USMLE Step 2 CK scores, percentiles and format

Step 2 CK percentiles

Each percentile is the share of first-time takers from LCME-accredited schools, testing from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2026, who scored lower than you. That’s 67,824 people. USMLE updates the table every year, so always use the newest one.

Average score and what counts as good

The average was 249 in 2023-2024, 250 in 2024-2025 and 251 in 2025-2026, with a standard deviation of 15 each year. Scores aren’t curved. Anyone at 218 or above passes, however many others do.

USMLE doesn’t call any score good or bad beyond the pass mark, and it doesn’t publish averages by specialty. The top of the scale is 300. On the current table, 280 and above all sit at the 100th percentile.

Format and length

Step 2 CK tests clinical care under supervision, with weight on health promotion and prevention. You can take it before or after Step 1. In 2024-2025, 98% of first-time takers from U.S. MD schools passed.

Your score report and score estimates

Your report shows your three-digit score, pass or fail, a standard error, and whether each content area was higher, lower or the same as your overall result. A chart places your score next to recent first-time takers from U.S. and Canadian schools.

There’s no official calculator. NBME’s Comprehensive Clinical Science Self-Assessment has 200 questions, starts at $62 and reports an estimated probability of passing Step 2 CK.

What happened to Step 2 CS?

Step 2 Clinical Skills is gone. It was paused in May 2020 because of COVID-19, and on January 26, 2021, USMLE announced it was discontinued for good. Today Step 2 means Step 2 CK only.

Old Step 2 CS attempts still count toward the four-attempt limit. If you trained outside the U.S., ECFMG sets its own clinical and communication skills requirement for certification. See our page for international medical graduates.