3.6  Grading

You will not receive immediate pass/fail results on your CMA exam because the essays must be graded offline at a later time.

The scores will be mailed approximately 6 weeks after the close of the testing window.

The essays are worth 25% of the total exam score, and the multiple-choice section is worth 75%. The scores for the multiple-

choice section will be added to the scores of the essay section for a total weighted score of pass/fail reflected in a scaled score for

the entire part. You MUST score at least 50% on the multiple-choice section of the exam to be allowed to take the essay section.

This requirement ensures that test takers do not proceed with the essay section if they do not have a chance of achieving a passing

score for the entire exam. If you are allowed to proceed, it does not mean that you passed. You still must perform well enough on

the essay section of the exam to achieve a total passing score.

Candidates are given different “forms” of the exam, and it is therefore necessary to establish a passing score for each form, taking

into consideration the relative difficulty of the items contained in each form. In order to equate all scores for all forms of the

exam, the scores for each part are placed along a scale from 0 to 500. On this scale, a score of 360 represents the minimum

passing scaled score. One form of the exam might require a passing percentage of 70% and another a passing percentage of 65%;

both of these passing percentages would represent a scaled score of 360. The scaled score allows candidates to know how they

performed in relation to the passing standard of 360. Although the passing standard differs according to the relative difficulty of

the exam form, you should try to score more than 75% in both the multiple choice and essay sections. Candidates are not required

to “pass” both sections; the total score determines pass/fail status.

Individual questions are not weighted in the sense that one question is worth more points than another question. All questions are

of equal point value. The individual questions do determine the relative difficulty of the entire set of questions, or “form,” of the

exam. When a candidate takes an exam, a set of questions is randomly selected. Each question included in the set of questions has

a difficulty rating that, together with all the other questions, determines the relative difficulty of that particular set of questions.

This relative difficulty determines the number of questions that must be answered correctly in order to pass. A relatively difficult

exam will require fewer correct items than an easier exam.

There is no penalty for incorrect answers. Therefore, you should select an option that seems reasonable rather than leave an

answer blank, particularly if you can eliminate one or two of the options as being incorrect. This strategy of educated guessing is

covered more thoroughly in Study Unit 4.