## Why this is worth saying plainly

Every year candidates resit an exam they already passed, or delay booking one because they do not
feel their Portuguese is "good enough" yet, when they are already well clear of the requirement.

Suficiente is worth exactly as much as Muito Bom for the purpose you are pursuing. The
classification bands exist because the exam reports a result, not because anything downstream
reads them.

## What this changes about preparation

It changes the target. You are not trying to demonstrate excellence. You are trying to clear two
lines reliably: 55% overall, and 25% in every component.

That reframing is practically useful:

- **Stop when you are reliably clear, not when you feel accomplished.** Extra months spent
  pushing toward a higher band buy nothing.
- **Fix your weakest component rather than polishing your strongest.** The floor rule makes a weak
  component dangerous in a way that a merely-good strong component does not compensate for.
- **Practise under time pressure.** The gap between "I know this material" and "I can do this in
  45 minutes with nerves" is where failed attempts live, and it has nothing to do with ambition.

## The one case where more is genuinely better

Margin. Aiming for exactly 55% is aiming to fail on a bad day. A harder text, a misread
instruction or ordinary exam nerves move you a few points, and there is no room at the line.

So aim comfortably above it, and then stop. That is a different thing from chasing a band.

## What we built around this

Our readiness score is calibrated to the real pass rule rather than to a raw average, because a
number that tells you that you are "doing well" is less useful than one that tells you whether you
would clear both rules today.