SOA Exam Policies

Maybe I'm naive...but does it really take two months to mark (scan) a few thousands multiple choice exams???

I just finished writing course 4. I did not bring my answers out of the exam. Looking at the answer keys I think I got 25-26 correct. I think I have a shot at passing. I started to look at Course 6 materials yesterday and there are a ton of materials. By the time the results come out I'll have about 4 months and I don't think this is going to be enough (friends who wrote course 6 both fail and pass said the same thing).

Is it out of place for us demand the SOA to reconsider their policies of grade release date(at least for students who write course 4)?

I e-mailed the SOA about this situation but I have not heard anything back yet.

[Gore Tree Lover]

It takes them two months to determine whether the questions they wrote are not fraudulent. too bad they don't do this before the exam.

Make sure to post their response on this forum so that we know their stance on this! Six months is a short time to study, four months is impossible.

[Gore Tree Lover]

They also claim the exam grading is not curved. if that is the case, shouldn't they know the pass mark before the exam is given.

[Exam Slave]

1. Yes, you are naive.
2. Need to check for defective questions (this is speeding up as well, with the publishing of the exams so soon).
3. Need to revisit comparing this exam to the previous ones. Secret stuff, really. I assume that the committee tries to make the exams either very similar in difficulty or very easily quantifiable in differences. Otherwise, there's always a lot of new analysis to do every session.
4. A specific date for all 1-4 exams is to make sure all pass marks are finalized for all exams by a certain date. Your exam might be finalized in early December, but there is this equal-opportunity bent: no one gets a leg up on studying for the NEXT exam. (This is why the syllabus is not released until exam week, IMO.) And exam committees have different schedules and issues about their pass marks.
With 40 points possible and a good percentage of exam takers bunched up at 26 points -- say 15% -- choosing between 26 and 27 is a big deal to these folks.

Two choices:
1. Start studying lightly for Course 6. One night a week, one lunch hour a week until results are out. You haven't wasted much time if you didn't pass.
2. Take time off to enjoy Wintertime wherever you are, and start early on Course 5 whenever you feel it's a good time (Smarch -- always lousy weather in Smarch). The books won't change much, and even if they do, the concepts in the Learning Objectives are even less likely to change.