NCCAA Exam Pass Rates: What to Expect Before the CAA Boards

Official aggregate CERT and CDQ results, with limits on what the data can tell an individual candidate · Source checked August 24, 2026

Prepared by MACPrep. Editorial review owner: Jake Karel, CAA. The figures below reproduce NCCAA's latest public pass and fail summary at the time of review.

NCCAA publishes aggregate results for first-time and repeat candidates. Those reports describe prior groups. They do not establish how difficult a future form will be, identify why an individual passed or failed, or turn a question-bank score into a prediction.

Use the figures for context, not reassurance or fear. Your preparation still needs broad content coverage, careful review of reasoning, and practice with the published exam format.

Quick answer: the published NCCAA pass rates

The NCCAA publishes official Pass/Fail Summary reports for both the Certification Exam (the initial "boards" for new grads) and the CDQ Exam (the recertification exam for practicing CAAs). Here are the two most recent reporting periods, taken directly from those reports.

Certification Exam (CERT) — the initial CAA boards

Source: NCCAA Exam Pass/Fail Reports.

CDQ Exam — the CAA recertification exam

Source: NCCAA Exam Pass/Fail Reports.

Two careful observations are supported by these tables:

1. The published first-time CERT pass rates were 92.8% and 92.2% for the two periods shown.
2. The repeat-candidate groups were much smaller, and their observed percentages varied more. These aggregate results do not explain the cause of any individual outcome.

What a pass rate does not measure

An aggregate pass rate does not measure your readiness, the relative difficulty of a specific examination form, or the amount of preparation a candidate completed. It also cannot show whether outcomes were associated with content knowledge, reasoning, pacing, health, or testing conditions.

NCCAA describes the Certification Examination as an assessment of entry-level cognitive and deductive skills. Treat that official purpose and the current content outline as the preparation target. Do not infer an individual probability of passing from the group percentage.

What's actually on the exam (so you know what you're being graded on)

You can't manage your odds without knowing the target. Here's the CERT exam structure.

CERT exam format at a glance

Source: TrueLearn NCCAA Certification Exam breakdown; NCCAA Certification Exam Handbook.

CERT content blueprint (what's weighted heaviest)

This is the part most worth internalizing. The exam is not evenly distributed across topics. Subspecialty care and physiology/pathophysiology together make up half the exam.

Source: TrueLearn NCCAA Certification Exam breakdown (blueprint attributed to NCCAA).

How scoring works

NCCAA reports an overall score, subject-area scores, and national averages for cohort comparison. It does not publish a raw passing percentage on its public results page. National averages provide context, but the public materials caution against using score data without proper context to distinguish among candidates.

Evidence-informed preparation choices

The pass and fail report does not identify which study behaviors caused an outcome. The following are planning recommendations based on the public blueprint, official exam format, and learning-science evidence. They are not findings from the NCCAA pass-rate table.

1. Preserve blueprint coverage

Map study activity to all six public content areas. Give additional review to broad or repeatedly weak areas without abandoning smaller domains.

2. Practice retrieval and reasoning

Use unseen questions to retrieve knowledge and apply it to clinical scenarios. Review why the correct option wins, why each distractor fails, and what fact would make a distractor correct.

3. Interpret performance across multiple sets

A single percentage is noisy, especially with a small number of questions. Look for patterns across multiple unseen mixed sets and keep the sample size visible.

4. Rehearse the published timing

Practice 90-item blocks within the official 110-minute limit so pacing and sustained attention are familiar before test day.

5. Use official results to guide a repeat plan

If a candidate does not pass, NCCAA provides subject-matter area scores. Review those official results with trusted faculty or mentors and build a different plan around the demonstrated gaps.

The recert side: CDQ exam and staying certified

If you're already a CAA, "pass rates" mostly means the CDQ (Continued Demonstration of Qualifications) recertification exam. A few facts worth knowing:

• CDQ format: 135 total items in two blocks of 68 and 67 items. Block one allows 83 minutes, block two allows 82 minutes, and an optional break of up to 15 minutes is available between blocks. Twenty of the 135 items are unscored pretest items. (Source: NCCAA CDQ Exam Information.)
• First-time CDQ pass rates are very high — 96.8% (2024–25) and 97.7% (2023–24) — reflecting experienced clinicians recertifying. But note the repeat rates fall to the 60s%, same pattern as CERT.
• Recert interval is changing: the CDQ exam was historically required every 6 years and is moving to a 10-year interval. CAAs certified in 2020 or later take their first CDQ exam at 4 years, then move to the 10-year cycle; existing CAAs finish their current 6-year cycle before transitioning. (Sources: NCCAA; University of Colorado AA Program certification page.) Confirm the current interval against NCCAA rules, since this policy is being updated.
• CME is the year-in, year-out requirement: continued certification requires 50 hours of eligible CME every two years, of which 40 hours must be CAA Category I – Anesthesia; the remaining 10 may be Category II (General Medicine or Professional Development) or additional Category I. Credits cannot be carried over between cycles, and the registration deadline is June 1 of the registration year. (Source: NCCAA CME Process.)

Practical planning takeaways

These steps improve the quality of preparation without claiming to predict an outcome:

1. Confirm current exam details and eligibility directly with NCCAA.
2. Map practice to the public content outline and keep all domains represented.
3. Review every rationale and return to persistent errors after a delay.
4. Use multiple unseen sets before interpreting a domain trend.
5. Practice the official block length and timing.
6. For continued certification, track CME and registration requirements in the official NCCAA account and materials.

Practice questions

These items test knowledge about the NCCAA exam and certification process, so the sources are the official NCCAA/accreditation references. Cover the answer, commit to a choice, then read the rationale.

Question 1

A student anesthesiologist assistant is building a study schedule for the NCCAA Certification Exam and wants to weight their time by exam content. Based on the published CERT content blueprint, which single domain represents the largest share of the exam?

• A. Pharmacology
• B. Regional Anesthesia and Pain Management
• C. Subspecialty Care
• D. Principles of Anesthesia
• E. Instrumentation, Monitoring, and Anesthetic Delivery Systems

Question 2

A new graduate asks how many attempts they have to pass the NCCAA Certification Exam. Which statement best reflects the published eligibility structure?

• A. A single attempt, with no re-sits permitted
• B. Unlimited attempts for life
• C. Up to six attempts within a 2-year eligibility window
• D. Three attempts within a 5-year window
• E. Two attempts, one per calendar year

Question 3

During advising, a program director notes that accredited AA programs face an accreditation requirement tied to board performance. Which threshold must accredited Anesthesiologist Assistant programs maintain on the NCCAA examination?

• A. A minimum 70% cumulative pass rate
• B. A minimum 80% cumulative pass rate
• C. A minimum 90% cumulative pass rate
• D. A minimum 95% cumulative pass rate
• E. There is no pass-rate requirement for programs

Question 4

A practicing CAA who was certified in 2018 asks how often they must sit the CDQ recertification exam. Which statement best captures the current NCCAA policy on the CDQ interval?

• A. The CDQ exam has been eliminated; CME alone recertifies
• B. The CDQ interval is fixed permanently at 6 years for all CAAs
• C. The interval is transitioning from every 6 years to every 10 years, with existing CAAs completing their current 6-year cycle before moving to the 10-year schedule
• D. The CDQ exam must be taken annually
• E. The CDQ exam is required every 2 years

Question 5

A CAA is planning their two-year CME cycle. Per NCCAA requirements, how many total CME hours are required every two years, and how many of those must be Category I – Anesthesia?

• A. 40 total hours, 20 of which must be Category I – Anesthesia
• B. 50 total hours, 40 of which must be Category I – Anesthesia
• C. 100 total hours, 50 of which must be Category I – Anesthesia
• D. 30 total hours, all of which must be Category I – Anesthesia
• E. 50 total hours, with no category restrictions

MACPrep is an independent study resource and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NCCAA. Exam format, eligibility, fees, and requirements change — always confirm current details on the official NCCAA website. This article is for educational purposes and is not medical advice.