[CPA2990]

[Anonymous]

You get a harder testlet if you have done well on the previous one. It is better in the sense that it indicates that you're doing well. Because of how the questions are weighted, you can get fewer harder questions correct because they are weighted more than easier questions. Hopefully that makes sense.

[zoctoman]

I prefer easy testlets. The reason being I would only consider a testlet easy if I felt I was answering most every question correct. If I get through 3 testlets and feel like I've got most every question correct(only felt like that for audit with score of 89), then I feel good about my chances of passing.

Audit(11/5/13) - 89
Reg(5/16/14) - 86
FAR(7/18/14) - 82
BEC(11/14) - 85

[Anonymous]

Yes.

It's better.

[shankysays]

zoctoman, you probably just found the “difficult” testlets to be easy, too. I felt the same way about AUD, but when taking the exam I noted little differences in the some of the questions. In a “difficult” testlet, they try and trick you more frequently by giving you other answers that seem likely. Or they'll ask more questions that ask “which of the following BEST describes x/y/z…”

BEC - 72, 82! ✓
FAR - 80! ✓
AUD - 70, 92! ✓
REG - 74, 78! ✓

Licensed CPA 5/2015

[taxman89]

its really better to answer the m/c and sims correctly….thats all that is “really better”. difficulty level of the testlets is completely subjective and there really is no way anyone has a clue what level of difficulty they had

Aud-75 3x I knew i never liked you
Bec-77 1x being in the bubble is stressful
Reg-82 4x its not me its you...and no we cant be friends
Far-78 1x easiest section

[taxman89]

its really better to answer the m/c and sims correctly….thats all that is “really better”. difficulty level of the testlets is completely subjective and there really is no way anyone has a clue what level of difficulty they had

Aud-75 3x I knew i never liked you
Bec-77 1x being in the bubble is stressful
Reg-82 4x its not me its you...and no we cant be friends
Far-78 1x easiest section

[Anonymous]

Can someone explain how this works? I have heard that if you do well, the next section will contain harder questions that are worth more points. All the tests have the same number of questions. I assume all tests have the same number of available points. How can one person have 3 sections of moderate questions and one person have 1 section of moderate and 2 of difficult? Doesn't seem like a uniform exam to me…

FTR, I don't think believe this theory even though many experts say it is true. On 2 of my FAR exams (failed), the sections got more difficult. On my 3rd FAR exam (passed), I felt like all the questions were moderate. I think I just had a better grasp on the topics the 3rd time.

[taxgeek83]

@Banana – This from the AICPA:

https://www.aicpa.org/BecomeACPA/CPAExam/PsychometricsandScoring/ScoringInformation/DownloadableDocuments/How_the_CPA_Exam_is_Scored.pdf

As far as perceived difficulty, it's all relative. You might be naturally strong on a topic, have prepared better for that topic, or vice versa. I think the consensus is that some “difficult” questions can actually be quite easy if you are proficient enough to get through all of the steps to arrive at the right answer. Likewise, some “moderate” questions can be difficult for candidates who are unfamiliar with the topic.

[jferguson0000]

CPA = Hard

AUD - 81(5/29/13)
BEC - 76(10/13/13)
FAR - 70(4/1/13), 68(7/2/13), 81(2/28/14)
REG - 65(5/30/14), 73(8/31/14), 83(10/8/14) DONE!!!

[Hari Seldon]

Yes it is better, as the document linked above describes it is difficult to pass if you do not receive at least one difficult testlet, as in that case you must perform very well on the third medium one to pass.

However, whether you perceive it as being hard during the exam depends on your preparation. I was worried about audit after taking it because I didn't feel like the testlets had gotten any harder. Turns out it must have been because I was getting them mostly right, as I scored a 99.

FAR - 90
REG - 90
BEC - 91
AUD - 99

[amaffei]

Ok my question is how is it that they can grade whether you did good on a test-let immediately BUT takes a month to grade them.

[Author]

Replies