The pass/fail threshold is very lenient for N5. You only need 80/180 points on the exam overall. However, you need to reach the threshold in each section as well. For example: you need at least 38 points in the Vocabulary/Grammar and Reading section to pass that section. For Listening, you need at least 19 points. Vocabulary/Grammar and Reading = 120 points max. Listening = 60 points max. Overall = 180 points max. To make this clearer, let's look at two examples: Example 1: V/G and Reading = 40 Listening = 50 Overall = 90 Result = Passed (the results show that the thresholds for each section were exceeded AND they resulted in scoring over the minimum overall score) Example 2: V/G and Reading = 40 Listening = 20 Overall = 60 Result = Failed (even though the minimum requirement was met for each section, the overall minimum was not, resulting in failure of the test.) Example 3: V/G and Reading = 30 Listening = 60 Overall = 90 Result = Failed (here, the tester demonstrated full mastery in listening and met the minimum requirement in the overall score, but failed to meet the minimum in the "V/G and Reading section" and therefore failed the test.) I hope this clears things up. If you need more info on how the test works, here is a link that contains info for each level. http://www.jlpt.jp/e/guideline/results.html Good luck on the test!