What 80% on a CompTIA A+ practice exam actually means
Hit 80% on a full-length practice exam and the standard advice is "go book it." That advice is mostly right, but it skips a few things that matter on exam day. Here is the honest version.
Why 80% became the benchmark
Most cert-prep communities settle on 80% as the "go take the real exam" line on full-length practice. It is not a CompTIA-published number. It is what experienced study groups, instructors, and pass-rate trackers have converged on over years of watching who passes and who has to retake.
CompTIA A+ uses a scaled score, not a percentage. Core 1 (220-1201) passes at 700 out of 900. Core 2 (220-1202) passes at 700 out of 900. The actual question count varies (up to 90 per exam) and items are weighted, so a raw percentage on practice does not map one-to-one with a passing scaled score. But 80% raw on a quality, full-length, full-time-pressure practice exam puts most learners over the scaled-score line with margin.
Where 80% lies to you
The number depends on three things being honest: question quality, time pressure, and freshness. Skip any of them and 80% means less than you think.
- Question quality. If the practice item is poorly written, ambiguous, or maps to retired objectives, your score is inflated by easy points. Look for items that cite specific objective IDs and have explanations grounded in CompTIA's published exam blueprint, not a third party's interpretation.
- Time pressure. The real exam gives you 90 minutes for up to 90 questions. Practice without a timer and your 80% is actually a 70% with three coffee breaks. Sit it full-time, in one go, no phone.
- Freshness. If you have seen the same 200-question pool four times, you are scoring on recognition, not knowledge. The score that matters is on a question set you have not touched.
Hit 80% with all three controls in place and you are in good shape. Hit 80% without them and you might be staring at a retake email in two weeks.
What to do once you actually hit it
The mistake here is over-preparing. Once you have a clean 80% on a full-length practice you have not seen before, the marginal value of another week of flashcards drops fast. The thing that fails most learners in the room is not knowledge gaps, it is exam anxiety and time management.
- Book the real exam within two weeks. Cold knowledge fades.
- Do one more full-length sit a few days before. Same time pressure, same conditions.
- Review only the misses from that final practice. Not the whole topic, the specific items.
- Sleep. Show up early. Bring two forms of ID. Boring stuff wins exam day.
What 80% does not promise
Plenty of learners hit 80% on practice and still need a retake. The exam itself has version variation, a different stress profile, and PBQs (performance-based questions) that test you in a different mode than multiple choice. A high practice score reduces the odds of failing. It does not eliminate them. Treat 80% as a green light, not a guarantee.
How we built this into Revy's Tech Journey
The 80% threshold is wired into the platform. Every full-length Practice Exam produces a Readiness Score for that Core. Cross 80% and you see a milestone card with the exam-scheduling next step. Below 80% and the dashboard surfaces the objectives you missed and routes you to spaced-repetition flashcards on those specific gaps.
Free tier includes one Practice Exam per month so you can feel the loop before you commit. If you want to track Core 1 and Core 2 readiness in parallel and iterate weekly, the Pro tier removes the cap.
Where to go next
If you are tracking toward A+ specifically, the A+ track page has the full objective map and what each domain covers. If you are already in the platform, head to the dashboard and check where your Core 1 and Core 2 Readiness Scores currently sit.
Questions about your specific path? Email the team. We reply personally, usually within a day.
Sources
- CompTIA. CompTIA A+ certification overview. Scaled scoring (700 / 900 pass mark), question count (up to 90), exam time limit (90 minutes), Core 1 (220-1201) and Core 2 (220-1202) blueprint.
- CompTIA. A+ exam objectives (Core 1 and Core 2). Domain weights and objective IDs referenced throughout the post.
About the authors
IT Service Center Manager and former CTE / IT teacher. Owner of Revtek IT Solutions in Chicago's south suburbs. Writes everything that ships under his name and reviews every line of Revy-assisted drafting before publish.
LinkedIn ↗Revy helps draft and structure these posts. Every piece is reviewed, edited, and fact-checked by Nick before publish. We disclose this here because it is the right thing to do. See the AI Policy for the full stance.