To everyone who doesn’t know how a mistake like this could be made, I will concede that all of us who made this mistake should have been less focused on ripping open the exam and writing and more focused on listening to the proctors and reading directions. However, there are very likely hundreds of people who did not have their exam graded because the format was so confusing. Think about that for a second. Any time there are that many people failing an exam for reasons other than how well they knew the material, the people who wrote the exam bear a great deal of responsibility.
Butterich I failed this too but I think we made different mistakes. You wrote some answers under the questions. I wrote my answers only in the extra book without ticking the box. I think this is what the tick box is for. if you write answers under the questions they probably just assume that these are notes rather than answers.
Just a quick question, I wrote all my answers in the lined pages, but remembered there was a check box below in each page. I didn’t check any of them. What was that for? I know it’s too late, but would like to know. Thanks.
I see actually I marked my questions with a precice number each time just putting it below the question so there was no doubt this is my answer. I didnt right anything back further in the book because I used bullets answering it. I followed with the flow of the text and thought this is the exam structure like a template also for the questions without a box where u circle answers etc. I am actually very disappointed because this is something which could have been avoided by the test makers. Next time I am gonna read the instructions very clearly but this wont be another CFA Exam I guess.
RoastBeef Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Even if you didn’t flip > through the entire test book to see the formatting > and questions (which is a fundamental tip for test > taking), the proctor clearly states that you have > to answer the questions in the answer space > provided, and anything not in the answer space > would not be graded. I absolutely agree. Come on, you stare at the instructions page at the back of your sealed exam book for about 5 minutes, and instructions are read aloud at the same time. However, CFAI should have left this instructions page at the end of the essay question PDF they publish on their site, as they used to until 2006.
To those who don’t understand how someone could make this mistake, it is simple: I had taken many mocks, all 3 they provide, and was conditioned to answering under the question because there were no lined pages. I was in error in not reading the directions closely enough, but under the exam pressure and with lack of sleep i misinterpreted the directions to mean that you check the box and use the lined pages if you need EXTRA room. I think it is fairly easy to make this mistake under duress, and that is proven by the number of people who did. I spent countless time preparing for the content of the test, not some confusing format. One thing that apparently everyone agrees on, whether or not you think this is a stupid mistake and we who made it are all suffering from some form of severe mental handicap, is that the institute is in the wrong for omitting these lined pages or instructions in the “copy” of prior exams. Even as Paraguay stated, prior years had the lined pages, so candidates were arguably better prepared for the format, which is unfair to current candidates.
Good point: lack of sleep is definitely bad. Now I understand better - not that I slept that well either the night before 
Prior years never had any lined pages, as far as I know. In 2006, they just included many blank pages stating “this page intentionally blank, any marks on this page will not be graded”. This is also the year they removed the last page with instructions from the PDF. It would be very easy to publish a template in PDF format with a dummy question, an answer template and the lined pages, to familiarise candidates with the exam format. CFAI may not want to, who knows?
haha this talk about sleep reminds me of the night before the L2 exam where I was cuddled in bed watching a UFO documentary in a hotel in London…had fu^%ing nightmares and was so tired in the morning …lol.
markCFAIL Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > To those who don’t understand how someone could > make this mistake, it is simple: > > I had taken many mocks, all 3 they provide, and > was conditioned to answering under the question > because there were no lined pages. I was in error > in not reading the directions closely enough, but > under the exam pressure and with lack of sleep i > misinterpreted the directions to mean that you > check the box and use the lined pages if you need > EXTRA room. > > I think it is fairly easy to make this mistake > under duress, and that is proven by the number of > people who did. I spent countless time preparing > for the content of the test, not some confusing > format. > > One thing that apparently everyone agrees on, > whether or not you think this is a stupid mistake > and we who made it are all suffering from some > form of severe mental handicap, is that the > institute is in the wrong for omitting these lined > pages or instructions in the “copy” of prior > exams. Even as Paraguay stated, prior years had > the lined pages, so candidates were arguably > better prepared for the format, which is unfair to > current candidates. Sure there are legitimate excuses, but they are still excuses. The directions and format was clear, if you paid attention. The problem is if you fail to pay attention. It wasn’t intuitive. Unfortuantely for you, you failed to pay attention. That is of your doing, and not the CFAIs. The exam being formatted oddly is another issue altogether, and that is something the CFAI should fix. In a perfect world the format of the test should be obvious to anyone, but a candidate shouldn’t assume a perfect world. A candidate should definitely pay attention. And I disagree with the premise that you should prepare for the format. No you don’t. I didn’t do a single mock. I didn’t find the format confusing at all. Because I read and listened to the directions. When I was a young buck in elementary school there was an exam that in the directions simply stated that all you had to do was sign your name. If you answered questions, they were immediately wrong. Guess what? Many people actually took the test, including myself, and failed. I guess I learned my lesson. And honestly I call MAJOR BS on the exam duress, pressure, sleep thing. You DOMINATED the portions that were graded. How can you do so great if you were wilting under pressure? The fact is you failed to read the directions and made a huge assumption that the mocks were the same as the exam (did you seriously not question the lined pages?). I learned my lesson in a relatively meaningless 5th grade exam and you learned your lesson on L3. In conclusion: the exam was confusing, but it is your responsibility to read the directions. If 99% of test takers fail to read the directions and screw up…that is not the issue of the test itself, but rather the test takers.
matthanuf06 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > markCFAIL Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > To those who don’t understand how someone could > > make this mistake, it is simple: > > > > I had taken many mocks, all 3 they provide, and > > was conditioned to answering under the question > > because there were no lined pages. I was in > error > > in not reading the directions closely enough, > but > > under the exam pressure and with lack of sleep > i > > misinterpreted the directions to mean that you > > check the box and use the lined pages if you > need > > EXTRA room. > > > > I think it is fairly easy to make this mistake > > under duress, and that is proven by the number > of > > people who did. I spent countless time > preparing > > for the content of the test, not some confusing > > format. > > > > One thing that apparently everyone agrees on, > > whether or not you think this is a stupid > mistake > > and we who made it are all suffering from some > > form of severe mental handicap, is that the > > institute is in the wrong for omitting these > lined > > pages or instructions in the “copy” of prior > > exams. Even as Paraguay stated, prior years > had > > the lined pages, so candidates were arguably > > better prepared for the format, which is unfair > to > > current candidates. > > > Sure there are legitimate excuses, but they are > still excuses. The directions and format was > clear, if you paid attention. The problem is if > you fail to pay attention. It wasn’t intuitive. > Unfortuantely for you, you failed to pay > attention. That is of your doing, and not the > CFAIs. The exam being formatted oddly is another > issue altogether, and that is something the CFAI > should fix. In a perfect world the format of the > test should be obvious to anyone, but a candidate > shouldn’t assume a perfect world. A candidate > should definitely pay attention. > > And I disagree with the premise that you should > prepare for the format. No you don’t. I didn’t do > a single mock. I didn’t find the format confusing > at all. Because I read and listened to the > directions. > > When I was a young buck in elementary school there > was an exam that in the directions simply stated > that all you had to do was sign your name. If you > answered questions, they were immediately wrong. > Guess what? Many people actually took the test, > including myself, and failed. I guess I learned my > lesson. > > And honestly I call MAJOR BS on the exam duress, > pressure, sleep thing. You DOMINATED the portions > that were graded. How can you do so great if you > were wilting under pressure? The fact is you > failed to read the directions and made a huge > assumption that the mocks were the same as the > exam (did you seriously not question the lined > pages?). > > I learned my lesson in a relatively meaningless > 5th grade exam and you learned your lesson on L3. > > > In conclusion: the exam was confusing, but it is > your responsibility to read the directions. If 99% > of test takers fail to read the directions and > screw up…that is not the issue of the test > itself, but rather the test takers. Amen
“If 99% of test takers fail to read the directions and screw up…that is not the issue of the test itself, but rather the test takers.” Dude, you’ve got to be joking. Maybe in fifth grade they design tests to trick you so you know to read directions. But when its a professional exam that you pay a lot of money to take, and the format on exam day is different than any practice exam, there is something wrong going on. Professional exams are not designed to decieve the test taker, they are designed to test the knowledge of the test taker. The CFAI has a responsibility to make sure format is not an issue.
I think it’s reasonable to assume the real test is just like the mock in terms of format. I thought the point of the exam was to test your knowledge about the material and not to test your reading comprehension of the directions? What’s next, grading responses based on grammar?
That’s like saying CFAI has the responsibility to make sure you’re not distracted by the attractive woman sitting next to you, or bothered by the extremely cold air blowing down on you in the exam room. CFAI doesn’t owe you any responsibility to go so far as to make you agree that you understand a format. As for someone saying their lack of sleep contributed to them not understanding the directions of the exam, this is really not a valid excuse. Maybe when you were a freshman at Party University (disclosure: I went to UT Austin which is a major party school) that could have been an understandable excuse. But if you’re like most of us pushing 30 years and have an established career, maybe even a wife or something, I find it hard to believe that you couldn’t have exercised more responsibility and actually gotten a good nights rest the day before a major professional exam, which you presumably had been studying for at least six months.
I know you are tired / going on ad infinitum about a pass / and really frustrated at this point in time. But no amount of fighting takes away from the following - available on the website - and also the same was printed on the booklet on the cover page in the exam you just took. Especially this part: All other questions should be answered on the lined page(s) following the question. For these questions, label each part of your answer clearly (A, B, C, or i, ii, iii, etc.) \This is the instruction you ignored\ http://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprogram/exams/format/Pages/cfa_exam_question_formats.aspx About the Level III Essay Questions The Level III essay exam is given in the morning session and has a maximum score of 180 points. The essay exam typically has 10–15 questions, and questions may have multiple parts. The points for each question and each question part are given in the exam. Each essay question consists of one or more parts (A, B, C, etc.). Some parts will direct you to write your answer in a template. Instructions in bold print immediately following the question will direct you to the page number of each template. All other questions should be answered on the lined page(s) following the question. For these questions, label each part of your answer clearly (A, B, C, or i, ii, iii, etc.) If you use all of the designated lined pages, extra lined pages are provided at the back of the book. To use these pages, place a check mark in the box at the bottom of the last page designated for that answer and label the extra pages with the appropriate question number Now this is a part of you - and you will never forget it. I do not think at this point in time any amount of CFA Charterholders banging the doors and saying injustice has been done is going to change anything. I am not trying to pull down your effort nor am I trying to say anything else. Right now - you are probably better off just taking a deep breath, and attacking the new curriculum and make sure of a pass in 2012.
For those who haven’t taken the exam yet, there are lined pages after EACH question. There are also additional lined pages in the back of the exam book where you have to use the check box if you need to use these additional pages. I managed to fit my answers in the lined pages after each question, and not needing the extra lined pages in the back, so I never needed to mark the check box. You hear a lot of turning of pages during the exam because people are flipping back to the question while writing their answers on the lined pages of paper. The best way to answer your questions that are not template questions is to put the number and part of the question you are answering on the lined page, then answer it. Let’s say for example Question 1 had 4 parts, and part C was a template question. This is how you would answer it: First page after question 1, lined: 1a. This is my answer to 1a. 1b. blah blah blah 1d. blah blah blah. 2nd page after question 1, lined: didn’t need it, so left it blank 3rd page is the template page for part C. Answer part C here. 4th page after question 1, lined: didn’t need it, so left it blank. Question 2… etc. I would suggest looking through the whole exam booklet before answering any question to note where the templates are. Some people do not realize there is a template until they’ve already written the answer on the lined pages and then have to rewrite their answers on the template wasting precious time.
The reasons my marks were so good on the graded portion is because i prepared exhaustively by taking so many mocks. Had you prepared exhaustively, maybe you would have conditioned yourself to writing on the question pages as well. If I am such an idiot who can’t read directions, why are there so many people who did the same thing? This also appears to be the first year that this issue has arisen, coincidence that it’s the first year the blank, or lined, or whatever pages, in addition to the instructions, were removed from the mocks? The fact that i dominated the test should mean i pass, not fail. And even if you disagree with me, there is ZERO rebuttal for why they will grade answers that don’t use the templates, but will not grade answers on the question pages. Zero, non, zilch, forget it. Directions say use the template, then people who didn’t should not be graded. But that is not the case. Maybe some of the detractors here are so adamant about booting my results out because then their marginal scores might not cut it any longer. Ghibli. I know some of you feel adamant about your beliefs, but it is evident from this thread and others that both passers and failures alike, are split in their beliefs about this issue. My main issues: A.)Don’t grade people who didn’t use the template if your not going to grade mine, and re-do the curb accordingly B.) don’t fudge with the mock format year over year. C.) don’t call it a “copy” of an exam if it’s not a copy. D.) Don’t insert only one random page in the entire test that says ‘marks on this page won’t be graded’, and then have it absent on every other page I put in the time, I studied my ass off, and I knew the curriculum. I should not have to fk with this sh!t.
there’s very little chance you studied more than I did, and yet somehow I was able to master the dual feats of “listening to the proctor” and “looking at the exam booklet before rabidly shooting off answers”.
I started lightly in September. I am still waiting for one of you staunch rule defenders to explain how it’s fair to grade the template directed questions that are not written in the template, if that is also in direct contravention to the written instructions. The way you are arguing about applying the rules, I would be THRILLED to see how you make this “different”.
what makes them different - is that 1. the questions where templates appear are within the pages numbered as say 1 - for Q#1. 2. When the individual grader gets the pages - all pages for that question - including template page is provided to him. So he can grade it irrespective of whether it is on the template page, or if it is on the lined pages for that question.
I started lightly in June with a friends used materials, and went heavy the day I got the materials in late August. I had completed the CFAI materials by end of october and was taken Schweser practice exams by January. Between surgery in February, selling a home in March, and buying a new build home in August, I was lucky to put in the 20 hours per week in the six months leading up to the exam. If I had failed the exam, I would be studying now and not arguing over a computer screen.