- The Headline Number: 75.0% in Calendar 2025
- Why a 24-Candidate Cohort Changes How You Read It
- Pass Rate Is Not Passing Score
- Who Actually Sits for the R.R.A. Exam
- What the Exam Asks of Those Candidates
- Where the Points Live: Eight Weighted Categories
- Retakes, Fees, and the Three-Attempt Window
- Using the Pass Rate to Plan Your Preparation
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The calendar-2025 first-time pass rate for the Registered Radiologist Assistant exam was 75.0%, drawn from 24 first-time candidates.
- The 37 total administrations in 2025 are not the first-time cohort; do not divide results by 37.
- Passing means a scaled score of 75 on a 1-99 scale, not 75% of questions correct.
- Case Study is the largest weighted category at 25%; Abdominal Section leads the procedural categories at 16%.
The Headline Number: 75.0% in Calendar 2025
The most recent published figure for the Registered Radiologist Assistant (R.R.A.) examination, administered by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT), comes from the ARRT Annual Exam Report for 2025. It shows a first-time pass rate of 75.0% among 24 first-time candidates. That means roughly three out of every four first-time test takers cleared the bar that year.
On its face, that sounds comfortable. It is worth resisting that reading. A 75.0% rate on a small, highly screened group says something different from a 75.0% rate on thousands of candidates. This article walks through what the number does and does not tell you, and how to turn it into a sensible plan. If you want the full difficulty picture beyond one statistic, our guide on how hard the RRA exam really is covers the qualitative side.
Why a 24-Candidate Cohort Changes How You Read It
With 24 first-time candidates, each person represents roughly 4.2 percentage points of the pass rate. A 75.0% rate means 18 of 24 passed. One additional failure would have pulled the rate to about 70.8%; one additional pass would have lifted it to about 79.2%. The statistic is real, but it is volatile. A different year with a slightly different mix of candidates could easily land several points higher or lower without any change in how hard the exam is.
The 37 administrations trap
The 2025 report also reflects 37 total administrations. This is the number that trips people up. Total administrations include repeat attempts, so they are not the first-time cohort. If you divide anything by 37 to compute a pass rate, you are mixing first-timers with retakers and will get a figure that matches nothing ARRT published. The denominator for the first-time rate is 24.
- 24 first-time candidates: the denominator behind the 75.0% first-time pass rate.
- 37 total administrations: a count of exam sittings, including repeats.
- The gap between those two numbers tells you that a meaningful share of sittings in 2025 were not first attempts.
What small numbers mean for trend-watching
Do not build a "pass rates are rising" or "pass rates are falling" story from a single calendar year of 24 people. Treat the figure as a rough benchmark of the exam's accessibility to well-prepared, credentialed candidates, not as a precise measurement of difficulty. Read year-over-year movement only when several years of data point the same way.
Pass Rate Is Not Passing Score
Two different 75s appear around this exam, and confusing them causes real anxiety. The pass rate is the share of candidates who passed (75.0% of first-timers in 2025). The passing score is a scaled score of 75 on a 1-99 scale. They share a number by coincidence only.
| Term | What it means | Value for the R.R.A. exam |
|---|---|---|
| First-time pass rate | Share of first-time candidates who passed in calendar 2025 | 75.0% (of 24 candidates) |
| Passing score | Minimum scaled score required to pass | 75 on a 1-99 scale |
| Raw percent correct | Not the passing criterion | No fixed percentage; a scaled score of 75 is not 75% correct |
| Total administrations | All exam sittings, including repeats | 37 in calendar 2025 |
A scaled score accounts for slight differences in difficulty between exam forms, so you cannot convert 75 into "I need to get X questions right." For a deeper treatment of scaling and what to expect on result day, see our breakdown of the RRA passing score.
Who Actually Sits for the R.R.A. Exam
The pass rate only makes sense once you understand who is in the denominator. The R.R.A. exam is not an entry-level test taken straight out of school. Every candidate has already cleared a demanding set of gates, which is one reason the rate looks healthy.
Eligibility screens out the unprepared
Standard eligibility requires all of the following:
- Current ARRT Radiography certification and registration.
- Completion of a recognized Radiologist Assistant program.
- A master's or doctoral degree for program completion on or after January 1, 2023.
- For completion on or after January 1, 2025, two years of full-time patient-care-related medical-imaging experience after earning Radiography credentials, which cannot be earned concurrently with RA-program activities.
- A clinical portfolio and current ACLS certification.
- Ethics compliance.
The published pre-2025 exception allowed one year of experience with concurrent experience permitted, and earlier degree exceptions exist separately from the current graduate-degree route. Ordinary eligibility, including degree completion, must be established within three years of completing the professional program. Our RRA requirements guide lays out each prerequisite in order.
The RPA-to-R.R.A. pathway
There is also a separate admission pathway for Radiology Practitioner Assistants. It leads to this same R.R.A. examination, not to a replacement credential. Candidates need current CBRPA and ARRT Radiography credentials plus current clinical practice, and a qualifying education-and-experience combination: a master's or doctorate, or a bachelor's plus two years of imaging experience, or an associate degree plus four. The ordinary three-year post-program deadline is waived on this route. Because these candidates are experienced practitioners, they are part of the population behind the pass rate too.
What the Exam Asks of Those Candidates
Understanding the format explains why some capable clinicians still miss. The examination is delivered at Pearson test centers over two sessions with a break between them.
| Element | Session 1 | Session 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Content | 200 scored selected-response questions plus 30 pilot questions | At least 30 scored case-study questions plus a variable pilot allocation |
| Time allowed | Four hours | Two hours |
| Format | Selected response | Case studies, objectively scored |
Total testing time is six hours; the handbook's full appointment runs 410 minutes including the break and non-testing activities. The 2026 handbook table displays 30+ scored and 20+ pilot items for Session 2 and labels the overall total approximately 280. Treat that as an approximate figure, since the pilot allocation varies. Older materials describing a fixed number of unscored case items reflect the 2023 content specification and should not be read as a fixed current total.
Rules that affect pacing
- Session 1 cannot be reopened once Session 2 begins, so finish each session with no plan to go back.
- No personal reference materials and no personal calculator; an approved supplied or on-screen calculator is available.
- Case-study responses are objectively scored. The essay-style format used before January 2023 no longer applies.
Where the Points Live: Eight Weighted Categories
The ARRT annual report publishes eight whole-exam reporting categories with weights. These are directly published figures, not an editorial allocation, and they are distinct from the three top-level headings in the 2023 content specification (Patient Care with 56 scored items, Safety with 28, and Procedures with 116). Those item counts are not whole-exam percentage weights, so do not mix the two systems.
| Reporting category | Weight |
|---|---|
| Patient Management | 14% |
| Pharmacology | 7% |
| Patient Safety, Radiation Protection, and Equipment Operation | 11% |
| Abdominal Section | 16% |
| Thoracic Section | 9% |
| Musculoskeletal and Endocrine Sections | 9% |
| Neurological, Vascular, and Lymphatic Sections | 9% |
| Case Study | 25% |
Selected response contributes 75% of points and case study contributes 25%. Procedures is the largest selected-response parent category. Case Study is the largest separately reported weighted category, and Abdominal Section is the largest separately reported procedural category at 16%. For a category-by-category walkthrough, see the complete guide to all eight RRA exam content areas.
Case Study (25%)
A quarter of your points come from a session that rewards integrated clinical reasoning rather than isolated recall.
- Practice reading a scenario, identifying the decision point, and selecting the best response.
- Expect to blend patient management, pharmacology, and procedure knowledge in one item.
- Budget the two-hour session deliberately, since you cannot borrow time from Session 1.
Abdominal Section (16%)
The heaviest procedural category and the one most worth over-preparing.
- Know the procedures, indications, and patient-preparation considerations in this section thoroughly.
- Pair procedural recall with the pharmacology and safety principles that govern it.
Pharmacology (7%)
The smallest weighted category, but it feeds directly into case-study reasoning, so low weight does not mean low value.
Retakes, Fees, and the Three-Attempt Window
The pass rate describes first attempts. What happens after a miss matters just as much for planning. ARRT allows three examination attempts within three years. The initial application and examination fee is USD 225 and the reapplication fee is USD 200. No member versus nonmember exam fee differential is listed. Annual renewal is USD 65, and the ordinary annual renewal fee covers the registrant's ARRT credentials rather than charging separately for each discipline.
Scheduling is tied to published windows. ARRT announced an additional October 2026 administration, and the next published window after October 14, 2026 is January 13-16, 2027, with an application postmark deadline of November 11, 2026. Because windows are limited, a first-attempt miss can cost you months, not just a fee. Our RRA exam dates and scheduling guide and the RRA certification cost breakdown cover the mechanics in detail.
Key Takeaway
Treat the first attempt as the one that counts. With a limited number of windows per year and three attempts total in three years, the practical cost of a miss is time as much as the USD 200 reapplication fee.
Using the Pass Rate to Plan Your Preparation
A 75.0% first-time rate should reassure you without relaxing you. The sensible response is to prepare against the actual weighting of the exam, not against a general sense of "hard" or "easy." One short, RRA-specific scheduling approach:
Foundations that feed everything else
- Patient Management (14%) and Pharmacology (7%), since both resurface inside case studies.
- Patient Safety, Radiation Protection, and Equipment Operation (11%).
The procedural sections
- Start with Abdominal (16%), then Thoracic (9%), Musculoskeletal and Endocrine (9%), and Neurological, Vascular, and Lymphatic (9%).
Integration and timing
- Case-study practice (25%) under timed conditions that mirror the two-hour session.
- Full-length run-throughs that respect the rule that Session 1 cannot be reopened.
Placing foundational domains first is deliberate: they are the connective tissue of case-study items, so strength there lifts your performance in the largest weighted category. For a fuller plan, see the RRA study guide, keep the one-page RRA cheat sheet nearby for final review, and use the RRA practice tests to check readiness against realistic question styles.
If you are weighing the credential itself
Pass rate is only one input into the decision to pursue the credential. Salary expectations, hiring demand, and long-term maintenance all matter. Once certified, annual renewal is normally due by the end of your birth month, and supporting Radiography credentials must be maintained. Biennial continuing education is 50 credits, including at least 25 Category A+ credits and at least 35 RRA-relevant credits; these are overlapping requirements, not additive totals. All RRA credentials carry a ten-year CQR. If you are still deciding, read whether the RRA certification is worth it and the RRA salary guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
The ARRT Annual Exam Report for calendar 2025 shows a first-time pass rate of 75.0% among 24 first-time candidates. The 37 total administrations that year include repeat attempts and are not the first-time cohort.
No. The pass rate is the share of candidates who passed. The passing standard is a scaled score of 75 on a 1-99 scale, which is not the same as answering 75% of questions correctly.
It is accurate for that cohort but statistically volatile, since each candidate moves the rate by about four percentage points. Use it as a rough benchmark rather than a precise measure of difficulty, and avoid reading a trend into a single year.
ARRT allows three examination attempts within three years. The initial fee is USD 225 and the reapplication fee is USD 200. Check the published testing windows, since the next window after October 14, 2026 is January 13-16, 2027, with a November 11, 2026 postmark deadline.
Case Study is the largest separately reported weighted category at 25%. Among procedural categories, Abdominal Section is largest at 16%. Selected response overall contributes 75% of points, with Procedures as its largest parent category.