[Anonymous]

Does anyone know how or when they grade the exam? I took BEC in the middle of Q3 and it was graded like that week but just took FAR about 8 days ago and there is still no grade on it…I’m curious if they actually wait until the end of the quarter to assess how people did or if they do it on a weekly basis…

[Bourne]

You're kidding…………..

[itooshallpass]

I'm pretty sure this quarter's scores are not released until Dec 19 or 21. The timing with your BEC score could have been due to having taken it right at the end of the window?

[Anonymous]

@bourne if you log onto CPA central you can see the status of your exam at the bottom. It usually hovers around “attendance” but mine has said graded even though the “scores” havent been released.

I am asking this because if they don't wait until the end of the quarter, that means that they dont account for everyone in the quarter for your score, just the people that tested within your specific window of that quarter..

[Bourne]

Interesting, I see what you mean. Yeah mine says attendance as well. My guess would be that they “grade” them almost instantly (you're either right or wrong and it's on a computer), but then officially grade them (after playing with the pass rates) the week or so after the testing window ends.

[Anonymous]

@bourne that actually makes sense. Kind of like a dual grading system. Maybe they get a baseline off the first grade then adjust from there at the end as you said? Kind of interesting…

[kay]

I'm so confused now, I didn't think there was a curve, it doesn't matter how everyone else did in the quarter. Just how you did compared to the baseline “passing” score? Baseline passing is determined using a statistical model that takes into account a sample of candidate performance but you really couldn't say that any one exam is being compared to any of the other specific exams from the window, could you? I thought that was what the Q2 score release delays purpose was? Evaluate performance and perceived difficulty to determine the new baseline? Or is it a rolling analysis?

[Bourne]

That leads to the question then – why on the score report do they grade you as weaker, comparable, or stronger? Are you weaker than everyone else that tested in the window and thus failed the exam? Are you stronger than most in the window and thus passed the exam? Too many unanswered questions that will forever remain unanswered.

[kay]

Weaker, stronger, or comparable to what the model determined was a passing performance or the baseline.

They aren't comparing one exam to another but rather each exam to the baseline.
The question is, is the baseline a changing, continuous analysis. I would venture to say yes, and that this is where the pretest questions come into play. The weighted value of the questions that contribute to our scores are probably determined when they are pre-tested, with the exception of Q2 because of the new exams release. And pretest questions become exam questions after a significant sampling of responses determine it's validity and usefulness for the exam.

I'm also going to guess that no two tests are alike because they pull questions from a bank and the exams are randomly generated based on a set criteria and points possibilities.

This is all speculation and my math/ statistics/ analysts brain working.

[Author]

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