1.1 Exam Facts, Format & Scoring

What the R.T.(R) Exam Certifies

The ARRT Radiography examination is the national certification-and-registration test for entry-level radiologic technologists in the United States. Passing it earns the protected credential R.T.(R) — Registered Technologist (Radiography) — issued by ARRT (The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists). Most states also require ARRT certification (or an equivalent) for state licensure, so this single exam is effectively the gatekeeper to practicing as a rad tech. The test is computer-based, entirely multiple choice, and delivered at Pearson VUE testing centers. There is no remote or online-proctored option, so plan to travel to a physical center, present a valid government photo ID, sign a non-disclosure agreement, and store personal items in a locker before the exam clock begins.

Question Count, Timing, and Delivery

The exam presents 230 total questions: 200 scored items plus 30 pilot (unscored) items that ARRT is field-testing for future forms. You are never told which questions are pilot items, so every question deserves full effort. You receive 230 minutes of test time inside a 250-minute appointment — the extra ~20 minutes covers the tutorial, an optional post-exam survey, and check-in. That leaves roughly one minute per item, which makes pacing a genuine constraint (covered in 1.2). Each item is single-best-answer with four options; there are no multi-select, fill-in-the-blank, or essay formats on this exam.

How Scoring Actually Works

ARRT does not grade on raw percent-correct. Your performance is converted to a scaled score from 1 to 99, and the passing standard is a scaled score of 75. Scaling equates the slightly different exam forms so that a 75 earned on a harder version represents the same demonstrated competency as a 75 on an easier one. A frequent misconception is that 75 means '75% correct' — it does not, and the raw number of items you must answer correctly shifts from form to form. Because of that, aim comfortably above the minimum in practice rather than chasing an exact percentage. Your official score report also breaks out diagnostic (section-level) performance for each of the four content categories, so a failing report pinpoints exactly which domains cost you the pass.

The Four Content Categories

ARRT's Radiography content specifications — the board-approved blueprint currently dated January 2022 — divide the 200 scored items into four categories. Commit these weights to memory, because they dictate how you spend study hours:

Procedures (anatomy and positioning) is the largest single category at one-third of the exam, and Procedures plus Image Production together are 58.5% of the scored test — more than half. Safety adds another quarter. Patient Care, though 'only' 16.5%, is still 33 scored items — enough to swing a borderline result.

Eligibility, Fees, and Retakes

To sit the primary-pathway exam you must graduate from an ARRT-recognized radiography program, hold an associate degree or higher, have your program director attest to your completed didactic and clinical competency requirements, and satisfy the ARRT Ethics Requirements — a review of any criminal convictions, honor-code, or disciplinary history (which may require a pre-application Ethics Review). The exam fee is $225. A failed attempt requires a $200 reapplication fee, and ARRT permits up to three attempts within a three-year window. Exhaust those three attempts, or let the window lapse, and you must complete additional structured education before you can reapply. This is why you should not treat the first sitting casually.

The Application and Scheduling Path

The path to the exam seat is sequential, and each step gates the next. You (1) submit an ARRT application with your program director's verification, (2) clear the Ethics Requirements, (3) receive a Candidate Status Report confirming a 90-day window in which to test, and (4) schedule your seat at Pearson VUE. Miss that window and you forfeit the fee and must reapply from the start. Build in buffer time — do not schedule for the final day of the window, because a single cancellation, illness, or center closure could push you past the deadline and cost you the attempt.

Reading the Pass-Rate Number

ARRT's 2024 exam statistics report lists an 85.2% first-attempt pass rate for primary-pathway Radiography candidates. That figure is encouraging but easy to misread. It reflects graduates of accredited programs testing soon after finishing coursework, when material is freshest; repeat testers and long-delayed candidates historically pass at lower rates. Use 85.2% as directional context, not a guarantee — your own timed, blueprint-weighted practice scores are a far better predictor of readiness than the national average.

After You Pass: Maintaining the Credential

The credential is time-limited, not permanent. You must renew your registration annually and complete 24 continuing-education (CE) credits every two years. Separately, credentials are subject to Continuing Qualifications Requirements (CQR) — a structured self-assessment completed on a 10-year cycle — which is distinct from the biennial CE requirement. Understanding this ethics-and-maintenance framework occasionally appears in professional-practice items and, more importantly, governs your real career once the R.T.(R) is in hand.