CLE Passing Rates 2026: National Results and School Data

Every CLE cycle, PRC releases the national result along with a school-by-school performance file. And every cycle, applicants misread both. The CLE passing rate that matters for your decision depends on what you're deciding — picking a college, picking a review centre, or planning a retake.

This guide gives the official national numbers for recent sittings, explains what PRC actually publishes, and shows how to read the school data without being misled. All figures come from PRC's results releases on prc.gov.ph.

The National Numbers

PRC gives the CLE twice a year. The last four sittings:

So roughly half to two-thirds of examinees passed in each recent sitting. Across 2026, 75,388 people took the CLE. There is no further CLE in 2026; the next is expected around February 2027, but PRC hasn't published its 2027 schedule yet.

Notice the pattern: in both years the February sitting was larger and had a higher passing rate than August. Two years isn't enough to call it a rule, but it's a reminder that a single sitting's rate — national or school — moves around.

What PRC Publishes With Each Result

Each CLE results announcement on prc.gov.ph states the national count (passers out of examinees) and links to four documents: the full text of the official result, the "Performance of Schools" file, the top 10 examinees, and the list of successful examinees. The August 2026 results came out on 1 September, 21 working days after the last exam day; recent CLE results have taken 20 to 26 working days.

The Performance of Schools file is the school data. The press release itself does not rank schools by passing rate.

How to Read the School Data

Compare Against the Same Sitting

A school's rate only means something next to the national rate for the same sitting. A school at 60% was above the national rate in August 2026 (57.56%) but below it in February 2026 (66.00%).

Sample Size Matters

A school with 12 examinees and 11 passers shows 92%. With a cohort that small, each examinee is worth more than 8 percentage points, so one or two results swing the number wildly. Put more weight on schools with larger cohorts and on several sittings.

First-Timers vs Repeaters

A school's overall rate mixes first-time takers with repeaters. If the performance file splits the two, compare first-timer figures — that's the cleaner signal of how well the programme prepares its graduates. If it doesn't, ask the school for its first-timer numbers.

Look at Several Sittings

One sitting is noise. Look at the school's results across at least three or four sittings, February and August, before drawing conclusions.

The Programme-Year Effect

A school that recently revamped its criminology programme or changed faculty may show a bump or dip during the transition cohorts. When you see a sudden big swing, ask what changed.

How to Use the Data

If You're Picking a College Programme

Look at several sittings, not one. Check the cohort size. Compare each sitting with the national rate. If the file separates first-timers, use that figure.

If You're Picking a Review Centre

PRC's performance file is by school, not by review centre, so a centre's pass-rate claims come from the centre itself. Ask how it counts: first-timers only or everyone, which sittings, and how many of its reviewees sat each one.

If You're Deciding on a Retake

Your own Report of Rating tells you more than any school table. It shows which subject pulled you down — and with a 60% floor per subject, that's the number that decides your plan.

Where the Number Doesn't Help

A school's passing rate tells you nothing about which subject its graduates struggle with. The aggregate hides the subject-level pattern.

If you've already graduated, focus on your own subject-level practice results, not the institutional aggregate. Your weak subject is your weak subject regardless of the school you came from.

What the National Number Hides

The national passing rate is an aggregate. It blends:

• First-time and repeat takers.
• State universities, private colleges, and everyone in between.
• Examinees from more than 30 testing centres nationwide.
• Very different cohort sizes from one sitting to the next.

Use it as the baseline for comparing schools in the same sitting — not as a prediction for any one examinee.

Questions to Ask a School or Review Centre

• What was your passing rate in each of the last three or four CLE sittings, and how many examinees sat each time?
• How many were first-timers?
• How does that compare with PRC's national rate for the same sitting?
• Which subjects do your graduates find hardest, and what do you do about it?

Using the Data for Retake Decisions

If you've already failed once, the school data matters most for one decision: where to review for your retake.

Stay With Your Current Programme If

• Its graduates consistently pass at or above the national rate, and you failed for personal reasons (illness, family).
• It has a structured retaker programme.
• It can show you where its graduates tend to struggle, and that matches your gap.

Switch If

• Its results sit well below the national rate across several sittings.
• It can't tell you which subjects its graduates find hardest.
• Its retake programme is just a discount on the standard course.

For the broader review structure, see the Complete CLE Guide 2026 and the working applicants' plan. The retake strategy guide uses the same subject-level lens for second-time takers.

FAQ

Where does PRC publish the official results and school data?

On prc.gov.ph, in the results announcement for each sitting. It links to the full official result, the Performance of Schools file, the top 10 examinees and the list of successful examinees.

Why is my school's rate so different from the national rate?

Because the national rate averages every examinee from every school. A school's rate reflects its programme, its faculty, who it admits, and how many of its graduates sat that particular sitting.

Should I switch schools based on the rate?

Not on a single sitting. A pattern across several sittings, measured against the national rate, is a real signal. A one-off dip is often noise.

How do deferred results fit in?

Under RA 11131, an examinee with a 75% weighted average but a subject below 60% gets a deferred result and is considered to have passed only after retaking that subject at 80% or higher. So a deferred examinee hasn't passed yet in that sitting's release.

Should I rely on social media for passing rate data?

Verify against PRC's own release. Social media often circulates partial or out-of-date numbers, especially for smaller schools.

Next Steps

• Complete CLE Guide 2026
• CLE Six-Subject Rotation
• CLE Retake Strategy
• CLE Exam Overview