NCARB’s Architect Registration Examination® (ARE®) is a 6-part exam required to become an architect in the United States. For most candidates, taking the ARE is the final step on the path to licensure.
In 2024, the exam saw an increase in candidates testing, but a decrease in exam pass rates. Over 5,800 candidates started the ARE in 2024, a 15% increase compared to the prior year. However, the number of candidates completing the exam held steady at just over 3,500. This stability aligns with the decrease in pass rates, which fell by 3 percentage points to 55%. In addition, the average time to complete the program fell by 2 months, with candidates now taking 2.3 years to pass all 6 divisions.
Over the past several years, NCARB has been implementing changes to improve the equity and accessibility of the ARE: creating free practice exams for candidates, retiring ineffective item types, offering accommodations for candidates who speak English as a Second Language (ESL), and replacing the ARE’s rolling clock policy. Going forward, NCARB will continue to monitor the impact of these changes and explore opportunities for additional exam improvements.
Nearly 80% of candidates are now using NCARB’s free practice exams prior to testing—and the results are positive. Candidates who use NCARB’s practice exams perform 16 percentage points better than those who don’t. While NCARB continues to see a disparity in pass rates between white candidates and candidates of color, recent changes are helping to close the gap over time.
Nearly 6,000 candidates started taking the ARE in 2024.
The number of candidates starting to take the ARE fell significantly in 2020, a result of test center closures and limited appointment availability during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, NCARB has seen a gradual return toward normal levels of new test-takers. In 2024, nearly 6,000 candidates took their first ARE division, a 15% increase compared to 2023.
Over the past several years, NCARB has seen high numbers of candidates starting the path to licensure. As those new candidates make their way through the licensure process, we expect the number of candidates starting the ARE to increase in the near future.
The number of candidates finishing the ARE holds steady.
The number of individuals completing the ARE has held relatively steady since 2021, with 3,400-3,500 candidates passing their final exam division each year. As with the number of candidates starting the exam, the dip seen in 2020 is a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since most candidates take roughly 2-3 years to finish the exam, NCARB expects that more candidates will finish the ARE in the years ahead to correspond with a recent increase in exam starts.
However, NCARB is still uncertain how the 2023 retirement of the rolling clock policy will impact ARE completions going forward—while some candidates might slow their testing progress without a time restriction, candidates who were previously at risk for losing exam credits due to the policy might now be more likely to finish the ARE.
Time to complete the ARE continues to fall.
On average, candidates who completed the ARE in 2024 took 2.3 years—6 months faster than the spike seen in 2022, which was likely a delayed result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Candidates who finished the exam in 2022 would have started testing in 2019-2020. With 2.3 years between the first and last test, the typical candidate who finished the exam in 2024 would have started testing in 2021-2022, after the brunt of the pandemic’s impact on the exam had passed.
Plus, candidates are completing ARE 5.0 in less time than the exam’s previous version, ARE 4.0. Candidates who only tested in ARE 5.0 finished the exam in just 2.0 years. For comparison, the average candidate who only tested in ARE 4.0 (before 4.0’s retirement in 2018) took 2.5 years to complete the exam.
Candidates are slightly younger when starting—and finishing—the exam.
While the average age of candidates starting and finishing the ARE has not changed significantly over the past 5 years, it has been trending slightly downward. The average candidate who started the ARE in 2024 was 28.9 years old, and the average candidate who finished the ARE in 2024 was 32.3 years old. This is 4 months younger at ARE start than in 2023, and 5 months younger at ARE complete.
DID YOU KNOW? Averages can be measured in several ways. NCARB uses median to measure averages throughout NBTN, which allows us to avoid skewing the average with outlier data points.
Nearly half of candidates complete the exam in less than 2 years.
In 2024, the percent of candidates who finished the exam in a below-average time frame increased by 5 percentage points: Now, nearly 50% of candidates finish the exam in under 2 years.
The proportion of candidates taking 4 or more years to complete the exam fell by 4%. However, more candidates may take longer to complete the ARE in the coming years as individuals impacted by the retirement of the exam’s 5-year rolling clock policy return to the licensure path and finish testing.
Candidates’ exam activity continues to climb.
The number of exam divisions taken in 2024 rose to the highest number seen post-pandemic: Candidates took over 43,000 divisions of the ARE, an increase of nearly 10% compared to 2023. This is close to the number of divisions taken in 2019 (just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic), but still below the record high of over 56,000 divisions taken in 2017 as candidates pushed to complete the exam before the retirement of ARE 4.0.
Approximately 65% of all exams administered in 2024 were first attempts, while the remaining 35% were retakes of previously failed divisions. Over the past 5 years, first attempts have consistently made up 63%-65% of all exam attempts.
More than 20% of all exam attempts were for the Practice Management division.
Of the 43,306 ARE divisions taken in 2024, more than 9,000 were in the Practice Management division—over 21% of all exam attempts.
Though candidates can take the divisions in any order, many candidates start their exam journey with Practice Management, which is typically listed first in NCARB’s materials. The next most-taken division was Project Planning & Design, which also has the highest number of retakes out of the 6 divisions.
DID YOU KNOW? Although most candidates start with the Practice Management division, NCARB’s data suggests that candidates who start with Project Management have higher overall pass rates.
Exam pass rates fall across most ARE 5.0 divisions.
After a brief spike in 2023 to 58%, ARE 5.0 pass rates fell back to 55% in 2024. This included pass rate decreases across 4 of the 6 ARE 5.0 divisions: Construction & Evaluation, Practice Management, Project Management, and Project Planning & Design.
Pass rates for the Programming & Analysis division increased by 1 percentage point, the only division to see a pass rate increase compared to 2023. Meanwhile, pass rates for Project Development & Documentation held steady at 55%.
Over the past several years, NCARB has made several updates to the exam to align with current testing best practices and ensure greater accessibility, including expanding Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and English as a Second Language (ESL) accommodations, launching free practice exams, replacing the 5-year rolling clock policy, and retiring certain item types. Going forward, NCARB will continue to monitor the impact of these changes and explore opportunities for additional exam improvements.
White men have the highest pass rate on all exam divisions.
While NCARB has implemented updates to make the exam more accessible for candidates of all backgrounds, pass rates remain higher for white candidates than for candidates of color. White men continued to have the highest pass rate on all ARE 5.0 divisions in 2024, while Black or African American men generally had the lowest.
Aside from white candidates, Asian candidates are the only other race or ethnicity to score average pass rates on some (but not all) ARE divisions. Additionally, women tend to receive lower pass rates than men of the same racial or ethnic group on most ARE divisions, with the exception of Black or African American women, who typically perform better than their male peers.
Pass rates are significantly higher for first attempts.
Across all exam divisions, pass rates are higher for candidates attempting any division for the first time compared to those retaking after failing that division at least once. At 67%, pass rates were highest for candidates attempting the Programming & Analysis division for the first time—6 percentage points higher than the national average pass rate for that division.
Pass rates were lowest for candidates retaking the Project Planning & Design division, which saw an average pass rate of 40%—7 percentage points lower than the national average for that division.
The proportion of candidates overlapping the AXP and ARE holds steady.
Although AXP experience areas and ARE 5.0 divisions were intentionally designed to align with each other, less than 60% of candidates take the exam while working to complete the experience program.
In 2024, 58% of candidates took at least 1 ARE division while they were still working toward completing the AXP—roughly the same proportion seen over the last 5 years.
Note: Because candidates can backdate experience up to 5 years, AXP data can shift over time.
The best time to take an exam division is within 3 months of completing the related experience area.
Candidates preparing to take the ARE should plan to test at the time that best meets their needs—whether that’s based on finances, bandwidth, preparation, or other factors. But one more element candidates might consider is AXP experience: NCARB’s data indicates that candidates perform better on the exam when they take an ARE division right before or immediately after finishing the related AXP experience area.
What does this mean for candidates? Currently, most candidates wait a year or more after finishing an AXP area before taking its related ARE division. However, pass rates at that point are typically 10-20 percentage points lower.
The ARE is designed to reflect day-to-day practice, so testing while related experience is fresh might help candidates connect the exam to the real world.
Candidates who use NCARB’s practice exams perform 13-19 points better on the ARE.
Overall, candidates who take a free NCARB practice exam before attempting the related division are 16 percentage points more likely to succeed. Higher pass rates range anywhere from 13-19 percentage points, depending on the division. Performance improved most (19 percentage points) for candidates taking the Practice Management division, and least (13 percentage points) for candidates taking the Programming & Analysis division.
