## The two rules

**55% overall is the pass mark.** That is the number CAPLE publishes, and it is the one almost
everyone knows.

**A minimum of 25% in every component is the second rule.** It is published in the exam
regulations and it is routinely ignored or forgotten by candidates planning their preparation.
You need 55% overall *and* at least 25% in each of the three parts.

## Why the floor is the dangerous one

Consider someone who is strong on paper and avoids speaking practice entirely because it is only
25% of the grade. They score well on reading and writing, respectably on listening, and score
under 25% on speaking.

Their weighted total might sit comfortably above 55%. They still fail, because compensation
between components is capped. The floor rule is not a formality. It is a separate gate.

This is exactly why the "it is only a quarter of the grade" reasoning is a mistake. Weight tells
you where the marks are. The floor tells you where the exam can end.

## Aim above the line, not at it

Planning to score exactly 55% is planning to fail on a bad day. Exam nerves, a hard text, a
misread instruction: any of these move you a few points, and there is no margin at the pass mark.

The useful target is comfortably clear of both rules, tested repeatedly under time pressure, so
that a bad day still lands above the line.

## Where our readiness score comes from

Our readiness score is calibrated to both rules rather than to the overall percentage alone,
because a tool that only tracks your average would tell you that you are ready when the floor
rule says otherwise. We train the reading part, which sits inside the heaviest component.