How we score a practice run

This page states exactly what each figure on a score report means, which parts come from FINRA and which are our own modelling.

What FINRA publishes

How a form is built

Every full-length form draws each section's exact scored quota, preferring items you have not seen, and adds the 5 unscored pretest items on a fixed split of 1 in section 1, 2 in section 2, 1 in section 3, 1 in section 4. Scored and unscored items are interleaved at random, so during a run you cannot tell them apart. FINRA does not state how the 5 unscored pretest items are distributed; this simulator spreads them in proportion to section size.

Navigation is modelled on FINRA's PROCTOR® tutorial: Previous/Next, mark-for-review once an item is answered, and a review list of answered items.

Section drills run on the same machine: that section's scored quota plus its pretest share, on a clock scaled from the full-length pace. Our pacing guide, not a FINRA rule — FINRA publishes no per-section time limit.

How the raw figure is produced

Your percentage is the count of correct answers on the scored items only, divided by the number of scored items, rounded to a whole number. Unscored items never enter any figure. There is no penalty for guessing: an unanswered item and a wrong answer both score zero.

The real SIE reports an equated score on a 0–100 scale; passing is 70. Your raw percentage is not an equated score, and no raw count guarantees a pass.

The per-section labels

Section labels are modelled on the three-tier wording candidates report on FINRA's fail reports; the thresholds are ours.

We do not print a predicted score, a pass probability, a readiness percentage or a percentile for a practice run, because no published conversion exists between a raw count and the SIE equated score.