After you complete the EMT exam, your test results are transmitted to the NREMT, which verifies that all necessary steps have been completed. The NREMT uses a different method than you may expect in scoring your exam. Rather than having a simple pass/fail process, which you may be used to with paper exams, the nature of a computer adaptive test results in a more complex scoring process.
Your performance on each exam item is evaluated to be above or below the given standard. Over time, the computer recognizes that your overall performance in that section is either above or below the standard. Once it does, it moves on to the next section. This means that there is no minimum number of questions that you must answer correctly; it depends on your performance.
However, how the computer scores the exam isn’t necessarily how it may order the questions themselves. In fact, the order of the questions may seem very random at times — you may first see an airway, respiration, and ventilation question, followed by a trauma question, then a medical question, then back to airway, respiration, and ventilation. Don’t worry about the order — just focus on the question in front of you.
You not only have to perform above the overall exam standard, but you must also do so in each of the five sections. Passing each section proves that your breadth of knowledge is enough to allow you to practice.
Your results are posted in your account on nremt.org. Although the NREMT states that it can take one to two business days, sometimes your result may appear as early as the same day you took the exam. If you passed, go ahead and perform a happy dance — you deserve it!
On the other hand, if you didn’t pass, you’re told how you performed in each content area so that you can prepare for your next attempt. You have an opportunity to retake the exam two more times, for a total of three attempts.