Q. I just read the published guideline answers for the Level II examination and compared the answers to some I've seen on the Internet. As a result of my prior study of economics, I think the answers I saw on the Internet are correct, but they were not the published guideline answers. Would I have received any credit if I answered differently from the guideline?
Space does not permit us to include all acceptable answers in the published guideline answer. The guideline answers are intended to show a representative candidate response given the CFA Study Program materials assigned in that year. One of the reasons why the exams are graded by CFA charterholders who are experienced practitioners or academicians is to ensure that all acceptable answers receive appropriate credit. Your answer may very well have received partial
or even full credit.
Q. I received at least 50 percent on almost all topics on my results score matrix, but I still did not pass. How can that happen?
Candidates should not attempt to interpret an overall passing or failing score from the results matrix information. The minimum passing score for the examination is determined by many factors, and is not a predetermined or specific percentage of the points either for individual topic areas or for the entire exam. Specifically, candidates should not interpret scores between 50 and 70 percent as passing.
Q. Does AIMR recognize the highest scores annually or create an honors list? If not, why not?
For several years in the mid- to late 1980s, AIMR did send letters of recognition to candidates who achieved top scores at each level. AIMR stopped that practice, however, for the protection of all charterholders. It became clear that some people interpreted the acknowledgement of top scores as identifying different "rankings" of candidates or charterholders. AIMR, and the vast majority of candidates and charterholders, were certainly not served well by this practice and it was eliminated. (For instance, employers could use this information in hiring decisions.) AIMR posts scores as pass or fail and does not consider one candidate as more (or less) accomplished than another merely because of their relative ranking in a particular year. This is especially true for candidates taking the same level examination in different years. Results or ranking on a 1998 examination, for example, could not be compared to results on the same level examination in 1999.
