If you want to pass the CPA exam, you need to know the answer to this question: What is a CPA exam passing score?
This is a common FAQ, but the answer is complicated.
Officially, a passing score on the CPA exam is 75 out of a possible 99 points. However, due to the unique way the exam is scored, achieving slightly below 75 does not necessarily mean failure.
I’ll explain the CPA exam structure, examine what makes up a CPA exam score, and explore how choosing the right CPA review courses can be a game-changer in your exam preparation. Knowing the CPA exam scoring process is one of the best ways to ensure that you’re part of the CPA exam pass rate and not a failure.
Key Takeaways
- Passing Score Definition: A passing score on the CPA exam is 75 out of a possible 99 points, determined by a scaled scoring system that reflects both the difficulty of the questions and the candidate’s accuracy rather than a simple percentage of questions answered correctly.
- Adaptive Testing: The CPA exam no longer features multi-stage testing (MST), which adjusts the difficulty of subsequent testlets based on the candidate’s performance, ensuring a fair assessment of abilities.
- Item Response Theory (IRT): Scoring utilizes IRT to assign weights to questions based on difficulty, discrimination, and guessing, making the scoring process highly specialized.
- Impact of Question Types: Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and Task-Based Simulations (TBSs) are weighted differently. TBSs generally have a higher impact on the final score, especially in sections like AUD and FAR.
CPA Exam Structure and Passing Score
The CPA exam is designed to assess a wide range of accounting competencies. Here’s a breakdown of the exam’s structure:
Core Sections
- Auditing and Attestation (AUD): Focuses on the principles and practices of auditing and attestation in the business environment.
- Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR): Tests knowledge related to financial reporting, including the preparation and analysis of financial statements.
- Regulation (REG): Examines a candidate’s understanding of business law, federal taxation, and ethics in practice.
Discipline Sections
Additionally, the CPA Evolution model has introduced a new approach where candidates must demonstrate proficiency in core accounting competencies and then select one of three discipline-specific sections tailored to different career paths:
- Tax Compliance and Planning
- Business Analysis and Reporting
- Information Systems and Controls
CPA Exam Scoring Explained
Each CPA exam section utilizes a scaled scoring system designed to ensure consistency in the difficulty level across different exam versions and testing windows.
Here’s a closer look at how it works in regard to CPA exam scores and CPA exam pass rates:
Scoring Overview
- Opaque Scoring Weights: The CPA exam scoring can be confusing as the specific weights and calculations used in scoring are not fully disclosed, adding a layer of complexity to understanding how final scores are determined.
- Not a Percentage: A score of 75 does not signify that a candidate has answered 75% of the questions correctly. Instead, it represents a scaled score.
- Scaled Scoring System: This system involves a complex formula that accounts for the weighted value of different types of questions and adjusts for variations in their difficulty levels across different exam versions.
- Pretest Questions: Each CPA exam scored section also includes questions that do not count towards the candidate’s final score. These are used to test the validity of new exam questions for future use.
- Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and Task-Based Simulations (TBSs): These are the two primary types of questions used in the CPA exam. Each section features a different number of these questions, and they are weighted differently. Task-based simulations, for example, are typically more heavily weighted than multiple choice questions, especially in sections like AUD and FAR.
“No one really knows how it is weighed. Your best bet would be to look at the Becker vs real score and look at the Becker bump. That amount could help estimate how much the rough score is.”
SpaceTraveler1010
Take $1,600 Off UWorld CPA Elite-Unlimited Course
Extended Sale – $1,346 Off Becker CPA Pro+
CPA Exam Scoring and Question Consistency
The CPA exam uses a sophisticated scoring process to provide fair and accurate assessment across all test versions, utilizing Item Response Theory (IRT) rather than multi-stage testing (MST). Here’s how the CPA exam evaluates candidates under this approach:
Understanding Scoring with Item Response Theory (IRT)
Item Response Theory (IRT) ensures that scores reflect both the accuracy of responses and the complexity of the questions answered. Rather than applying a simple percentage of correct answers, IRT assigns weights to each question, considering factors such as difficulty, discrimination, and probability of guessing. Here’s what this means for scoring:
Score Calculation: A passing score on the CPA exam is 75 out of 99 points, but this scaled score doesn’t correspond to answering 75% of questions correctly. Instead, IRT uses statistical weights to calculate a fair and precise score based on the overall performance across questions.
Question Characteristics: Every question in the CPA exam is assigned a unique weight based on its level of difficulty and its effectiveness at assessing a candidate’s competence. Harder questions can contribute more to the final score, so scoring goes beyond just tallying correct answers.
“This is not how the exam is graded at all. It’s graded using item response theory. This method of scoring is essentially “we want people who pass this exam to get this question right X%” harder questions have lower %, higher questions are a higher %. In a given window, they will likely mix in more difficult / less difficult questions in order to get their ideal pass rate. It’s a very complicated calculation with many variables that are confidential, which is why we don’t know how exactly it’s scored.”
DarkFalling58
Consistency Across Exam Versions
Because candidates may encounter different versions of the CPA exam, IRT’s statistical methodology ensures that no candidate has an inherent advantage or disadvantage based on question variations. Each section still maintains fairness by balancing the overall difficulty across versions. Here’s how it works:
- Question Variation: Each version includes questions of different levels of difficulty. The IRT model adjusts scores to reflect each candidate’s performance, ensuring a consistent score calculation that reflects each candidate’s ability accurately.
- Pretest Questions: Unscored questions, called pretest questions, are included in each CPA exam section to help gauge future question quality and difficulty. These do not affect your final score, but candidates are encouraged to treat each question carefully.
Addressing Misconceptions About Fairness
Because MST is no longer in use, candidates face testlets of consistent difficulty across each exam version. Here’s how the IRT model helps maintain fairness and promotes a comprehensive understanding:
- Balanced Preparation: Success on the CPA exam requires balanced preparation across multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and Task-Based Simulations (TBSs). Excelling in one question type alone may not suffice due to IRT scoring weights, which reward a well-rounded grasp of all exam topics.
- Fairness Across Versions: IRT removes biases due to question difficulty variations, ensuring that each candidate’s score is a fair representation of their knowledge and skills, regardless of the specific version they receive.
By understanding this scoring model, candidates can approach CPA exam preparation with confidence, aiming for depth across all sections and question types. Comprehensive preparation, not isolated success in specific areas, is key to reaching or surpassing the 75-point passing score.
Strategies for Maximizing Your CPA Exam Score
Achieving a minimum passing score is significantly influenced by strategic study and exam tactics. CPA candidates should focus on understanding the core concepts rather than just memorizing facts. Here are some effective strategies:
- Find the best CPA review course: CPA candidates who are serious about exam prep are much more likely to earn a CPA exam score of 75 or higher. This is why it’s important to choose a course like Becker or Surgent, which has a solid record of improving Candidate Performance Report pass rate data.
- Practice Time Management: During the CPA exam, manage your time efficiently to allow for careful reading and analysis of each question, especially the task-based simulations, which are time-consuming and can lead to failing CPA exam scores.
- Simulate Exam Conditions: Regularly practice under conditions that mirror the actual exam environment. This includes timed sessions and adhering to the same break schedules.
- Deep Dives into Weak Areas: Utilize the feedback from practice tests and CPA review courses to identify and strengthen weak areas. Adaptive learning technologies in review courses can be particularly effective in this regard.
Final Thoughts
To pass the CPA exam, you need a CPA passing score of 75 out of 99. This score is based on a scaled scoring system rather than a simple percentage, reflecting the exam’s sophisticated approach to measuring competency. The CPA exam evaluates a wide range of accounting skills across its core sections (AUD, FAR, REG) and specialized Discipline sections. Understanding the scoring process, which uses scaled scores and Item Response Theory, is essential for success. Effective preparation combines strategic study, choosing the best CPA review course, and a clear understanding of the CPA exam’s structure and scoring intricacies. This comprehensive approach ensures candidates are fully prepared and significantly boosts their chances of achieving a CPA passing score.
FAQ
No, scoring 75% of the questions correctly on the CPA exam does not necessarily equate to a passing score. The CPA exam uses a scaled scoring system, where a passing score is 75 out of a possible 99 points. This scale does not directly correspond to the percentage of questions answered correctly but is based on a combination of the difficulty of the questions and the accuracy of the answers.
Yes, a score of 76 is a passing score on the CPA exam. Any score of 75 or above on the scaled score of 0 to 99 is considered passing.
It is highly unlikely for anyone to score a 100 on the CPA exam. The scoring system is designed to test proficiency across a broad range of accounting knowledge, and achieving a perfect score is not a stated outcome of the exam process. The exams are challenging by design, and the scoring system does not typically reflect scores as perfect, even for exceptionally well-prepared candidates.
Yes, if you do not pass a section of the CPA exam, you can retake that section. The AICPA allows candidates to retake any section they did not pass without restrictions on the number of attempts, but each attempt requires paying the registration fees again. Preparing thoroughly before reattempting can increase the chances of passing in subsequent attempts.
The Candidate Performance Report is provided to candidates who do not pass a section of the CPA exam. This report is crucial as it offers detailed feedback on a candidate’s performance across different content areas of the exam section they attempted. It highlights the areas where the candidate met, exceeded, or fell short of the performance necessary to pass, enabling targeted improvement. Understanding the specifics of this report can help candidates focus their studies more effectively on weaker areas for future exam attempts.
