How Is Exam FM Scored
Exam FM consists of 30 multiple-choice questions, administered by CBT or by Paper/Pencil. The exam is 2.5 hours long. Each question has five answer choices identified by the letters A, B, C, D, and E, only one of which is correct.
The exam will also include a few (unspecified number) of pilot questions, as described in the syllabus. Once you complete the exam, the raw score is calculated by summing the number of correct answers, excluding pilot questions. Since there is no penalty for incorrect answers, it is beneficial to provide an answer for every question.
Your raw score is then measured against the pass mark for your exam, and converted to a scale from 0 to 10. The pass mark is defined as the minimum number of correct answers to pass. A score of 6 or higher results in a pass. Recently, the average Exam FM pass mark percentage has been reported as 71%. The pass mark percentage is calculated as the pass mark (whole number) divided by the number of scored questions. Not everyone taking the CBT exam is presented with the same questions, so this percentage can vary depending on the specific set of questions you are given. This document released by the SOA and CAS describes the formulas used to convert raw scores to the 0 to 10 scale.
Assuming a 71% average pass mark percentage, you can expect the following conversions. Note that the table assumes that the floor of (71% * the number of non-pilot questions) is the pass mark.
| 0 Pilot Questions | 1 Pilot Question | 2 or 3 Pilot Questions | % of Pass Mark | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pass Mark: 21 | Pass Mark: 20 | Pass Mark: 19 | 100% | 6 |
| 0-10 | 0-9 | 0-9 | <50% | 0 |
| 11-12 | 10-11 | 10-11 | 50%-60% | 1 |
| 13-14 | 12-13 | 12-13 | 60%-70% | 2 |
| 15-16 | 14-15 | 14-15 | 70%-80% | 3 |
| 17-18 | 16-17 | 16-17 | 80%-90% | 4 |
| 19-20 | 18-19 | 18 | 90%-100% | 5 |
| 21-23 | 20-21 | 19-20 | 100%-110% | 6 |
| 24-25 | 22-23 | 21-22 | 110%-120% | 7 |
| 26-27 | 24-25 | 23-24 | 120%-130% | 8 |
| 28-29 | 26-27 | 25-26 | 130%-140% | 9 |
| 30 | 28-29 | 27-(28) | >140% | 10 |
The Mock Exams feature on The Actuarial Nexus uses a 71% pass mark percentage to score your exam. We do not assume any questions are pilot questions.