[John_PGA]

Sigh……I was expecting not to pass the first time taking the exam, but I thought I was holding my own through the first two multiple choice testlets. As expected the first one was moderate to easy on difficulty, and the second was moderately difficult. Then came the third testlet.

The third testlet was not just easy, but extremely easy. Questions were short and to the point, with the answers being straight forward. I felt like I was reading my daughter’s toddler age books. “See Spot run. Run Spot, run.”

To say I was disappointed was an understatement. The SIMs I think I did ok on, but nothing special. I am worried that I just did not pass, but made an extremely low score.

Sorry for the self-pity party email, but after tons of hours of studying, I just need to feel a little sorry for myself. Time to keep on studying and await my September 20th score to be released.

[musiccitycpa]

Well, here's a positive spin on that. It sounds like you probably went medium-difficult-medium. I wouldn't be too worried about that. I feel like that's what happens for a lot of people. And if they were as easy as you are saying, you probably got a good number of points out of it.

And if you think you did decent on the sims, I think you probably did better than you are thinking. I don't think the good people who make the CPA exam include as easy a set of questions as you are acting like. Sounds like you just really knew your stuff.

AUD- 77
BEC- 84
FAR- 69, Sep 16
REG- 71,61,88

[Anonymous]

Don't worry, I felt the same way. My third audit testlet was very easy and I was convinced I failed. Today I found out I passed 🙂 As long as you did well on that third testlet and the sims you still have a good chance!

[Larry]

John, I had the same thing. Third testlet, questions were very straightforward and I thought I bombed on the SIM even though I knew I got the research question correct. I passed with an 83 and I'm done. Do not feel sorry for yourself. Just wait until 9/20. Good luck!

REG - 82
FAR - 78
BEC - 76
AUD - 8/27/16

[Anonymous]

Other people have said this before but trying to determine the difficulty of your testlets is a waste of time. Long questions do not necessarily equal hard questions, and what's easy for you might be hard for someone else. Plus if you know the material well all the questions will seem easy, especially for audit.

[John_PGA]

I appreciate all of your kind words. I am keeping my fingers crossed in the slim hope that I passed. Concerning the SIMs, the one I am sure I missed was the research SIM. Should have been the easiest, but I just could not find the answer. I found a sort of related answer, so maybe I got partial credit. We will see on the rest. I will post my score, once I get it.

[golfball7773]

Trying to determine the difficulty of the testlets is a time suck and anxiety inducer…my 2nd testlet today, I flagged 15ish questions….3rd testlet, I flagged almost 25…..On my first testlet, I only flagged 4…..

Waste of time and anxiety to try and think about it…

FAR: 63, 55, 62
REG: 65, 77*
AUD: Fail, 64, 71
BEC: 72, 74, 81

*expired

[tmo]

I agree with everything said here. I thought my first testlet was my hardest testlet by far, which worried me sick. And on top of that I thought I did mediocre on the SIMS at best. Ended up scoring a 96. Trust me, don't get worked up over it. Enjoy a little break before you find out your score. Best of luck!

[John_PGA]

I am sorry for not replying with my results any sooner. I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that the 3rd testlet being easier definitely meant that my score was bad. I made a 61 on the AUD exam, which surprised me. I thought I would do better, but the 3rd testlet being easier was a sign that I did not.

I retook the exam, and the 3rd testlet was very difficult. I can say that I did well on it, and I passed. Finally!! So, in my experience the 3rd testlet level of difficulty is a perfect indicator of how a person is doing.

[Author]

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