Some years, test takers will receive an overall score of 65% and will fail, while in other years candidates have received a 62% score and have passed it. The way in which the score is weighted greatly influences the outcome of your overall score. Generally speaking, any score of 70% or higher should be a passing grade. Over the past 10 years, the approval rates for Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 are 41%, 45%, and 52%, respectively. As long as you score well on multiple-choice questions, you should have a good chance of passing the second level of the CFA.
All candidates who move to level 2 have already passed level 1 and are ready for the challenge, but have not yet passed half of the votes. Since the Governing Board deliberately states that the MPS is so high for Level 1, only the most qualified candidates sit for the Level 2 exam. This, together with the fact that ethics is the most important subject in both level 1 and level 2 exams, ethics is undoubtedly the most important topic. After the administration of each exam, the Board of Governors of the CFA Institute sets the minimum passing score (MPS) for each level.
The Princeton Review advises level 1 candidates to obtain a minimum score of 70% on simulated exams on simulated exams and to pay special attention to the ethical issue to promote ethical adjustment. The MPS varies from year to year and is set by the CFA incumbents on the Board of Governors of the CFA Institute. On average (measured on a continuous 10-year basis), only 41% of candidates who sit for the CFA Level 1 exam they approve it. During this scoring phase, the Board of Governors usually sets the MPS for levels 1 and 2 about six weeks after the completion of the exam and qualification.
Many consider the material in this exam to be the most difficult of the three, as it covers the same topics as level 1, but in much more detail. Below are the passing rates of the CFA Program level I to III exams for each of the most recent exams taken. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many level 1 candidates begin the process without fully realizing how difficult the exam is. The multiple-choice questions for all levels of the CFA exam are graded by computer, while the part of the essay (“constructed answer”) of level 3 is scored by CFA holders.
