Failing Score Ranges

[Heywood J]

That's exactly what I used.

[Starscream]

5: 53% to 75%

I also swear they lost my question 18. I'd really like to know how I got 0-24% when i filled out an entire page demonstrating the 5.5% profit provision. Unless they were asking a rhetorical question.

[crabber]

Originally Posted by Starscream

5: 53% to 75%

I also swear they lost my question 18. I'd really like to know how I got 0-24% when i filled out an entire page demonstrating the 5.5% profit provision. Unless they were asking a rhetorical question.

It ain't right that they don't have a "Null" or "Answer Sheet couldn't be located". You can't tell me it doesn't happen.

[Gignere]

Originally Posted by Starscream

5: 53% to 75%

I also swear they lost my question 18. I'd really like to know how I got 0-24% when i filled out an entire page demonstrating the 5.5% profit provision. Unless they were asking a rhetorical question.

Can you provide more details? Did you use the method they specified in the question?

IIRC this question was related to a little tested profit load method. If you use the wrong method I could see them docking everything, even if you showed a page of work.

[UltiActuary]

Originally Posted by crabber

I'm not sure what the upper end of the range is used for, but I have 5 questions from 75% to 99%, so 99% rounded to the nearest .25 is equal to 100% of the points, which of course I know isn't the case, and it pushes the upper end of the range pretty high.

If the question was worth 2 points and your range is 75-99% than your upper bound isn't 2 points, else it would have just said 100%. Your upper bound is 1.75. Do not round to the nearest quarter of a point, round to the one that actually fits in your range.

[drytellar]

The key to determining a range is getting several people’s score ranges (by question) and combining all of the information you have:

a. Range of % correct by question
b. Range of % Correct as % of average score received on a question
c. Range of total points as a % of pass mark (eg if you get a 4 you know you have 80-89% of the pass mark)

I had some, limited, success in narrowing down the passmark to within 1-1.5 points on last year’s 9. That’s about the limit of what you could get using (a) and (b). Given the larger point values on this year’s exam, my best guess is that you’d get a slightly bigger range. To make full use of (c), you’d need folks with lower scores (1’s, 2’s, 3’s) to submit their score ranges. But, of course, folks with those scores are not as eager to know the pass mark within a fraction of a point. Just using the raw ranges is unlikely to give an estimate much better than just looking looking at a range of historical pass marks.

If you do this, be on the lookout for score ranges that look like outliers. One typo can throw things off. Also note that many, but not all, people with 5’s are graded to .25; everyone else is graded to .125. If you want the Excel file I used last year, I’d be happy to forward it along.

[crabber]

Originally Posted by UltiActuary

If the question was worth 2 points and your range is 75-99% than your upper bound isn't 2 points, else it would have just said 100%. Your upper bound is 1.75. Do not round to the nearest quarter of a point, round to the one that actually fits in your range.

Hmm. I just blindly rounded. I will have to redo mine then.

[UltiActuary]

Yah, I also forgot to mention if you didn't get a 5 than your upper bound can be 1/8 of a point increments as Drytellar mentioned. So if you scored a 3 your upper bound on that question could be 1.875

[sticks1839]

Originally Posted by drytellar

If you do this, be on the lookout for score ranges that look like outliers. One typo can throw things off. Also note that many, but not all, people with 5’s are graded to .25; everyone else is graded to .125. If you want the Excel file I used last year, I’d be happy to forward it along.

Can you elaborate on this? Why wouldnt this be an inconsistency in the grading?

[drytellar]

No inconsistency – it’s based on how close you are to the pass mark. Here’s my understanding of how it works. (Anyone feel free to correct me – there’s also more on the Exam section of the CAS site)

Two graders compare scores for each candidate on each question. Each grader has given a score that’s rounded to 0.25 points. For all candidates, if the given scores differ by more than .25 points, the graders investigate (and reconcile) the difference. For candidates close to the pass mark, they do this for all questions where they disagree by any amount. (This is for candidates who are generally on the upper end of a 5, though I think the exact standard used for an exam is one of those things that stays in Vegas.) If you’re not as close to the pass mark and the grader’s score differ by a quarter point, they’ll just average the difference. For example, if Grader #1 gives you 1.25 points and Grader #2 gives you 1.5 points then you’d receive 1.375 points.