ATSA Score Bands: Best, Well Qualified and Qualified

You don't get a numeric score on the ATSA. The FAA places you in a category, and the category decides whether you move forward. In the 2025 and 2026 trainee announcements, only applicants with a Best Qualified or Well Qualified result were considered for selection. "Qualified" is a passing result, but recent announcements didn't move Qualified applicants forward, and "Not Referred" means you didn't pass.

The categories you can receive

According to the FAA's testing page at Pearson VUE, candidates see only their placement, not an overall score. The labels used over the past several years are:

• Best Qualified: the top band when four categories are in use.
• Well Qualified: the next band down, and the lowest category recent announcements have moved forward.
• Qualified: a pass below the bands the FAA has been selecting from.
• Not Referred: the status message reads, "You did not obtain a passing ATSA result on your most recent assessment."

Which labels you'll see depends on when you look. Archived copies of the Pearson VUE page from 2022 and mid-2024 list four categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified, Qualified and Not Referred. The version we read on September 15, 2026 lists three: Well Qualified, Qualified and Not Referred. The 2026 USAJOBS announcement, meanwhile, names both "Best" and "Well-Qualified." Public wording hasn't always stayed in sync, which is part of why so many applicants are confused.

Where the bands came from

The most detailed public description is in a January 2023 report from the Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General (OIG), report AV2023011. It says:

• The FAA scores the ATSA with a proprietary algorithm built into its online hiring system, AVIATOR.
• Applicants must score 70 percent to pass.
• In 2018, the FAA introduced three hiring bands: best-qualified (90 percent or above), well-qualified (85–89 percent) and qualified (70–84 percent).
• Since 2018, the FAA had hired only candidates in the best- and well-qualified bands.

The OIG also published how many applicants landed in those top two bands. Across 2018 to 2020, 16,988 applicants were eligible to take the ATSA, 6,841 passed, and 3,073 were best- or well-qualified. Those figures are from a period with different announcements and pandemic disruptions, so don't read them as today's odds.

The 2023 change and the 2025 reversal, as reported

In August 2025, the New York Post reported on an internal FAA slide showing that the bands had been changed in 2023. Under that version, as the Post described it, "well-qualified" meant 80 percent and above, "qualified" meant 70 to 79.9 percent, and "not referred" meant below 70 percent. The article said the current administration had gone back to four tiers: best-qualified at 90 percent or more, well-qualified at 85 to 89 percent, qualified at 70 to 84 percent and not referred below 70 percent.

Treat those numbers with some caution. They come from a news report about an internal document, not a published FAA policy, and a spokesperson for the former Transportation Secretary disputed how the change was framed. We couldn't find the thresholds on any FAA web page. What you can verify is the wording in the announcements themselves.

How announcements have described the ATSA requirement, 2023–2026

Announcement	What it said about ATSA results
FAA-ATO-23-ALLSRCE-84315 (May 2023)	"All applicants must pass the Air Traffic Skills Assessment (ATSA)." Most recent results would be used "regardless if they are higher or lower than previous result." No band was named.
FAA-ATO-24-ALLSRCE-88674 and -92381 (2024)	The same pass requirement and most-recent-result rule. No band was named.
FAA-ATO-25-ALLSRCE-94224 (Feb–Mar 2025)	"Currently, FAA is selecting from the Best and Well Qualified categories. FAA is prioritizing Best Qualified." Elsewhere in the same text: "Only candidates with a well-qualified result will be considered for selection."
FAA-ATO-25-ALLN90-95834 (Aug 2025, New York area)	"Currently, FAA is only selecting from the Best and Well Qualified categories, prioritizing Best Qualified candidates."
FAA-ATO-26-ALLSRCE-97350 (April 2026)	"To move forward in the hiring process, applicants must achieve a 'Best' or 'Well-Qualified' ATSA result."

The FAA's February 2025 press release added to the mix by calling "Well Qualified" the "highest score" and saying those candidates would get priority for the Academy. The simplest reading of all of this: since 2025, the FAA has selected only from the top one or two categories, and ranks the highest results first.

What "referral" means

Referral is the step where FAA human resources passes your name to the officials who make selections. The announcements put it simply: "Eligible and qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration." In the OIG's table, applicants "referred to FAA Air Traffic Organization for selection processing" are those who passed the ATSA.

A few things about referral are worth knowing:

• Referral is not an offer. Selected candidates typically get a tentative offer next, then medical and security clearances, before an Academy class date. Our guide to the tentative offer letter covers that stage.
• The category comes first, then the applicant pool. Federal law (49 U.S.C. 44506) tells the FAA to give preferential consideration, within each qualification category based on pre-employment testing, to Pool 1 applicants (CTI graduates and certain veterans) before Pool 2. Veterans' preference also applies. See Pool 1 vs Pool 2.
• Your most recent result is the one referred. If you test again, the new category replaces the old one, even if it's lower.

How the bands are calculated, and what isn't public

The FAA doesn't publish how the seven ATSA subtests are weighted or how the combined percentage is built. The OIG report says the FAA picked 7 of 15 assessments from two vendors, Airways New Zealand and SHL/CEB, after a validation study involving certified controllers and Academy students, and that the assessments are proprietary. Pearson VUE's page describes the test as covering decision-making, spatial awareness, multitasking and working memory, "among others."

That leaves real limits on what anyone can tell you:

• No one outside the FAA can convert your practice results into a predicted band. Be wary of any site that claims to.
• You can't tell which section pulled your category up or down, because you only get the category.
• Candidates often talk about which sections "matter most," but those are guesses. The scoring isn't public.

Given that, the sensible approach is to avoid a weak spot in any section. The game-style sections, like ATC Simulation, Memory Variables and Visual Relationships, are the ones people most often find unfamiliar, so they're a good place to get comfortable with the format. Practice can make the format less of a surprise, but it can't guarantee a particular category.

If your result was Qualified or Not Referred

Recent announcements have openly encouraged a retake. The 2026 text says: "If you previously took the ATSA and did not receive a best or well-qualified result, you are encouraged to retake the test." You can only test when you're invited through a trainee announcement, and your new result replaces the old one. Before deciding, read ATSA retake rules and score validity. If you decide to practice all seven sections first, full access is listed on the pricing page.

Frequently asked questions

Can I find out my actual ATSA percentage?

Not through the normal process. Pearson VUE's FAA page says candidates don't receive an overall score, only their category.

Is "Qualified" a passing ATSA result?

Yes. Qualified sits above the 70 percent pass mark described by the OIG. But the 2025 and 2026 announcements considered only Best or Well-Qualified results, so a Qualified result hasn't been enough to move forward in recent hiring.

Does a Best Qualified result guarantee a job offer?

No. Selection still depends on the number of openings, your applicant pool, veterans' preference, and passing medical, psychological, drug and background checks. A top category improves your position, but it isn't a promise of an offer or a class date.

Do CTI graduates or veterans get a higher ATSA category?

No. Everyone is placed by test result. Pool 1 status affects the order of consideration within a category, not the category itself.