Exam Grading

The AICPA

The AICPA is a non-profit national association representing the accounting profession in public practice, business and industry, government and education. Preparation of the CPA Exam is the responsibility of the Board of Examiners of the AICPA. This board also supervises the grading of the Exam. Most of the comments related to preparing and grading the CPA Exam are adapted from Information for Uniform CPA Examination Candidates, published by the AICPA. If you wish to obtain a copy of this booklet ($5.75 per copy for members and $7.25 for nonmembers) simply write to the AICPA at the address listed below. Students may be eligible for a 30% discount with written proof of student status.

AICPA Harborside Financial Center 201 Plaza III Jersey City, NJ 07311-3881 (201) 862-4272 http://www.aicpa.org

Passing scores

Two aspects of the CPA Exam that are consistent for all candidates are the content of the Exam and the grading. Each section of the CPA Exam is graded separately. A minimum score of 75 is set as the passing grade on each section. Passing advisory grades are 75-99; failing advisory grades are 0-74.

When Grades Are Released

Initially, scores will be sent from the AICPA to NASBA at the end of each testing window. For example, the scores for those candidates who took the examination during the first testing window, April 5, 2004, through May 30, 2004, will be sent to NASBA by June 30, 2004. Subsequently, NASBA will then forward those scores to the Boards of Accountancy for distribution to candidates usually within one week.

The Grading Process

Other than the written communication section of the exam, which requires you to complete tasks such as writing a letter or memo, the questions contained in the exam are formatted to allow responses to be scored electronically. Human graders will score all written communication responses.

The AICPA reports advisory grades to each board of accountancy. The boards of accountancy are responsible for issuing official grades. Some boards of accountancy issue Candidate Diagnostic Reports with the grades. The Report indicates the points the candidate earned in each content area of each section. Candidates may ask their board of accountancy to submit a request to the AICPA for review of their papers.