CFA level 2 results
CFA results are out. I passed (as did a whopping 32% of those who took the level two exam). In the weeks before the test, I was pessimistic, and some of you told me I would pass -- I hope you won't rub it in.

They break down the results into 24 sections, to help you figure out where you did poorly. They don't give a score for each section, but they indicate >70%, <=50%, or in between. I got 15 >70%s, and eight <=50%s, with only one in the middle. Last year I had a lot more in-betweens.

Part of the reason is that the level one results had fewer sections -- if there are only six points possible, any score except four will be an outlier. More generally, standard deviation as a percentage of the sample size varies with the inverse square root of the sample size. I don't think it was just the smaller divisions, though; the level one exam seemed to cover most of what I studied. The level two exam had questions and groups of questions grilling the test-takers on the details of some topics, completely ignoring others. If you skipped the wrong half-chapter in your studying, you got hurt.

UPDATE: I've been told that one has to be affiliated with the CFA Institute for that second link to work. It's a memo saying basically that the pass-rate has been declining, and that they think it's because people aren't studying enough.

- posted by Steven @ 9:23 PM