The closest miss

Failed by 1 point.

A 144 when the passing line is 145 is the cruelest score this test gives — and one of the most searched, which is why this page exists. No comfort fiction here: the line is the line, and the credential needs a 145. But close is real information, and the next moves are concrete, priced, and shorter than you fear.

What your score report tells you

Under the score, the report flags the content areas where your points are. At one point short, the gap is a handful of questions inside those flagged areas — not the whole subject. Your rebuild is therefore narrow: the flagged topics, worked in the workbook's chapters for that subject, plus one timed practice exam set under real conditions. The planner rebuilds the plan around the weak areas only and protects the subjects you already passed — a passed subject stays passed.

What the retake costs — the verified mechanics

Checked October 2026 against the test maker's published rules: you get one discounted retake per subject at a test center — the test maker waives its $26 fee for that retake (valid 12 months); state and center fees may still apply. Online retakes are not discounted — full price. There is no wait for the first two retakes; after a third failed attempt in a subject, a 60-day wait applies before retesting that subject. Your exact worst case in your state is one number in the Path Checker and a line in your plan. In New York the retake, like the test, is free.

The next three moves

  1. Read the report's flags today and write down the two or three content areas it names. That list is your whole syllabus now.
  2. Rebuild narrow, then prove it: work the flagged areas (the workbook's chapters for the subject), then take a fresh official practice test for that subject — $7.99 at the official door, price checked October 2026 — and look for green (145+), not hope.
  3. Book the center retake inside the discount window while the material is warm, and put the date on the calendar the planner prints. Protect the wins: schedule around the subjects already passed, never instead of them.

One honest line to close: a one-point miss says the last plan almost worked. It does not say the next attempt passes — nobody honest can promise that. It says the remaining gap is small, named, and priced. Small, named and priced is fixable.

Put your four scores in. The free Readiness Planner takes all four subjects at once and returns your order, your weekly hours, your dated calendar and your retake budget. One band on one subject is a signal; the plan is what you do with it.