WarrenB1

I'm wondering if you take the practice tests too literally. I use them as more of a learning tool then an actual gauge of what the test is actually like.

CFAI loves to give trap questions. one word here or there can totally reverse the answer you think it is. It's possible you were so confident going into the exam, you didn't read carefully enough and grabbed onto key words and fell into the traps

zbird2134

do it.

______________________________________________________

CFA Jay, CFA

SkipE99

The blocked out word b/w the www and the com is analyst notes



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at 01:44PM by brubaker.

bchadwick

Ok so I looked back at all of the previous threads and it looks like the retabulation is a complete waste of time and money. I also wonder if the CFAI would even actually reverse if they were wrong just to save face.

I'm not talking about being in band 10 and thinking they graded a few questions incorrectly or something, I believe that my exam may have gotten mixed up with another candidate or something.

-Has anyone ever heard of an incidence of the CFAI mixing up a candidates scantron with someone else's?

d2rockstar

if you search back, you'll find this topic comes up every july. IIRC no one has ever switched a fail to a pass -- though I can't say for sure I read all of these threads.

bcp901

I am also just going to submit the retabulation. I e-mailed CFA institute and asked if they possibly could have made a mistake and of course I recieved an automated e-mail in return telling me I could submit a retabulation. I replied asking if they have ever had an instance where they did mess up and switch candidates scantron or something (waiting for reply - i'm sure it will be another automated response.)

Anyway... still wondering:

-Has anyone ever heard of a retabulation ever being overturned and getting a passing grade?
-Has there ever been an incidence of them mixing up the candidate's scantron with someone else's?

luda002

STL23, I just submitted for a recalculation, so fingers crossed. I feel the exact same way as you, and I'm praying that I didn't screw my scantron up (would a retab catch that?). For the time being, I'm just going to write off the test as a fail, but I guess its time to start praying for a miracle, b/c I went into this thing giving it 100% of my time and effort so I could pass it the first time, and not sure if I feel like going through it again.

I don't think I could have studied harder or any better than I did before, and my grading distribution seems to be completely out of wack. I actually thought that they sent me the wrong email at first after seeing my distributions. If I failed and my grading distrubutions were across the board, then I wouldn't bother with a retab, but getting 7/10 below 50% and 3/10 in the 50-70% range (with two of those 3 in the large point categories) simply doesn't reflect my knowledge or preparation for the material.

Good luck

ninja1024

brubaker,

That is exactly what I am thinking, I know everyone says it is a waste to do a retabulation if you are in band 10 but I am honestly thinking that they mixed my exam up with someone else's. I do not understand how I could have down so poorly, especially when I left the exam and felt like I had killed it. I don't see how there is anyway that I missed 55 out of 120 questions.

I would like to move on and just put this CFA exam and the last 3 years of wasted time, effort, and sacrifice behind me as well but I will probably just waste the $100 just because if it true then i'm done with anything to do with the CFA forever. The crappy thing is that the retabulation is another 30-60 days of waiting when I should just be moving on.

So I guess my question to everyone:

-Has anyone ever heard of a retabulation ever being overturned and getting a passing grade?
-Has there ever been an incidence of them mixing up the candidate's scantron with someone else's?

parott

STL23,

I felt the EXACT same way you did, actually received results similar to yours (I took the test in Atlanta). After nonstop studying, passing three practice exams with +70%, and feeling confident after the test, when I got my results, I was not only surprised that I failed, but was completely taken away by how much I failed. Seven out of my ten categories were in the <50% range, and the remaining three were between 50-70%, with NONE in the above 70% range. I was Band 4. Only last december, when I passed Level 1, I had 7/10 categories in the >70% range, three in the 50-70% range, and none below 50%. So I pretty much did the exact opposite.

Has the CFA ever made mistakes when it comes to scoring the scantrons? I hear that retabulations are a crock, but I also strongly feel that there might be a mistake. Its almost like half of my test wasn't graded correctly, because I find it hard to believe that I didn't earn >70% in any of the sections, especially given my performance during the practice exams and my knowledge/level of confidence of the material. I almost feel like I could have saved 5 months of my life and skipped studying all together, and still have gotten the same results.

Would a retabulation in my case make more sense than somebody who barely failed? I hate grasping at thin air, and would much rather put it behind me, but has anybody come across the CFA screwing up the scoring and having the fail turn into a pass?

Thanks

dyga

I am sorry to hear that..it must be crushing to perform so well in mocks and then to fall short in the actual exam...since you are in band 7 it may really be a complete waste of money to pay the 100 $ for retabulation..dont let CFAI rob us off more money than they already have!..The CFA exam does seem to focus on asking basic questions in a twisted way as opposed to asking complex questions in a simple/realistic way...