Your foundation exam results

We use a scaled score assessment model to mark your exams. Foundation has a scale tailored to each individual exam with a unique pass mark.

Foundation exams use the same scaled score range as the CPA Program. This means standardising the scaled score range to 100 – 900, with a pass mark of 540 across all subjects. This change will make it easier for you to interpret your exam results.

Note, the pass mark for each of the foundation exams has not changed, only the scaled score range used to display your exam results has been updated.

To offer you greater flexibility and ensure maximum security of our exams, we create multiple versions of the same exam. While we take great care to ensure all versions of the exams have minimal difference, exams are unable to be completely identical in their levels of difficulty. The use of a scaled score balances exam results across multiple versions, taking into consideration the level of difficulty of the exam paper sat. This provides a fair, equivalent score and reflects your performance more accurately than a percentage. We don’t report the percentage of questions candidates answered correctly, as a percentage score doesn't take into consideration the level of difficulty of an individual exam version.

It’s important to note that your scaled score is not an indication of how you performed on your exam against your peers. It's an accurate representation of your individual exam performance.

In addition to receiving a scaled score, your result will be expressed as a grade. The ranges of available grades for foundation exams are:

• Did Not Sit
• Fail
• Pass

You can access all exam results online through My CPA Program. You can also print a professional copy of your results as required.

Though it can be unsettling when you've not performed as well as you had intended, it's important to remember:

• There is no possibility of a scaled score assessment model negatively affecting marginal results, as all foundation exams are pre-assessed for difficulty.
• A scaled score indicates your exam performance more accurately, regardless of the exam version you sat.
• Due to the rigorous procedures outlined above, we have a firm policy that we do not remark our exams.
• If you have failed an exam, your Candidate Exam Report will demonstrate your performance against each of the learning objectives tested. This will help you focus your study next time you attempt your exam.