CFA INSTITUTE REPORT
THE CFA EXAM
On the fi rst Saturday of June, a human with only three choices instead of the them are graded manually. For Level
drama normally unfolds in the East usual four. Testing research indicates III essay answers, a large team of
End of London: thousands of that this reduction does not several hundred charterholders is
candidates gather at the Excel Centre necessarily make it any easier to assembled and extensively trained in
and sit one of the most rigorous answer the questions – those who Charlottesville, Virginia, to read and
professional tests in the world – the have worked hard to master the grade the papers. Quality control
CFA exam. For most, it is the knowledge are able to distinguish ensures high levels of accuracy and
culmination of arduous preparation themselves from those who have not. consistency in the grading process.
and sacrifi ce. For many, high hopes After the fi rst set of grades is awarded,
and aspirations ride on the results. Exam Administration approximately 50% from the middle of
Much has changed since the fi rst Quality of production and security of the distribution are graded again by
exam was administered in June 1963 to application of the exams are paramount senior graders.
284 senior analysts. Apart from the to preserving its integrity. The exam Once all papers have been graded,
extraordinary rise in enrolment and books are produced, distributed and a large and diverse group of
exam registrations, and the wide stored securely in anticipation of the charterholders attend a standard
geographic dispersion of candidates, exam day. A team of testing setting workshop and subsequently
the curriculum and the exam have kept professionals is engaged worldwide and makes a recommendation for the
pace with the rapid broadening of trained appropriately. CFA Institute staff minimum passing score (MPS). The
investment knowledge and practice. attend as observers at many testing CFA Institute board then convenes to
centres to ensure the quality and consider the recommendation, as well
Exam Development consistency of the process. Any alleged as other factors; eventually, a
The process for exam development violation of the rules and regulations are minimum passing score is set as the
has become ever more rigorous over strictly investigated and sanctions product of a systematic process.
the decades. It starts about a year imposed if appropriate. At the end of the For those awaiting their exam
before the actual exam date, with a exam, the booklets are collected and results in late-July or mid-August,
group from the Council of Examiners returned to CFA Institute headquarters best wishes for success! A full account
setting guidelines. These are then in Virginia, USA, for grading. of the CFA Program, including the
used by the CFA Exam Team to exam process, is available in ‘The CFA
develop draft questions, based on the Exam Grading Program – Our Fifth Decade’, available
Learning Outcome Statements in the Multiple choice and item set answers at the CFA Institute website.
curriculum. The drafts are reviewed from exam Levels I and II are machine
and revised continuously by experts, graded subject to stringent quality Nitin Mehta is managing director, CFA
volunteers and staff until they are controls; a random sample of 5-10% of Institute, EMEA
ready for use. The Council of
Examiners then selects a set of
questions from those created.
The Council of Examiners and the
CFA Exam Team is drawn from
practitioners and academics around
“The process of exam
the world. Members are deliberately
identifi ed across a wide front of
development has become
expertise. In addition,
psychometricians are consulted to
ever more rigorous over
ensure that question construction is
unbiased, clear, unambiguous and
free from styles and idioms that may
the decades”
not be generally understood.
This year heralded one major
change in the format of the exam: all
multiple choice questions were set
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50-5350-53 CFAI report.indd 53CFAI report.indd 53 1/6/091/6/09 12:10:4112:10:41Professional Investor Summer 09.55 55 4/6/09 15:41:05
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