[VanlayCPA]

I wonder what the AICPA’s justification is for making the subsequent testlets harder if you are doing well. Is it because they want to make sure you leave the testing center always feeling like you failed?

Even if the difficult testlets are weighted heavier (i.e., you dont have to get as many correct), I still dont see how this is fair because for someone who just barely scored high enough on the 1st testlet to get them a ‘hard’ 2nd testlet, they might struggle with the hard..

Thoughts?

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[ruggercpa2b]

You want difficult questions on your exam.

AUD - 73, 72 retake 7/2/2016
BEC - 8/20/2016
REG - TBD
FAR - TBD

I am so ready for this nightmare to be over. Been at this way too long.

[JAM]

You basically said it – The harder questions are more heavily weighted or ‘worth' more.

Since the grading procedures are not fully disclosed I like to think of it like this :

Hard questions are worth 1.5 pts
Medium are worth 1pt

You have to get 1.5x as many medium to get the same as 1 hard.

So maybe getting 60 hard questions would result in a pass vs. needing all 90 medium correct for a pass. That's why they state it's possible to pass but VERY difficult on all medium.

Therefore, the advantage is you are capable of scoring higher with harder questions than is possible with medium.

[CPA8675309]

It's not just the AICPA, it's the whole idea behind computerized adaptive testing. The harder questions are useful, because they are better at differentiating high performing candidates from other high performing candidates.

[SiXiam]

They shouldn't have a whole testlet of hard questions. It should be all mixed. If they are weeding out high performing candidates then they can do that with statistics and chopping off that end of the bell curve.

BEC: 80
REG: 75
FAR: __, ?/2016

[cpa1982]

I don't like the idea of once you complete the first testlet, you can't go back and re-do the questions. They give you full 3-4 hours to finish the exam. What if at the end you remember the correct formula or correct answer? you can't go back and fix it.

[GiniC]

If they could let you go back, then you would probably lose the option to leave the room for breaks between testlets. You could have a notes page in your locker (a lot of candidates bring one to read just before going into the room). Looking at it again for future questions would be different from looking at it for the answer to one you had already seen.

[Anonymous]

This notion of difficult is relative. Are the questions difficult because you didnt focus on those areas? The “difficult” questions in my opinion are the minutae that come from a random page, middle of a paragraph, they wont test me on this stuff.

[alloverit]

Older post, but perhaps relevant still…

None of these responses actually answer the ‘why'. There is some factual information presented such as it means you're doing well (which the OP clearly already knows), and yes…it is true that adaptive tests are everywhere…but there is no answer as to ‘why' IT IS USED!

SO HERE IS THE REASON: The AICPA believes it is a better representation of overall ability…whether that's true or not is what should be up for debate.

Individual Response Theory (IRT) is supposedly the best, but that's not exactly what the CPA exam uses. True IRT testing changes the test with EVERY response whereas the CPA exam uses batches of questions.

It is difficult for me to believe that the system currently in use is truly better than paper-based tests because most of my older colleagues who are extremely talented CPAs never tested under the current format. Rather, tests back-in-the-day were administered on paper and obviously predetermined.

Probably best to just accept any flaws with the current format and realize that all candidates are exposed to whatever flaws the current format has equally.

[Recked]

How did this thread from 2017 end up back on the front page?

[PDiddy2000]

That's what happens when questions aren't answered, they resurface!

[Author]

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