Points to Pass this Exam

[Emmak]

Given the level of difficulty as compared to last year's exam, how many points do you think is needed to pass?

It appears we were able to figure out that the pass mark was about 60 points in last year's exam. I believe that this year's exam is more of standard exam questions and therefore the pass mark will be significantly higher than last year.

My prediction is that the pass mark will be between 60% and 65%, translating into between 72 - 78 points range.

[Livan33]

If so, I'm screwed. Were you one of the people that used to start the "Will 30/40 be passed?" in the prelim exam threads?

[LifeAct]

I'm worried. I forgot to mention that the 7702 test chosen must be used for the lifetime of the contract. I will likely lose points on that one and end up failing.

[LifeAct]

People who did good seem to think that the test was easier than the last sitting, thus expect a high pass mark.
People who struggled seem to think that the test was harder than the last sitting, thus hope for a lower pass mark.

The OP is either somebody who did really good, or is a troll.

I don't think that this exam was that much easier than last years. We also calculated the 50% of the points as a "curved" average. A few failing candidates took their feedback scores, and multiplied it by the possible points on each question. The feedback scores will not be effected based upon the difficulty of the exam. A student who recieves 6-7 on every problem will pass no matter what. If an exam is very easy, then the graders will expect a lot of work to get that 6-7, but that doesn't change the value of a 6-7.

[Livan33]

The feedback scores will not be effected based upon the difficulty of the exam. A student who recieves 6-7 on every problem will pass no matter what. If an exam is very easy, then the graders will expect a lot of work to get that 6-7, but that doesn't change the value of a 6-7.

Exactly right. Don't worry about the OP. Don't you remember how after every prelim exam someone comes in and says "This exam was so easy, I'm expecting the pass mark to be around 29 or 30 out of 40."? Then, sure enough, the pass mark was always similar to what it was in the past. This poster is simply one of those guys.

[Livan33]

I do love how he puts a smiley face on the title of this thread, then suggests that we're going to need a really high mark to pass the exam. Well played.

[LifeAct]

My prediction - The pass mark will be set at 6. :tup:

[Seldon]

I don't remember anyone saying this one was harder. A lot of people said the first half was fairly easy. You only need half the points to pass if the pass mark is as it was last year, so there would be a lot of passers if most people got most of the points on the first half. I know the exam seemed easier than I expected it to be, but maybe I got lucky (hitting topics I knew fairly well).

I had been thinking the pass mark might be higher, more like low or mid 60s. Points, not percent.

[LifeAct]

I don't remember anyone saying this one was harder. A lot of people said the first half was fairly easy. You only need half the points to pass if the pass mark is as it was last year, so there would be a lot of passers if most people got most of the points on the first half. I know the exam seemed easier than I expected it to be, but maybe I got lucky (hitting topics I knew fairly well).

I had been thinking the pass mark might be higher, more like low or mid 60s. Points, not percent.

The problem is that we don't know how many points we recieve. When we decided that the pass mark was about 50% last year, it was based on the feedback scores, which are all on a 1-10 scale. Those scores are each based upon a hypothetical passmark for each problem. If the problems on this exam are more easier, then more work would be necessary to get a 6 on each problem. In the end, I would think that the passmark would be still be the same 50% as it was last year.

[The Dude]

Given the level of difficulty as compared to last year's exam, how many points do you think is needed to pass?

It appears we were able to figure out that the pass mark was about 60 points in last year's exam. I believe that this year's exam is more of standard exam questions and therefore the pass mark will be significantly higher than last year.

My prediction is that the pass mark will be between 60% and 65%, translating into between 72 - 78 points range.

No way!!! Think about it, 72 points means that about 48% of EFFECTIVE CANDITATES (not counting 0s) has to get 60 to 65 % of this exam, Very unlikely. I dont think the majority of the people will get this many points
or higher. But what do I Know lol. I think 60 to 65 pts depending on mean median and mode etc
:exams:

[jitian1000]

50 should be REASONABLE.