CPA Reviewed Podcast #9 Topics:
- Should you only do instructor-assigned CPA Exam questions?
- How do you get a job when you're studying or the CPA Exam and not getting call-backs?
- When working MCQs, do you read the answer right away or wait until the end of the session?
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Thanks for answering my quesion Jeff!
For the first question, the person receieved 78% for 119 out of 162 questions (the recommended questions). Then he did 30 random questions (including non-recommended questions) and he got a 60%. From that, he concluded that he needed to work out of the test bank. But 78% of 119/162 = 57%. So of course it's logical that he only scored 60% when doing random questions. If he had aced the concepts of the recommended questions, the outcome would have been different. For example, if he would have gotten 100% of 119/162, that would = appxomiately 74%. Under these circumstances (having the concepts in the recommended questions locked in), he would have probably passed the 30 random questions with a score of about 75%. Additionally, if the instructors know which questions are likely to be weighted more than the other questions, this would boost the tester's score in the actual exam. Just doing the math and playing devil's advocate here... Responses welcome!
I don't quite agree with the logic there...you're mixing population size with sample size.
In order to make inferences about the population as a whole, a good sample must be representative of the population. I was making my calculations based on the assumption that the 30 random questions should contain 22 instructor-recommended questions ((119/162)*30=22). Due to sampling error, this may not always occur but I believe my logic should hold for a truly representative sample. However, my main point of the original comment was that if a candidate chose to study the instructor-recommended questions only, he or she must strive to pass the 119 questions with close to 100% and not use the 75%-80% rule to gauge whether he or she has successfully studied the module. The 75-80% rule of thumb applies to the entire practice test (all 162 questions), but close to 100% must apply to instructor-recommended questions. I personally do think its possible to pass the CPA studying instructor-only questions after looking into this a little more closely, but I suppose its all about the candidates comfort and confidence level when choosing whether or not to do instructor-only questions. Thanks for sharing, Jeff!