[Anonymous]

Sooo.

I’ve heard that since the CPA exam is 1) getting harder in April and everyone is busy Jan-March (so people are hitting REG and BEC especially hard) and 2) Q4 is naturally a harder quarter where AICPA adjusts scores down 5% to keep passing rates the same (because again busy season)…

You’ll constructively need an 85 to get a 75 this time around….

Don’t shoot the messenger. I’ve done 180 becker MCQs over the past 2 days and am trending at 90.5%. Studied basically all of Thanksgiving besides 2.5 hours..I’m still worried. I take it on Saturday.

[Over_It]

Doubt it

[Missy]

You'd be surprised how unreliable word on the street is.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[bigcore20]

This isn't anything new, and it's certainly not restricted to only BEC and REG. The 2017 changes have nothing extra to do with Q4 adjustments. I've said this before in another thread, I have a few connections with people who attend the AICPA CPA exam meetings. You don't need an 85%, that's pretty absurd. Scores between 75 and 79 are adjusted depending on their need. Getting a 79 won't mean you'll see a 74 per se, rather it depends on where they want the pass rates to be for the year in average. I said generally speaking, 75-79 will get adjusted to 70-74 range. Scoring an 80+ will secure a pass in Q4. This is what has been told in the meetings and what we've heard over the years.

[Anonymous]

How about FAR and AUD?

[bigcore20]

@Amor D There's no difference. The 2017 changes are irrelevant and they decided not to push towards adjusting 2016 Q4 BEC and REG scores for a variety of reasons (mainly the fact that, despite the notion, more people aren't taking BEC and REG than any other section for Q4 and 2017 Q1, based on exams scheduled). BEC and REG won't objectively become harder per se, just longer. The idea that adding sims makes an exam harder is subjective, so based off of that the AICPA hasn't considered the changes in their Q4 adjustments.

TLDR; 80+ to pass in Q4. 75-79 generally gets adjusted to 70-74 depending on need. Scores of 94-99 aren't touched to preserve the integrity of the EWS award.

[Paydirt123]

cjsoccer3 bigcore20 Cite your sources

[letsrun4it]

If you got a 90 in FAR you will pass BEC with half your brain tied behind your back.

BEC: 85
REG: 74, 78
AUD: 86
FAR: October?

[Son]

Every other month someone posts something similar and I wonder if people even bother reading the rules before sitting for the exam.

No, you will not need to get a “constructive 85”. You need to get a scaled 75. Meaning, they will weight each MCQ and simulation relative to their difficulty and compare you TO YOUR PEERS who answered those same questions in the past when they were pre-test. Once again, it's not a freaking percentage. There's no conspiracy. No one is trying to screw you on purpose. Also, AICPA can easily make the exam more difficult by including more difficult questions in Q4 tests. Even if they manipulate the score, only borderline pass/fail scores will be affected. If you studied well and known the material you won't be affected. If you were hoping to wing it with a 75 I'd reconsider your strategy.

I frankly think it will be easier to pass the exam in the first few quarters after the change. AICPA will likely go easy on people while they are trying to adapt to a new system. Not sure why everyone is so panicked.

AUD - passed
REG - passed
BEC - passed
FAR - passed

[jeff]

I can ask the Examination Team directly…but I think the word took a wrong turn.

[Anonymous]

A friend of mine got a 75 on REG. She took it no more than 2 weeks ago. Maybe no adjusting this time?

It sounds like no scores would exist between 75-79 if so. Do they adjust all scores? @bigcore20

[HoosierCPA]

haha, For my sake I hope the word on the street is wrong. Even if it were true, which it isn't, its just useless stress that won't help your studying. Stay focused and control the things you can control. Good luck!

FAR - 78
REG - 72,74,71...please just go away REG nobody likes you!
BEC - 82
AUD - Aug 16

[Anonymous]

Im calling BS. Word on the street? What source do you have for this? The AICPA is complaining that less people than ever are taking the CPA exam. So why would they make it impossible?

[Over_It]

“Winners find a way, losers find an excuse.”
-Be a winner.

[bigcore20]

@cjsoccer3 – They exist. What I mean is, say you get an 80. That score would be adjusted 1-5% downwards depending on what they need for the year. So if you get an 81 actual score, your adjusted score (the one you end up with) could be anywhere from 75%-79%, again depending on their need.

@sunni – It doesn't matter how many people are taking the exam. They still need to maintain a certain average pass rate each year to uphold the prestige of being a CPA. Even if only 1000 took the exam, they would still do their adjustments.

[Skynet]

Word on the Street (Sesame Street that is)

is that Regular study with CPA Review Course
supplemented by Ninja
Daily Exercise
Daily Prayer
and Saying no to drugs
will help you pass BEC

* A Big Yellow Bird told me *

[Author]

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