# Step 2 CK score percentiles: the 2026 table and what your score means _Updated 2026-09-05. Every figure is cited to the numbered sources at the end._ ## What percentile is my Step 2 CK score? On the current USMLE norm table (first-time takers from US LCME-accredited schools, July 2023 to June 2026, N = 67,824), a 250 on Step 2 CK is the 44th percentile, a 255 the 58th, a 260 the 71st and a 265 the 83rd. The mean is 251 with a standard deviation of 15. The minimum passing score is 218.[1][2] ## Step 2 CK score to percentile table **Step 2 CK three-digit score to percentile rank (USMLE norms updated August 17, 2026)** | Step 2 CK score | Percentile rank | Note | | --- | ---: | --- | | 280 and above | 100 | USMLE lists every score from 280 to 300 at the 100th percentile | | 275 | 98 | | | 270 | 93 | | | 265 | 83 | About 17% of first-time takers scored 265 or higher | | 260 | 71 | About 29% scored 260 or higher | | 255 | 58 | Matched US MD seniors had an overall median of 253 in the 2026 Match[5] | | 250 | 44 | One point below the 2025-26 mean of 251 | | 245 | 32 | | | 240 | 23 | | | 235 | 15 | | | 230 | 9 | | | 225 | 6 | | | 220 | 3 | Two points above the 218 passing score | | 215 | 2 | Below the 218 passing score | | 210 | 1 | | | 205 and below | 0 | USMLE lists every score from 205 down at 0 | _Percentile rank is the percentage of the norm group (first-time takers from LCME-accredited US medical schools, July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2026, N = 67,824) who scored lower. USMLE publishes the table in 5-point steps only; a score in between, say 252, sits between the two neighbouring rows (roughly the 50th percentile), and any single-point percentile you see elsewhere is an interpolation.[1]_ ## Why other sites show 250 as the 47th percentile USMLE overwrites the same guidelines PDF each year rather than publishing a new URL. The edition dated April 29, 2026 (norm group July 2022 to June 2025, N = 67,934) placed 240 at the 24th percentile, 250 at the 47th, 255 at the 60th, 260 at the 74th, 265 at the 85th and 270 at the 94th. The August 17, 2026 edition moved every one of those bands down by one to three points and dropped Canadian schools from the norm group. Most third-party calculators and prep-company pages still reproduce the April table, which is why their percentiles run higher than the ones above.[1] ## Mean, standard deviation and measurement error **Step 2 CK mean and standard deviation, first-time takers from LCME-accredited schools** | Academic year (July to June) | Mean | SD | Norm group | | --- | ---: | ---: | --- | | 2023-24 | 249 | 15 | US and Canadian LCME schools | | 2024-25 | 250 | 15 | US and Canadian LCME schools | | 2025-26 | 251 | 15 | US LCME schools only | _USMLE Score Interpretation Guidelines, Table 1, updated August 17, 2026.[1]_ The same document gives Step 2 CK a standard error of measurement (SEM) of 6 points, a standard error of difference (SED) of 8 and a standard error of estimate (SEE) of 8.[1] In plain terms: if you sat the exam again with no change in knowledge, your score would usually land within about 6 points of the first; two examinees' scores need to be at least 8 points apart before the gap is likely to be real rather than noise; and a practice score that estimates your real score should be read as a band of roughly plus or minus 8, not a point. ## Step 2 CK passing score history **Minimum passing score on the Step 2 CK three-digit scale** | Passing score | In effect from | In effect to | Source | | ---: | --- | --- | --- | | 218 | July 1, 2025 | current | USMLE announcement of June 16, 2025[2] | | 214 | July 1, 2022 | June 30, 2025 | USMLE, corroborated by Blueprint Prep[8] | | 209 | July 1, 2014 | June 30, 2022 | USMLE Step 2 Committee, May 2014, via secondary sources[8] | | 203 | start date not verified | June 30, 2014 | Prep-company summaries only[8] | USMLE says its Management Committee reviews the data for each Step approximately once every four years and decides whether to change the recommended minimum passing score.[3] It commits to no date, so the next Step 2 CK review is not scheduled publicly. The 2024-25 academic year was the last one scored entirely on the 214 standard; the first full year on 218 (2025-26) has not been published yet.[4] **Step 2 CK pass rate, first-time takers, by academic year** | Academic year | US MD schools | US DO schools | Non-US schools | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 2022-23 | 98% | 96% | 88% | | 2023-24 | 98% | 96% | 89% | | 2024-25 | 98% | 96% | 90% | _USMLE Performance Data. Canadian schools count with US schools through 2023-24 and with non-US schools from 2024-25. Number tested in 2024-25: 22,249 US MD, 5,025 US DO, 16,186 non-US. Repeat examinees passed at 70%, 69% and 64% respectively.[4]_ ## What your score means for the Match In the 2026 Main Residency Match, US MD seniors who matched to their preferred specialty had a median Step 2 CK score of 253 (n = 14,889); those who did not match had a median of 244 (n = 1,636).[5] That is a nine-point gap, against a norm-group standard deviation of 15 and a standard error of difference of 8 on this examination.[1] Both medians pool every specialty together, so neither number is a target for the specialty you are applying to. Two cautions apply to any Match median. First, these are the scores of people who matched, not scores that programs require: a score under 253 makes an application harder in a score-selective specialty, not impossible, and the score is one line in an application that also carries clerkship grades, letters, research and a signal. Second, the percentile table above uses first-time takers from US LCME-accredited schools as its norm group, while the Match medians describe one year's applicants who consented to have their data reported. The two do not convert into each other, and a percentile is not a probability of matching. > **Per-specialty numbers** NRMP publishes median and quartile Step 2 CK scores for every specialty, separately for US MD seniors, DO seniors and international graduates, in Charting Outcomes in the Match. Read them at the source rather than from a summary. The report prints the sample size beside each figure, and in the smallest specialties that sample is small enough that a quartile moves several points from one Match to the next.[5] ## How to read the Step 2 CK score report Your Step 2 CK report gives a three-digit score, the pass/fail outcome, the passing score in force when you tested (218 from July 1, 2025) and the mean and standard deviation of the comparison group (251 and 15 for the 2025-26 year).[1][2] A performance profile beneath shows, content area by content area, where you sat relative to a borderline, just-passing examinee. - **Percentile is not printed on the report.** Use the table above. A percentile taken from an older edition of the guidelines will read one to three points higher.[1] - **Read the profile in bands, not bars.** The SEM is 6 points at the total-score level and wider for any single content area, so two areas that look different can be measurement noise.[1] - **The report is scored on the standard in force on your test date.** A 216 passed before July 1, 2025 and fails after it.[2] ## Predicting your score before test day NBME's Comprehensive Clinical Science Self-Assessment (CCSSA) reports its total score on the same 1 to 300 scale as Step 2 CK, as an estimate of the score you would get if you tested that week; NBME says the real score lands within 8 points of the estimate about two-thirds of the time.[6] NBME also publishes the chance of passing for each CCSSA score on the 218 standard: a 194 gives a 50% chance, 200 gives 64%, 210 gives 82%, 218 gives 91%, 225 gives 95%, 230 gives 97% and 239 or above gives 99%.[7] Read the CCSSA number as a band rather than a point: an estimate of 245 means roughly 237 to 253 two-thirds of the time, which spans three rows of the percentile table above.[6] The free [StepGenie self-assessment](https://www.stepgenie.app/self-assessment) is a second timed form on the same pattern and reports where you stand system by system, which is the part a single total score hides. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is a good Step 2 CK score in 2026? The mean for first-time takers from US LCME-accredited schools in 2025-26 is 251 (SD 15). A 260 is the 71st percentile and a 265 the 83rd. In the 2026 Match, US MD seniors who matched had a median of 253 across all specialties, against 244 for those who did not match. Whether a score is good depends on the specialty you are applying to; NRMP publishes the per-specialty medians in Charting Outcomes in the Match. ### What is the passing score for Step 2 CK? 218 on the three-digit scale, for every examination taken on or after July 1, 2025. The standard was 214 from July 2022 to June 2025 and 209 from July 2014 to June 2022. USMLE reviews the data for each Step approximately once every four years and decides whether to change the standard. ### What percentile is a 250 on Step 2 CK? On the August 2026 edition of the USMLE norm table, a 250 is the 44th percentile: 44 percent of first-time takers from US LCME-accredited schools (July 2023 to June 2026) scored lower. The April 2026 edition put the same score at the 47th percentile, and many third-party sites still show that figure. ### What percentile is a 260 on Step 2 CK? The 71st percentile on the August 2026 USMLE table, meaning roughly 29 percent of first-time takers scored 260 or higher. A 265 is the 83rd percentile and a 270 the 93rd. ### What is the average Step 2 CK score? 251 for first-time takers from US LCME-accredited schools in the 2025-26 academic year, with a standard deviation of 15. It was 250 in 2024-25 and 249 in 2023-24, when Canadian schools were still part of the norm group. ### How accurate is an NBME practice score at predicting Step 2 CK? NBME reports the CCSSA total score on the Step 2 CK scale and says the real score falls within about 8 points of it two-thirds of the time. NBME's July 2025 table gives a CCSSA 218 a 91 percent chance of passing on the 218 standard, a 210 an 82 percent chance and a 200 a 64 percent chance. A form taken weeks before the exam tends to understate the final score because you keep learning in between. ### Is Step 2 CK still scored numerically? Yes. Step 2 CK reports a three-digit score and a pass/fail outcome. Only Step 1 switched to pass/fail-only reporting, on January 26, 2022. ## Related - [USMLE Step 1 passing score](https://www.stepgenie.app/usmle/step-1-passing-score) -- 196 on a scale you never see, what the pass/fail report shows, and what to do after a fail. - [USMLE Step 1 pass rate](https://www.stepgenie.app/usmle/step-1-pass-rate) -- 2023 to 2025 pass rates by school type, first-time and repeat examinees. - [USMLE Step 3 passing score](https://www.stepgenie.app/usmle/step-3-passing-score) -- 200 since January 2024, the 227 mean, percentiles and pass rates. - [Free USMLE self-assessment](https://www.stepgenie.app/self-assessment) -- A timed, exam-format form for Step 1 or Step 2 with a system-by-system readout. ## Sources 1. USMLE Step Examination Score Interpretation Guidelines (PDF) (updated August 17, 2026): https://www.usmle.org/sites/default/files/2022-05/USMLE%20Step%20Examination%20Score%20Interpretation%20Guidelines_5_24_22_0.pdf 2. USMLE, Change to the Step 2 CK passing standard begins July 1, 2025 (announced June 16, 2025): https://www.usmle.org/change-step-2-ck-passing-standard-begins-july-1-2025 3. USMLE, Examination Results and Scoring (accessed September 5, 2026): https://www.usmle.org/scores-transcripts/examination-results-and-scoring 4. USMLE Performance Data (accessed September 5, 2026): https://www.usmle.org/performance-data 5. NRMP, Charting Outcomes: Characteristics of U.S. MD Seniors Who Matched to Their Preferred Specialty, 2026 Main Residency Match (Table 5) (July 2026): https://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/MD-Senior_Charting-Outcomes_FINAL.pdf 6. NBME, Common Questions on the 2022 CCSSA Score Report Changes (PDF) (November 2022): https://www.nbme.org/sites/default/files/2022-12/For_Educators_Common_Questions_CCSSA_2022_Score_Report_Changes.pdf 7. NBME, Updated Probabilities of Passing Step 2 CK for CCSSA and CCSE (PDF) (July 2025): https://www.nbme.org/sites/default/files/2025-07/Updated_Probabilities_for_CCSSA_and_CCSE.pdf 8. Blueprint Prep, on the Step 2 CK passing-score increase to 214 (cited for the 203 and 209 standards) (April 18, 2022) -- secondary source: https://blog.blueprintprep.com/medical/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-upcoming-passing-score-increase-for-step-2-ck/ --- StepGenie's Step 2 CK question bank explains every answer in images -- one for the concept, one for the whole topic, one per wrong option -- and its performance page shows which systems are pulling your score down. Start on the free plan. [Start practicing free](https://dashboard.stepgenie.app/sign-up?utm_source=stepgenie_site&utm_medium=site&utm_campaign=step-2-ck-score-percentiles&utm_content=md-footer-cta)