DSST pass rates vary considerably by subject. In 2025, only 14% of military test-takers passed geology, but 94% passed Ethics in Technology.
What Are the DSST Pass Rates?
Military DSST pass rates (published by DANTES)
InstantCert DSST pass rates (reported by our students)
| DSST Exam | Military Pass Rate (FY25)* | InstantCert Pass Rate** | InstantCert vs. Military | InstantCert Results Reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction to Business | 61% | 98% | +37 pts | 587 |
| History of the Soviet Union | 68% | 97% | +29 pts | 338 |
| Personal Finance | 82% | 97% | +15 pts | 630 |
| Computing and Information Technology | 58% | 97% | +39 pts | 1,018 |
| Principles of Supervision | 72% | 97% | +25 pts | 1,357 |
| Business Ethics and Society | 75% | 97% | +22 pts | 603 |
| Introduction to World Religions | 46% | 96% | +50 pts | 1,321 |
| Management Information Systems | 53% | 96% | +43 pts | 533 |
| Introduction to Law Enforcement | 58% | 96% | +38 pts | 395 |
| Health and Human Development | 86% | 96% | +10 pts | 1,564 |
| Environmental Science | 76% | 96% | +20 pts | 567 |
| Criminal Justice | 88% | 96% | +8 pts | 445 |
| Fundamentals of Cybersecurity | 60% | 96% | +36 pts | 23 |
| A History of the Vietnam War | 87% | 95% | +8 pts | 441 |
| Ethics in America | 68% | 95% | +27 pts | 874 |
| Substance Abuse | 50% | 95% | +45 pts | 1,294 |
| The Civil War and Reconstruction | 92% | 93% | +1 pts | 480 |
| Organizational Behavior | 61% | 93% | +32 pts | 585 |
| Human Resource Management | 68% | 92% | +24 pts | 634 |
| General Anthropology | 69% | 91% | +22 pts | 135 |
| Foundations of Education | 36% | 91% | +55 pts | 176 |
| Principles of Statistics | 36% | 91% | +55 pts | 327 |
| Money and Banking | 81% | 90% | +9 pts | 290 |
| Fundamentals of Counseling | 57% | 89% | +32 pts | 309 |
| Astronomy | 59% | 89% | +30 pts | 366 |
| Principles of Finance | 40% | 85% | +45 pts | 262 |
| Art of the Western World | 32% | 72% | +40 pts | 113 |
| Ethics in Technology | 94% | No scores yet. Try the mock exam | ||
| Technical Writing | 90% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Lifespan Developmental Psychology | 82% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Introduction to Geography | 67% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Principles of Public Speaking | 60% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Principles of Advanced English Composition | 55% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Business Mathematics | 50% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Math for Liberal Arts | 19% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Fundamentals of College Algebra | 19% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Introduction to Geology | 14% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
* Military pass rates for fiscal year 2025, published by DANTES.
** Results voluntarily submitted by InstantCert students, last updated 2026. N/A means we don't offer a study guide for that exam.
Earlier DANTES military pass rate reports: FY24 DSST pass rates (PDF) · FY23 DSST pass rates (PDF)
How to Read These Pass Rates
Unlike our CLEP exam pass rates, the DSST does not have any civilian pass rates published. DANTES only publishes pass rates for military test-takers, and there is no official source for civilian DSST pass rates.
Military personnel get their first attempt at the test for free. They often do little to no studying, so a low number tells you the exam is hard to pass on general knowledge alone.
Military rates also swing a lot from year to year. Foundations of Education went from 55% in FY23 to 88% in FY24, then fell to 36% in FY25. Art of the Western World climbed from 8% to 12% to 32% over the same three years. Since DANTES doesn't publish how many people took the exam, we don't know if these percentages are from only a handful of test-takers.
The InstantCert pass rate shows what happens when people actually study for the exam they are taking. That being said, our students need to report this back to us, so it is not an exact number.
For a good idea of how much you'll need to study, look at the gap between the InstantCert and the military number. If there is a huge gap, it means you'll need to study more for this exam. If the gap is small and the military pass rate is high, you may be able to study within weeks, days or maybe even just take it without studying.
Why Are Military DSST Pass Rates So Low?
Military personnel often write these exams with little study or with no practice at all. DANTES pays for the first attempt at every DSST exam (dantes.mil), so they don't lose their exam fee if they fail. Test-takers on DegreeForum describe taking exams with zero prep because the fee was covered, although many of them fail.
Another issue is that military personnel often test on short notice, squeezed between duty schedules, training, and deployments. Some exams also got harder over time. Our forum members tracking the data noticed that several once-easy DSST exams dropped sharply after content revisions (DegreeForum). If you FAIL, DANTES won't pay for the retest. You wait 30 days and cover the full fee yourself. That means it's worth studying for your first attempt.
What Are the Easiest DSST Exams?
Going by the FY25 military pass rates, these are the five easiest DSST exams:
- Ethics in Technology: 94% military
- The Civil War and Reconstruction: 92% military, 93% InstantCert
- Technical Writing: 90% military
- Criminal Justice: 88% military, 96% InstantCert
- A History of the Vietnam War: 87% military, 95% InstantCert
Among our own students, Introduction to Business leads at 98%, with Personal Finance, History of the Soviet Union, Computing and Information Technology, and Principles of Supervision right behind at 97%. Most of these are heavy on vocabulary, so our system does a great job of teaching you quickly.
What Are the Hardest DSST Exams?
Math and science dominate the bottom of the list:
- Introduction to Geology: 14% military
- Fundamentals of College Algebra: 19% military
- Math for Liberal Arts: 19% military
- Art of the Western World: 32% military, 72% InstantCert
- Foundations of Education: 36% military, 91% InstantCert
What Score Do You Need to Pass a DSST?
DSST exams use a 200 to 500 scale and the minimum passing score usually lands in the 400 to 450 range. Your school can require more than the minimum ACE recommendation, so check your school's policy before you book.
Pass and you get the credit with no letter grade. Fail and the attempt does NOT appear on your college transcript.
DSST vs. CLEP Pass Rates
In general, the DSST and the CLEP have similar pass rates. Both programs have exams that most people pass and exams that most people fail. Military CLEP pass rates run from 22% (Humanities) to 88% (Spanish Language), which is similar to the DSST range.
See the full breakdown on our CLEP exam pass rates page.
About the InstantCert Pass Rates
Across every DSST exam we cover, 14,862 of 15,667 InstantCert students who reported their results passed, which comes to a 95% pass rate. We do not delete any results and take scores only from our paid members.
These are results our students chose to submit, so students who pass the exam may be biased to submit. A 96% pass rate does not mean the exam is a breeze or that you can't fail after using our flashcards. That being said, many of the students did the bare minimum and managed to pass using only InstantCert.
Happy testing!