CIMA Exam Results and a Look at the Grading Mechanism

Eager to find out when you will get the CIMA exam results, and how to interpret the performance report?

CIMA Exam Results for Objective Tests

Since the implementation of the new format, it is the easiest and fastest to get the CIMA objective test exam results — you get a “pass” or “fall” grade immediately after the computerized exam.

After 48 hours, you will receive an email, confirming that CIMA exam results breakdown is available in the MYCIMA portal.

CIMA Exam Results Breakdown

The results are shown in a table format, listing the subject areas in the objective test.

Each subject area is marked “proficient” or “not proficient”, with more detailed comments on how you can improve.

Here is a sample showing the candidate getting a “not proficient” in Financial Reporting:

Image courtesy of thecimastudent.com

If you’d like to have a glimpse at how the full performance report looks like, check out this official video from the CIMA:

A Note on CIMA Exam Pass Mark

The CIMA states that you need a 70% accuracy to pass each objective test. At the same time, they tell you the CIMA exam pass mark is 100.

Please understand that you are given a scaled score ranging from 0 to 150. The emphasis is that this score is scaled, meaning that you cannot figure out your percentage accuracy by a straight formula. In fact, if you try to divide 100 by 150, you get 66.7% instead of 70%.

The scaling is a way for CIMA to balance the more difficult questions with the easier questions . The system weighs difficult questions slightly more, such that students who got a few more difficult questions wrong would still score the same as those getting more easier questions right.

CIMA Case Study Results

The questions in case study exams are more complex. Human graders instead of computers mark this exam, and therefore, we need to wait for approximately 5 weeks after the end of the testing window to get the results.

Similar to the objective test, the performance report is available on the MyCIMA portal, and is presented in the form of a table. We will see “Strong”, “Moderate” or “Fail” in each of the 5 competencies.

In this example, the table is showing “Moderate” under technical skills is marked “Moderate”, with details on areas of improvement:

For those who would like to know the technical side of grading, here is a detailed explanation by the CIMA:

A Note on CIMA Case Study Pass Mark

The pass mark for case study is 80, out of a scaled score of 0 to 150. The candidate must also score a “Moderate” or “Strong” across all competencies in order to pass the case study exam. This is to ensure that the candidate is not weak in a particular area and that he/she is “business ready”.

Is This helpful?

I hope the discussion on CIMA exam grading and results is helpful in preparing psychologically for this exam. If you have any questions, please drop a note in the comment section. Thank you and good luck!

For Your Further Reading

• Frequently asked questions on the CIMA exam
• CIMA exam historical pass rates