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Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic is a new computer-based English language proficiency test launched in October 2009 that will be available in 35 countries and more than 200 locations in 2010. Anticipating widespread use of PTE Academic, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN®) conducted a standard-setting study in November 2009 to establish a PTE Academic minimal passing standard, as related to entry-level nursing practice. Similar standard-setting exercises targeting entry-level nursing practice have been performed on other English language proficiency tests. In 2003, NCSBN conducted its first English language proficiency workshop with the Test of English as a Foreign Language Computer-based Test (TOEFL ® CBT). An updated TOEFL passing standard was set as a new version of the test, TOEFL Internet-based Test (TOEFL iBT™), became the primary choice for TOEFL candidates in a standard-setting workshop in 2008. In 2004, a similar standard-setting workshop was conducted with the International English Language Testing System (IELTS™) examination. NCSBN is providing its member boards with another option for evaluating English language proficiency of licensure applicants by setting a minimum English proficiency requirement with PTE Academic. Given the number of internationally educated nurses who seek licensure in the U.S., defining a legally defensible passing standard, documenting the procedures used to identify that standard, and making the standard available to boards of nursing and other interested parties would be a benefit to member jurisdictions. An additional benefit to using the NCSBN recommended English proficiency standard is that it would make PTE Academic pass-fail decisions portable across member jurisdictions. This technical brief describes the PTE Academic standard-setting process and the NCSBN recommended passing standard. PTE Academic PTE Academic was developed to measure the English communication skills of nonnative English-speaking students in an academic environment. Owned and developed by Pearson, the test was cross-validated in several countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia and the U.S., to ensure that the test is representative of and measures international academic English. PTE Academic measures four English language skills i