CMA Study Group

 View Only
Back to discussions
Expand all | Collapse all

Chances of passing

  • 1.  Chances of passing

    Posted 03-01-2020 01:43 PM
    Dear All,
    I recently completed my CMA exam part 1 on 24th Feb. The questions were tough but I managed to sail through to the essay questions. I wanted to understand what would be the chances of me passing the exam after having made it through to the essay section and doing well in the essay section.    ​

    ------------------------------
    Chris Benedict
    Analyst
    Bangalore
    India
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Chances of passing

    Posted 03-02-2020 01:46 AM
    ​I have the same situation as you.. there is a chance to pass :)

    ------------------------------
    Hebah Masoud
    Supervisor
    Amman
    Jordan
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Chances of passing

    Posted 03-02-2020 03:23 AM
    Hi Hebah

    No one can tell a very specific answer, but we can do some probability calculations in order to predict that:
    Overall minimum required passing score is 360 over 500 >>> 72%
    According to CMA course providers (mine is Wiley) MSQs weight is 75% and essay is 25%
    You have got at least 50% of MSQs when you passed to essay section >>> 500 x 75% x 50% = 188 secured points in MSQs
    Estimate that you have covered 75% accurately in essay part >>> 500 x 25% x 75% = 94
    Total secured points = 188 + 94 = 282
    Still you need to get 78 points out of 188 left in 50% of MSQs, which equal to 22 out of 50 MSQs (22+50=72 same required passing rate 72%)

    Even-though, I recommend not to stress your self with exam result expectation especially if you start preparing for Part-2.  

    Best wishes of luck & success

    ------------------------------
    Samer Ahmad, FMVA, SCA
    Kuwait
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Chances of passing

    Posted 03-02-2020 03:48 AM
    ​hi samer,

    your equation is wrong. Because one of my friends the essay portion didn't open for her and she got 220,which means when you answer 50% correct of multiple choice you secure much more than 220 not 188 :)

    ------------------------------
    Hebah Masoud
    Supervisor
    Amman
    Jordan
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Chances of passing

    Posted 03-02-2020 10:07 AM
    I very much doubt it ... !!!
    Less than 50% of MSQs = 220 points >>> 100% will equal more than 440 pints >>> exceeding 360 minimum overall passing score, so no need for essay questions in this scenario, which doesn't make any sense.

    This argument never ends, since we are discussing an issue which is being kept hidden by IMA "intentionally" in order to control the annual passing rate of CMA exam (Average 35% for Part-1 and 50% for Part-2), like what we had in our college exams.

    Anyhow, I have changed my studying strategy to be 100% prepared and never be worried about my exam score, since the objective is earning & utilizing the CMA professional knowledge rather than its passing score.

    ------------------------------
    Samer Ahmad, FMVA, SCA
    Kuwait
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Chances of passing

    Posted 03-03-2020 02:01 AM
    ​I read about the correction because it confused me since my friend got 220 and the essay didn't open for her (by the way she sent me the result and I saw it.. it was 220 and the essay didn't open for her)and what I understand is that IMA has scale for each form to achieve fairness because some forms are more difficult than other forms and 360 passing rate doesn't necessary mean that you got 72% correct of your exam some form may 360 means that you got 72% correct and others mean you got 68%..it's all about scale..
    please check the below link and read the interview with IMA president
    https://cmaexamacademy.com/best-cma-exam-prep-secrets/ref/cmacoach/?utm_source=cmacoach.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=cma-coach-blog-comments&utm_content=comment-how-cma-exam-graded

    ------------------------------
    Hebah Masoud
    Supervisor
    Amman
    Jordan
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Chances of passing

    Posted 02-27-2021 07:53 PM
    Hi,

    my first exam I got 270 and I did not go through to essay. Yesterday I went through to essay. Hopefully more chance to pass.

    ------------------------------
    Abdulrahman Baaqil
    Other
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Chances of passing

    Posted 02-28-2021 01:36 AM
    Hello Abdul ,

    So according to you , even after scoring 270 in MCQ you were not able to sit for Essay Questions.

    If we take this at a high level you scored 270 out of 375 (MCQ's - 75% of 500) which is around 72% roughly.

    But even 72% roughly does not guarantee to sit for Essay questions.

    I understand this is not actual 72% but at high level even 72% in MCQ's does not guarantee.

    Thanks,
    Rohan

    ------------------------------
    Rohan Sharma
    Analyst
    Palampur, District Kangra
    India
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: Chances of passing

    Posted 03-01-2021 02:14 AM
    The score should be based on the bell shape distribution, not an absolute score relating to how many questions you answered correctly. So your test result is comparing with all the other people during the same test period.

    ------------------------------
    Helen Yu
    Analyst
    Sammamish WA
    United States
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: Chances of passing

    Posted 03-03-2020 08:21 AM
    Hi Sameer If 50% of MCQ is 188 then the points of 100 % in essay must be 172. Passing is 360.



    Original Message


  • 11.  RE: Chances of passing

    Posted 03-03-2020 09:08 AM
    ​I think this is the hardest CMA question ever.  LOL.

    ------------------------------
    Daniel Dural
    Accountant
    United States
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 12.  RE: Chances of passing

    Posted 03-02-2021 08:01 AM
    This kind of question is one that pops up about either in the week after taking the exam or a week or 2 prior to the score release.

    Good luck to you all who (same as) me have patiently waited for 6 weeks + now. I took P2 last Jan 21 and expects to see results by March 12 or 15. Seems that the flow of time has slowed down for me because of my anxiety thinking about many things from how ICMA computes grade to the likelihood of passing especially since essay opened up for me.

    I had the same doubt on my performance when I took P1 but P2 difficulty is whole new level for me. I finished MCQ exactly in 3 hrs. (5 mins allowance for last review). For essay, I was able to answer all questions but wished I had more time to fine tune and/or expound on some answers.

    I am applying now the marginal approach, like how many more points I need to achieve 72% assuming no adjustment for exam difficulty and that I am awarded full 50% credit on MCQ

    So here is how I estimate my probabilities (LOL) Here, it shows that I have margin of 30 points (let's put the 10 bonus items in MCQ out of the picture for now)

    MCQ 60% (estimated 80 pts. * 75%)
    Essay 17% (estimated 68% answered * 25%)

    60% + 17% = 77%

    Anyone has any thoughts? In the end, no one knows for sure, but this is how I give myself some comfort as I wait for the release date. Haha!

    ------------------------------
    Mycah Evangelista
    Supervisor
    Plaridel
    Philippines
    ------------------------------

    Original Message