What Percentage of People Pass the PMP Exam

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, CAC, PMI-ACP, CCPM, RYT

This is the standard test result for 99% of Cheetah students with the PMP exam. Based on internet “chatter,” over the past twenty years, it appears the pass rate for the PMP exam is maintained at 60%. This means for others preparing for the PMP exam competing against Cheetah students who easily pass at the “above target” zone after only four days of Cheetah Exam Prep, becoming PMP certified may actually be far lower than 60%.  For example, if you have 100 candidates taking the actual PMP exam, and 20 of them are passing it from Cheetah, above target, of the remaining 80, only 40 will pass the exam to maintain the 60% pass rate. Of the 80 people taking the actual PMP exam, who did not go through Cheetah, based on what corporate clients tell us, these students were likely in programs with twice as many students as only about 50% of people who take these other programs muster up the oomph after their course to take the actual PMP exam. So if you are not taking the 20 years proven Cheetah Exam Prep four-day program, and you are taking some other PMP exam prep program, odds are you only have a 22% chance of becoming PMP certified. These values are estimates based on historical experience and anecdotal reports over twenty years of being in this business as PMI nor their Authorized Training Providers disclose these data.

For over two decades now, Cheetah Learning has been helping people master accelerated learning and pass what is considered one of the most difficult professional certification exams out there, after only four days of prep (the Project Management Professional – PMP). We set up this program two decades ago as an “outward bound” for the brain.  The concept is people must prove to themselves, they can in fact learn pretty much anything at least five times faster by actually putting it to the “test.” How does one know what is really possible unless pressed into service with having to take and pass one of the most difficult professional exams out there?

Yes, we do have many people who take the Cheetah Exam Prep with the PMP program to become PMP certified.  Most will admit in the process, they gained so much more than just the PMP credential. Cheetah students report they develop significantly greater confidence in their ability to master any new skill.

For most people, passing the Project Management Institute’s, Project Management Professional (PMP) exam is a game-changing career accomplishment. Without Cheetah’s Accelerated Learning approach, the standard study time for people is from six months to two years with many people having to take the exam multiple times. Over 99% of Cheetah students though pass the exam after only four days, on their first attempt. Most Cheetah students also pass the PMP exam scoring an impressive “above target” score in every exam area.

For twenty years, the standard we hear routinely in the PMP exam prep “chatter” is that 60% of people pass PMI’s PMP exam.  This is the pass rate for the people who actually take the exam after taking a PMP Exam Prep program.  Corporate clients who have used other vendors before discovering Cheetah, tell us that only about 50% of people even attempt the actual PMP exam after a PMP exam prep program (from other vendors).  Since Cheetah Learning is not in fact a PMP Exam Prep company – our students are taking the actual PMP exam as a way to validate they have mastered accelerated learning and they must be scheduled to take the actual PMP exam the day after their program ends.

Cheetah students do a pre-course program to ensure they get approved by PMI to take the actual PMP exam, BEFORE their Cheetah Exam Prep program begins. They cannot earn their Certified Accelerated Learner credential without taking and passing the actual PMP exam. So the vast majority of Cheetah Learning students take the actual PMP exam. This is no small nuance – considering half of the people who take some other PMP exam prep program never go on to take the actual PMP exam.

So this means, for the entire population of people who take other PMP Exam Prep programs, only 22% of them will actually become PMP certified. I don’t know about you, but who in their right mind would waste their time and money on doing something where this is only a 22% chance of succeeding  – especially when there is a way to ensure success with the PMP exam at almost five times the rate?   According to another PMP Exam Prep Provider – PMAspire – only 20% of people pass the PMP exam on their first attempt.  They do not share from where they acquire this data.

Let’s also look at this continuous 60% pass rate for the past two decades. What we’ve seen is the exam becomes “harder” and “easier” based on the quality of training for the exam. If there are many candidates adequately trained to pass the exam, the exam actually becomes harder to pass so that PMI can continue with their 60% pass rate.  With Cheetah students passing in the above target range – they bring up the curve, making it harder for others to pass the PMP exam who are not adequately trained to pass the PMP exam.

We hear from over 90% of Cheetah students,  “I was referred by a colleague, friend or family member who told me, Cheetah is really the only way to go if I want to pass the PMP exam.”  This makes sense to us since we’ve proven over two decades what it takes for Cheetah students to master the accelerated learning skills required to easily pass the PMP exam after only four days of prep.  Other PMP exam prep programs (most in business less than five years) use a PMI-approved curriculum developed to present PMP exam content.  These non-Cheetah students have to compete on a test that maintains a 60% pass rate against Cheetah Students who have mastered accelerated learning skills that enable them to pass the PMP exam “above target.”

When you are considering your chances for passing the actual PMP exam – you can significantly reduce your risk and increase your chances of passing the PMP exam by mastering accelerated learning with Cheetah’s two decades proven, four-day Cheetah Exam Prep program.