The American Nurses' Association certification provides professional recognition beyond licensure to nurses who pass an examination. To determine the passing score as it would be set by a representative peer group, a survey was mailed to a random sample of 200 recently certified nurses. Three questions were asked: (1) what percentage of examinees should pass; (2) what percentage of questions should be answered correctly for certification; and (3) what score should be achieved for certification, given a hypothetical distribution of scores on a 75-item test. There were 98 responses. Respondents indicated that a mean of 70.36% should pass. The currently used Angoff technique resulted in a passing rate of 87.96%. The mean percentage of questions that should be answered correctly was calculated to be 71.28% according to the survey, 56% as set by committee. The mean score that should be achieved for certification was calculated to be 53.81%. In comparison to the current standards set by committee, the peer group set higher standards. They also showed an unexpected correspondence between percentage correct required for passing and the percentage actually passing. Comparison models suggested by Hofstee and Beuk, when applied to the survey data, indicated that 61-63% of the examinees should pass, with scores of 64-67% required to pass. (MGD)