Particularly the part about this being post grad work, so it should allow for some analytical thinking and creative responses. Who are the CFA to give you a curriculum on which you’ve elected to be tested then turn right back around and actually test you on that curriculum! I can’t believe these “charterholders” and supposed test passers like “iteracom” (if that IS his real name) can’t understand that your obvious intellect and maverick approach are an asset to both the CFA and financial markets.
I’ve often suspected the closed door approach of the CFA Institute (Am I the only one here who noticed CFA Institute rearranged spells CIA Finstitute?) was masking a cesspool of conspiracy but have been forced to quietly sit by waiting for someone to point out the truth. I actually took the time to read your well constructed argument and was shocked (SHOCKED!) to find out they’re letting non-english speaking foreigners from the UK and Australia grade our exams here in America! It’s obvious to anyone willing to set aside bias that you craft well reasoned and thorough arguments. I can only imagine the model answers you must have provided on the AM as you overcame the forces of lack of sleep and severe stress.
Don’t give up! The markets need someone of your sense of honesty and accountability to clean out the narcissism and excuse mongering that have polluted Wall Street. Believe me, three more years spent on righting this slight against your morning creative writing session would be far more productive in the long run than simply buckling to the system and writing clear, concise answers in bullet form.
Good luck, and god speed.
The road may be long, but in the face of ignorance, always remember:
"Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”
The original argument seemed that poor scores in the AM were the result of non-native English graders. I think bchad refuted that pretty well so I won’t rehash, but it seems your argument has turned into ridiculous logic-based nitpicking. If you want validation that the possibility exists that a grader can make an impact and even be the difference between a pass and fail then sure, it is technically possible. However, this is extremely unlikely and you mention people who “did badly in the AM”, which takes us from a culprit to culprits and much much greater unlikelihood. I suppose this theoretical possibility of subjectivity determining winners and losers means we should eliminate all sports that involve umpires or referees then too?
Who knows, maybe I’m underestimating your amazing English ability that is able to confound people who are likely fluent or at least pretty darn good, but I’d recommend not writing the exam next year in Shakespearean English or iambic pentameter…
One of the most entertaining threads of the day. Off base, unnecessary and slightly condescending of those that did pass level III, but entertaining.
Given the amount of template, economics, finance and derivative answers the number of actual essay writing points are lower than you might expect. Proper grammer and spelling do not make you pass the CFA exam, it’s knowing the material and writting a concise answer that will get you the points.
I’m told that each grader grades only one part of a question (i.e., question 8A and 8B have different graders) so for the 2012 test, there were likely several dozen different individuals who touched each of our papers.
Moreover, the stats of the graders are evalulated daily. If one guy is giving unusually high or low marks relative to the rest of his/her team, those papers are regraded.
Finally, every paper that scores somewhere in the middle of the bell curve (the middle 50% or so) is graded a second time.
It has been emphasized to me that the grading teams and processes are designed to be extremely impartial and fair.
Monk is from Austrailia, one of the countries he’s suggesting is non-english speaking, and this suggests English was his second language which is supported by his opening line of “There are not a small number who cannot believe they did as badly…”
I can imagine the difficulty an english or non-english speaker would have trying to grade a wrong answer that is written so poorly.
