Is There Negative Marking in API Examinations?
No. API certification examinations do not use negative marking. You are not penalized for incorrect answers, so it is always in your best interest to answer every question, even if you need to make an educated guess.
What Is the Passing Score?
API uses a scaled scoring system to account for differences in examination difficulty across different test versions. The passing score is 400 on the API scaled score, rather than a fixed percentage.
Although candidates often refer to the pass mark as being approximately 70%, the actual number of correct answers required to pass may vary slightly because of the scaled scoring methodology.
Examination Tips
Before submitting your examination:
- Use the Review All feature to check every question.
- Select Review Incomplete Questions to confirm that no questions have been left unanswered.
- Return to any flagged questions and review them if time permits.
- Since there is no penalty for guessing, make sure every question has an answer before your time expires.
A simple final review can help you avoid losing marks by accidentally leaving questions unanswered.
