11.5 Score Reports, Results, and Next Steps

When And How Results Arrive

After the Washington written or oral knowledge exam, candidates want an immediate answer. Credentia's stated expectation is that score reports are generally available within a few hours after a testing event is completed for the day. You receive a notification email from CNA365 when a new exam score has posted, and you then log in to your CNA365 account through the Washington nurse-aide page to view it. Reports are provided online and are available for you to print or download — they are part of your permanent candidate record.

Two delivery limits are firm and frequently misunderstood:

• Examination results will NOT be given over the telephone.
• Credentia cannot send your results to your employer.

So do not plan to call for a result, and do not tell a facility that Credentia will fax or email them your score. You retrieve the official report yourself and share it through the appropriate channel. If more than 24 hours have passed since your testing event and you still cannot view your score report in CNA365, that is the trigger to contact Credentia using the handbook's directions, rather than assuming you failed.

A Quick Results Reference

Passing Is Necessary, Not Sufficient

A passing knowledge result is a milestone, not the finish line. Washington requires passing both the Skills Evaluation and the Written (or Oral) Examination, after which the credentialing process issues the NAC credential. Your official passing Score Report confirms the exam outcome, but it does not, by itself, place you on the registry — the credentialing agency controls that final step. Treat "passed the exam" and "certified" as two different states.

The Grievance Path

If you believe something about your exam administration was wrong, Washington has a formal grievance process. All grievances must be in writing and submitted through the online system within 30 days of the candidate's exam date. After the grievance form is received, the complaint is investigated, and you are notified of the outcome. Notably, if the grievance is substantiated, the candidate is allowed to retest at no additional cost — a meaningful protection, but only if you file within the 30-day window.

A grievance is for administration problems, not for disagreeing with a fair failing score; for a genuine failure, the right move is the remediation-and-retake cycle, not a grievance. Always read the score report as a verified record and let it dictate whether your next action is celebrating completion, contacting Credentia about access, filing a timely grievance, or planning a focused retake.

Reading A Failing Knowledge Report

If you fail the Written (or Oral) Examination, your score report explains how to re-take the part you failed, and a new examination fee is required each time you retake any part. The report is meant to be used as a study aid, not just a verdict.

For the Skills Evaluation, the failing report is even more granular: it lists each of the five skills as Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory, and beneath any Unsatisfactory skill it prints the specific step numbers you missed so you can return to the skill listing and drill exactly those steps — paying special attention to Critical Element Steps, which must be performed correctly to pass the skill at all.

Keep The Record, Protect The Account

Because results live only in CNA365 and are never phoned or emailed to employers, you are the custodian of your own proof. Download or print the official report and store it safely; you will use it for employment, for the registry, and as a study reference if a retake is needed. Do not rely on screenshots of a rumor or a classmate's recollection of cut scores — the only authoritative record is the report in your account.

The disciplined habit is to let the official report — and only the official report — drive your next move, whether that is confirming both parts are complete, troubleshooting access, filing a timely grievance, or beginning a focused remediation cycle.