SQE1 pass mark and score report decoder

How the pass mark is set

An assessment board sets the lowest passing score for each FLK as a number of correct answers. It does so with reference to a Modified Angoff exercise, in which a panel of qualified solicitors judges, for each question, how many out of ten solicitors at the threshold of day one competence would answer it correctly. The exercise is not repeated for every sitting. In between, the standard is held steady by statistical equating, which compares how candidates perform on questions common to different papers.

A harder paper therefore has a lower raw pass mark and an easier one a higher raw pass mark, and the standard decides who passes rather than a quota. Once the pass mark is fixed, scores are placed on the 0 to 500 scale with the pass mark at 300. Scaling does not change anyone's outcome.

What a result shows

For each of FLK1 and FLK2 a result gives a pass or fail, the scaled score, the quintile the score falls in, and a chart of the score in each practice area. The raw mark behind the scaled score is not published. The practice-area scores rest on relatively few questions each, and the assessment is compensatory, so a weaker area can be offset by stronger ones. The decoder above reads the scaled scores and the practice-area chart; the SQE1 pass rate page shows how every sitting went.

Using a pass mark in preparation

A percentage in a mock is a rough guide and no more, because the raw mark that equates to 300 at a live sitting is not known in advance. Aim comfortably above the raw pass marks of 52% to 57% published before 2024, prepare both FLKs to the same standard, since a strong FLK1 does nothing for a weak FLK2, and use the practice areas where the SRA's data shows all candidates scoring lowest, set out in how hard SQE1 is, to decide where extra time goes. A candidate with an FLK to take again can plan it with the SQE1 resit planner.