Don’t reschedule if you want to pass

Thinking of rescheduling your CIMA OTs? Well, be careful: new research shows students who reschedule their CIMA exams are 16% less likely to pass than those that book an exam date and stay with it.


The study, by Kaplan and CIMA, shows while the pass rate of students sticking to their original exam date is 77%, this falls to 61% for those who reschedule.
The stats also show a steady decline in pass rates from the end of the course to sitting the exam.


Pass rates fell by 6% after the third week and by a further 10% by week six. The recommendation is that you sit the exam within three weeks of finishing your course to maximise your chances of passing.


Students who attempted both short tests and mock exams had 5% higher pass rates than those who did neither. However, when you sit exams has no affect on pass rates. Apparently, there isn’t a ‘lucky time’ to sit exams. The researchers also wondered if exemptions influenced pass rates.


Again, the short answer is no – exemptions of five or less make little difference to pass rates.