PMP Pass Rate in 2024: Factors to Why People Fail in PMP Exam

Coping with competing advancements in the enrolling process, the sheer majority of people enroll in project management professional PMP certification programs to tailor their project management skills and knowledge.

The PMP pass rate is less than 70%. To pass the PMP exam, attempt taking PMP classes at the firsthand itself.

PMP Certification (Project Management Professional) can be a time-consuming process but credible enough with making a fruitful career as a project professional, and increases job chances percentage or paid training opportunities.

For first-timers, the PMP certification exam can be quite tough to crack.

Let us thoroughly discuss the PMP certification exam pass rate and the reasons for the PMP exam failure rate. It can submissively help to refrain from heading with the common PMP exam problems.

What is the PMP Exam?

The Project Management Professional (PMP) exam is a comprehensive test conducted for a career in project management administered by Project Management Institute (PMI), USA.

A (Project Management Professional) PMP certification is globally recognized and considered standard for PMP enthusiasts. It helps current project managers equip skills and broaden their knowledge.

The exam comes with 180 questions in 230 minutes. The syllabi comprise vast and comprehensive assessments with the fundamentals of project management, life-cycle, cost, estimation techniques, managing risk, and issues, critical thinking, critical thinking to solve problems, and the ability to manage projects.

The PMP certification exam curriculum is specific to the domain and application where practical knowledge and projects apply which helps in PMP exam preparation.

It is divided into three domains:

People: It contains the soft skills for leading project teams to success.

Process: Tools and techniques to manage projects successfully.

Business Environment: To make certain projects progresses with the organizational policy.

What is the Passing Score of the PMP Exam?

There is no definite PMP exam passing score since the scoring system got evolved after 2005. But, the PPM exam pass rate was 61% in 2005.  The PMI uses subject matter experts to determine the passing score and helps in PMP exam preparation. It's actually a good idea to train with the Premier Authorized Training Partner of PMI where instructors will be PMI certified and management professionals. There are varying online project management training courses one can enroll in with the latest PMP curriculum to fetch definite scores wherein the instructors help in PMP exam preparation.

Here’s a breakdown of things to remember when analyzing the scores:

PMP exams are psychometric and question patterns differ from peer to peer and the scoring differs.

It differs in the difficulty level depending on the question distributed. A passing score percentage may not be sufficient for the other peer to clear the exam.

Easier questions do not have a lower weightage than tough questions. Distinctly, the ideal number of questions needed to pass the PMP varies for each applicant and all this comes with the training and in-depth PMP exam preparation.

PMP Pass Rate: Why do Candidates Fail the PMP® Exam?

PMI uses psychometric analysis and group project management professionals to carry out the PMP exam.

Firstly, the time-management constraint to complete a total of 180 questions in 230 minutes has been the root cause of many candidates versus the chances of passing. Time-allotment is very crucial with little more than a minute per question to process, analyze and respond to answers correctly.

Thirdly, the unfamiliarity with the PMP structure is a disadvantage for applicants when trying to obtain 80% correct questions, so proper PMP exam preparation is needed for individuals. In short, grasping in-depth material knowledge and mock questions is a must. With these drawbacks, people easily fail and the PMP pass rate drops off.

Let us unravel other reasons why PMP® candidates fail the exam:

Structure

For any exam-taking, understanding the structure and pattern should be the ideal focus, common mistakes involve aspirants spending a volume of time covering the materials,PMI’s PMBOK Guide despite strategizing for the structure. Hence, proper PMP exam preparation is needed for every individual.

To comprehend the material fully, start with the mock trials as it would ideate a similar structure and timeframe to the main PMP exam that one has to witness.  The PMP exam comprises 200 MCQs and 25 of these questions are unscored (not counted in the final assessment) for 240 minutes (4 hours). With the time allotted, ensure double-checking answers and guess or resolve skipped questions as there is no negative marking on the PMP exam.

Going through the answers

Having limited information and being unfamiliar with the PMP exam questions is one of the core reasons why to focus on strategizing and responding. Questions are situation-based which means that there could be multiple “correct” answers but only one “best” answer.

Simply put, applicants must go with intuition to select the best answer to situation-based questions instead of considering the first-sight answers as correct ones.

Crash Preparation without PMP Exam Prep Course

Inadequate preparation can be discouraging and disastrous. It is one of the worst ideas. PMP Exam Prep Course projects how PMBOK® Guide could be helpful preparation to align with in-depth subject understanding.

Secondly, refrain from relying on one source material along with PMBOK® Guide, especially for first-time applicants as each domain is quite extensive. Schedule a proper study routine with understanding the concepts 100%.

Retaining the ITTOs

PMP® exam demands familiarization with over 500+ ITTOs  (Inputs, Tools, Techniques, and Outputs), and memorizing the IITOs is a bad idea. The issue is how each individual copes with their study plans. An easy solution is to learn the logical relationships with the ITTOs spreadsheet where ITTOs are related to project management processes. Example: ITTOs spreadsheet is a huge digital table of all the ITTOs in the project management body of knowledge that lists each process group with its related project management processes and ITTOs.

In this manner, one can cover daily two or three processes that enhance fast learning and cover patterns to understanding relations between ITTOs and the processes.

Self-Preparation

Studying alone for the PMP exam could be the last reason but can prove less helpful. Group studies with PMP candidates benefit ideas expansion, motivate and highlight weak or strong points with the experience of your peers.

Recollecting Formulas

Over 20-30% of the PMP® exam are formula-based questions and slipping off formulas is a setback. Formulas should be written down perfectly or written down at the start of exam commencement in advance to refrain from recollecting due to stress or panic.

Weak English Proficiency

The PMP® exam format is English, and one must be proficient to frame the questions properly. The PMP® exam questions are meticulous, uncertain, and full of keywords that completely change their course of meaning. For instance: a single keyword can change the meaning of the given questions. Such tricky terms can turn the questions confusing, and the best way to tackle them is to highlight these words and see how they brief the question's meaning.

Free Services

Using schemes and tools without wasting a penny sure does sound like a brilliant solution. But, it's equally another factor to easily fail the PMP exam. Without a second thought, emphasize learning sessions with your PMP certification training provider alongside referring latest materials with the right PMBOK® Guide.

Undoubtedly, a well-experienced project manager stands a better chance of clearing the exam than a less experienced candidate.

Likely, a Certified Associate of Project Management (CAPM®) clearing the PMP exam will be easier even if the concepts are not studied with PMR® certification.

Recommended Read: Is PMP Exam Difficult?

Highlights of PMP Pass Rate 2024

The PMP exam comprises 175 scorable questions and 25 pre-test questions with a duration of four hours. A potential total score on the 175 questions.

Note: Scores obtained from the pre-test questions will not be considered the final score. These questions are utilized to validate exam patterns for upcoming exams one may attempt.

Here's a breakdown of the scoring pattern impacting the PMP pass rate:

PMP Passing Score

The PMI does not disclose passing scores since 2007. The passing score was 61% until November 2005. It escalated to 80.6% for 2 months and later reverted to an approx of 61%.

Therefore, one can take measure as an approx passing score of 61%.

Domain Scores

The PMP exams test proficiency in three domains of a project. Each domain does not involve in the project lifecycle. The following are the types of domains with Weightage of Questions (in %) for improving the PMP passing score.

- Process: 50%

- People: 42%

- Business Environment: 8%

Proficiency levels as per domain will display instead of percentage. The first two levels indicate that the applicants have cleared the exam. Obtaining a “Needs Improvement or Below Target” on one domain indicates that they may still have cleared the exam if it is in a domain with a lower percentage of questions.

Proficiency level

The different types of proficiency levels are as follows:

- Above Target

- Target

- Needs Improvement

- Below Target

Weightage of the Questions Answered

As discussed before, all the questions from the exam do not have the same weightage and are based on exam difficulty level.

Tough questions have higher weightage in comparison to medium and easy questions. Ideally, the PMP pass rate depends on the possible number of tough questions attempted with the correct answers.

Work Experience

The PMP exams evaluate abilities in handling various aspects of the project. Having work experience boosts up in attempting the questions easily.

Success is No Accident

Obtaining the PMP certification enhances professional career chances. Although, the PMP® exam failing rate must be higher the field has a brighter scope.

It’s always about keeping in daily check with your preparatory efforts (studying PMP concepts or taking mock tests) that will fetch you bigger achievements despite attempts. Being able to answer a considerable amount of the 180 PMP® exam questions correctly should be good. That said we have discussed the mistakes and strategies above to knock down the required passing score or the PPM passing rate on any attempts.

Learn through Sprintzeal with your PMP exam preparation by joining experimental workshops, mock tests, and, expert guidance with your PMP exam preparation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the passing score on the PMP exam?

- A score of 61% is taken as the proven pass rate of the PMP exam, as the particular pass percentage is often unavailing after reverting since 2005.

What is the minimum passing score for the PMP exam?

- The PMI has increased the passing criteria from 68.5% to 80.57%. Candidates have to try to attempt questions correctly from 141 questions at least out of 175 questions to pass the exam.

It is possible that the passing rate of the exam fluctuates (increases or drops) with the changes in assessment.

How many questions do I need to get right to pass PMP?

- A candidate is required to give a correct answer to 141 questions out of 200 questions with 80.6% to pass the exam. Eventually, PMI reverted to 60.6% within 2 months. Based on the decision reverted, an approx of 61% is the least passing score required to pass the PMP exam.

Which of the following is a common reason why people fail the PMP exam?

- PMP aspirants invest major time in covering their curriculum and PMI's PMBOK® (Project Management Body of Knowledge) guide, in-depth PMP exam preparation is needed, but the major issue turns out with unfamiliarity with the exam structure. It is one of the main reasons why people fail the PMP® exam.

What percent of people pass the PMP on the first try?

- PMP exam passing rate could be lesser than 50% which means that 50 out of 100 people fail the exam on the first try.

What is the failure rate for the PMP exam?

- Over more than 50,000 people apply for Project Management Professional PMP certification programs to polish their project management skills and knowledge. The PMP certification exam pass rate is less than 70%.

Do people fail the PMP exam?

- The PMP certification is of increasing importance and is considered relevant for various professional areas, therefore appropriate PMP exam preparation is needed for individuals. Contrastingly, it is one of the most difficult exams to pass as 80% of the examinee fails in the first attempt.

What are the advantages of PMP certification?

The advantages of obtaining a PMP certification are as follows:

- Increases job options in project management

- Eligible for leadership roles

- Knowledge of tools, and techniques for attaining project success.

- It proves your skills, expertise, and expert values.

- Provides a chance for paid training opportunities outside work.

- It drives new confidence in new challenges and helps develops necessary leadership skills.

- Increases salary by an average of 23% or getting into a new project or promotion.

- PMP Certification that drives credibility for future opportunities and an edge over other peers.

Getting ready for the PMP exam? Register for Sprintzeal PMP Certification Training Course, gain expert advice and pass the PMP exam in 4 weeks.