate falls by 5 percentage points; the second falls by 0.5 percentage points. These invented examples illustrate sample size, not the results of named schools.

If combining compatible cohorts, add their passes and candidates before dividing. Do not average school percentages equally when school sizes differ. Also avoid multiplying written and skills pass rates to invent a combined rate: the reports may cover different people, and passing the two components is not established to be statistically independent.

Use pass-rate data alongside confirmed state approval, access to supervised practice, scheduling, cost, and the support available after an unsuccessful attempt. A single percentage does not prove why students passed or failed.

Set up your state-specific preparation sheet

A generic CNA study plan needs your state's current instructions before it becomes an exam simulation. Find the provider through the state agency's website, then record:

1. Your eligibility pathway and the deadline for completing testing.
2. The required knowledge and skills assessments for that pathway.
3. Knowledge question count, time allowance, language options, and accommodations process.
4. The current skills list, assigned-task format, scoring rules, and correction rules.
5. Appointment confirmation, accepted identification, arrival instructions, clothing, and permitted equipment.
6. The attempts available for each component, retesting process, and applicable fees.

Do not rely on a national vendor-by-state chart that has no source date. For a verified example, Minnesota identifies D&SDT-Headmaster as its contractor. Virginia's Credentia handbook describes the NNAAP written or oral examination plus a skills evaluation. Use your own state materials when copying any format into your plan.

NCSBN's current NNAAP information page says it no longer develops or owns NNAAP content and directs exam-content and scheduling questions to Credentia. An old NCSBN reference does not establish current rules for every nurse aide exam.

Your free four-week CNA review plan

Start this plan after completing the training or other preparation required for your approved pathway. It does not replace a state-approved course, supervised clinical practice, or an eligibility determination.

Suggested workload: six 60-90 minute study sessions each week, plus an optional light-review day. Across four weeks, that is 24 sessions totaling 24-36 hours. Extend the schedule if your baseline reveals major gaps, and shorten or rearrange sessions around work and instructor access. The hours are a planning recommendation, not a validated passing formula.

A useful 60-minute session is 20 minutes of knowledge review, 30 minutes of approved skills practice, and 10 minutes updating your error log. Add time where your latest work shows a specific gap. Keep practicing both components throughout the month rather than leaving skills until the last week.

Week 1: establish your baseline and learn the rules

Checkpoint: you can find the controlling instructions, explain your missed answers, and name the skills that need supervised work. A remembered answer from an old quiz is not evidence that you understand a new scenario.

Week 2: repair the specific gaps

Checkpoint: previously missed concepts hold up on unfamiliar questions, and checklist tasks need less prompting. If the same error returns, revisit its cause before adding more questions.

Week 3: rehearse under the correct conditions

Checkpoint: you can finish within your own test's allowance while meeting its instructions. Do not assume that every state uses a 70-question test, five assigned skills, or the same correction policy.

Week 4: confirm readiness and remove logistics surprises

Readiness check: look for consistent reasoning on fresh questions, completion within the applicable time limit, and an observed skills rehearsal meeting your checklist. These are practical coaching checks, not a score conversion or guarantee. If serious gaps remain, ask your instructor for remediation and consult the provider's rescheduling rules before changing an appointment.

Keep a useful error log

Log correct guesses as well as wrong answers. A guessed answer raises your practice score without proving understanding. Write the repair as something observable: explaining the rule, answering a different scenario, or demonstrating a complete approved task.

For a practice-only target, you could choose at least 85% on two fresh mixed sets while reviewing every uncertainty. That is your study target, not an official CNA cut score or a predicted pass probability. A 40-question set would require at least 34 correct answers to meet that target. Skills readiness still needs its own check.

Skills scoring: do not turn one handbook into a national rule

Use the full checklist, including ordinary steps, critical steps, sequencing, measurements, and allowed corrections. Practicing only the bold steps can leave you below a skill's passing standard.

For example, Virginia's Credentia skills instructions require critical elements plus enough other correctly performed steps to meet each skill's cut score. Candidates must pass all five assigned skills within 30 minutes. This does not mean every individual step has a universal 100% requirement.

The same Virginia instructions distinguish the demonstrated handwashing skill from announcing hand hygiene for other tasks. Follow the actual instructions for your state; do not assume physically washing before and after every assigned skill is always the test procedure.

Practice hands-on tasks with appropriate instructor guidance and approved equipment. Written explanations, videos, and AI can support preparation, but they cannot observe and certify your performance or replace supervised practice.

If you do not pass a component

Read the official score report and identify the specific knowledge areas or skills needing repair. Before paying or scheduling again, check your remaining attempts, eligibility window, whether a passed component remains valid, and whether additional training is required.

There is no single retake timetable or fee to copy into every CNA plan. For a concrete example, Minnesota allows four knowledge attempts and three skills attempts within its applicable 24-month testing cycle. Exhausting either component's attempts requires another approved training program before retesting. A new training program voids previous training and test attempts under those instructions. These are Minnesota rules, not national rules.

Use the unsuccessful result to revise your error log and schedule. Do not interpret a historical retake pass rate as a personal limit on what you can achieve after targeted remediation.

Start with free practice and a clear next action

Use free CNA practice questions for knowledge review and the CNA study guide to revisit concepts. These are independent OpenExamPrep resources. Check your state handbook for the actual exam format and use its skills list for observed practice.

The study materials are completely free. Optional AI help includes 10 free AI questions per day, rather than unlimited AI use. Ask it to explain a missed practice answer or reorganize your study schedule around a specific gap. Check any procedural or state-rule answer against your official materials.

A useful first action today is simple: locate your current handbook, complete a fresh short practice set, and arrange an observed rehearsal for the skills you find hardest. Your next session should repair an identified gap, not chase an unsupported national pass-rate number.