Fellowship Exams Twice a Year

[Adam]

In the attached thread, Bruce has indicated and I quote "it's insane to attempt to test 2700 pages of material on a 6-hour exam". I was wondering if the introduction of the additional module was related, that's all.

http://www.actuarialoutpost.com/actu...=179494&page=5

[EaglesFan]

Originally Posted by country squire

You mean...cheapening the FSA credential by making it easier to attain? I don't think you'll find much support for that 'round these here parts.

I don't know about that. I was apprehensive about increasing the frequency of the prelims and many people (both SOA and CAS) disagreed.

[campbell]

Even though I appreciate the SOA keeping me in business by giving people way too much material to stick in their skulls for a single exam, I think that the difficulty level of the exam can stay about the same while the page count of readings are cut down -- I see lots and lots of overlapping readings in AFE for no good reason, other than these readings were written for a different purpose originally, and to get good coverage of a topic you get a cobbled-together treatment from a variety of textbook readings, SOA articles, and articles from external sources.

It would be nice if the SOA would commission some foundational texts/readings like CAS did with the reserving and ratemaking texts, and perhaps it would cut down on the multiple readings on the same thing [with not much added with extra readings].

[bdschobel]

Amen, amen and amen again. Especially the part about reducing the amount of reading.

Bruce

[JMO]

A third vote in favor of reducing the amount of reading.

[E]

Originally Posted by campbell

It would be nice if the SOA would commission some foundational texts/readings like CAS did with the reserving and ratemaking texts, and perhaps it would cut down on the multiple readings on the same thing [with not much added with extra readings].

I think this is a good idea. However, I also recognize the fact that certain parts of the industry are in a fairly significant state of flux right now, and things change too quickly for a textbook format.

I also feel like the number of "published references" on some of the exams has hit a threshold. Some syllabi have become gigantic collections of articles and papers, many of which change routinely. I recently submitted a proposal to the SOA that they introduce a cataloging system for published references similar to what they've done for study notes (e.g. ILA-XXX-YY) to better track all the various editions floating out there.

[bdschobel]

Originally Posted by E

I also feel like the number of "published references" on some of the exams has hit a threshold. Some syllabi have become gigantic collections of articles and papers, many of which change routinely....

"Gigantic" to say the least. Is it reasonable to expect people to essentially memorize 2-3 thousand pages of material in 6 months?

Bruce

[E]

Originally Posted by bdschobel

"Gigantic" to say the least. Is it reasonable to expect people to essentially memorize 2-3 thousand pages of material in 6 months?

Bruce

Definitely not reasonable if they are 3000 unique pages. As Campbell notes, there is a lot of redundancy--something that I think keeps me employed as an instructor. It takes a lot of effort (and practice) to consolidate the material. 3000 pages can be boiled down to maybe 1000 pages or less (don't quote me here).

I do agree that trimming out the cruft and creating better quality (maybe even harder) exam questions from the parts of the syllabus that are most important is a good goal.

[EaglesFan]

Originally Posted by bdschobel

"Gigantic" to say the least. Is it reasonable to expect people to essentially memorize 2-3 thousand pages of material in 6 months?

Bruce

Which can really be as short as 3.5 months if you are waiting to find out if you passed AFE before starting FETE.

[Colymbosathon ecplecticos]

Originally Posted by EaglesFan

Which can really be as short as 3.5 months if you are waiting to find out if you passed AFE before starting FETE.

Maybe giving the exams twice a year increases travel time; gosh, who would a thunk it.