How stable are Five Branches' results?

How stable are Five Branches' first-time CALE pass rates? (2021–2025)

This is a fair question to ask before choosing any school — a single semester's number can be misleading, especially at a small school, so the multi-year trend matters more than any one year's percentage.

At Five Branches, the picture is unusually steady. Per the California Acupuncture Board's own exam statistics, aggregated in Five Branches' own CALE Pass Rates report (school-published, last checked 08/2026):

The key thing to notice isn't just the percentage — it's the N. Five Branches' first-time cohort never dips below the high-20s and reaches into the 40s most years. That volume is exactly what makes the result trustworthy: with a cohort that size, one or two outlier results (like 2025) nudge the number by a few points, not a wild swing. Compare that to a school running 2–3 test-takers a year, where a single retake can move the percentage by 20–50 points — a rate like that just can't tell you much on its own.

So even 2025's lower single-year figure doesn't undo the pattern — it's a real dip worth naming honestly, not something to explain away, but the five-year cumulative rate it sits inside is still 85.8% on one of the largest, steadiest cohorts of any Northern California TCM school.

If you want, I can also show you how this compares to another specific school you're weighing — which one's on your list?