Good luck, all!

[Moderator1]

Our periodic reminder:

Just a reminder -
This forum is a great place to get together after exams - HOWEVER -

PLEASE be careful about what you post while the exams are still taking place!

We will turn over to the SoA or CAS the IP address and whatever other information we have about anyone who compromises the security of exams in this forum.

When in doubt - WAIT.

Thanks! And GOOD LUCK ALL!!

Good luck wishes from me, all the other moderators, and Tom.

[Moderator1]

The CAS website has had this statement in the past

Originally Posted by CAS

The CAS Discussion Forum and E-mail Study Groups are temporarily suspended during the administration of exams so that information is not inadvertently communicated to candidates who have not started the exam. For an exam day, the suspension begins at 10:00 the preceding evening and is lifted at 5:00 p.m. ET. Candidates are encouraged to post messages between 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time on exam days.

Based on that, it should be OK to discuss CAS-only exams starting at 5PM eastern time.

SOA and joint exams may start later, so it is not safe to discuss those at 5PM eastern time, even if the CAS forum has reopened. Please wait until 9PM eastern time unless it is a morning-only exam.

Wait until after 9PM the evening of the last day of the test window to discuss the CBT exams, and even then follow the non-disclosure rules.

[Moderator1]

This message was originally posted in the P/1 forum during 2009

Originally Posted by Mary Hardy

This message is important and should be treated seriously by all those engaged in this thread. I am writing in my capacity as Vice President for Education. Discipline of exam candidates is one of my responsibilities.

The questions used in the computer based exams are not to be disclosed by any candidates. Of course, you may discuss topics that arose in general terms, but reproducing questions is against the candidate Code of Conduct, is considered a form of cheating, and will result in disciplinary action if we identify the culprits.

It is also a breach of copyright.

They apply the same non-disclosure rules to questions on unrealeased pencil-and-paper exams.

Another post from 2009 on non-disclosure of CBT and other unreleased exam questions (with minor updates in quote)

Originally Posted by Moderator1

These current SOA/CAS non-disclosure rules are stricter than what they have tried to enforce in the past prior to 2009. There may be some inadvertent violations by posters not familiar with the new current rules.

Please, everyone: if you see a post that you think contains too much information, report it. Use the "report post" icon in the upper right corner of each post. That way moderators are alerted to remove the posts as quickly as possible. Posting something in the thread is not nearly as effective a way get a moderator's attention.

After 9PM eastern time on July 16 the last day of the test window that's OK, we think. If a representative of the SOA or CAS objected to a post, we would probably delete it. From what I've seen from the posts of CAS or SOA representatives, you could go as far as posting that you had a hard problem on the mean of a mixed distribution - but don't post that you got answer A or answer 800. You could post that you had a problem with a moment-generating function you didn't recognize, but don't post what that moment-generating function was.

The SOA and CAS did not complain about any posts from the May 2009 window.

The SOA and CAS have complained about some, but not many, posts since May 2009. Most posters seem to be trying to comply.

Since the mods don't know what the exam questions are, we have to rely on your following the rules and your alerting us if some posts seem too specific. You can use the "report post" icon in the upper right corner of any posts to call it to our attention.

Try this rule of thumb for CBT exams during the exam window: If someone taking the test later during the window, encountering the same question, would realize "That's the question he was talking about", it's better to hold off until after that exam window is closed.