Extreme Exam Site Problem Addressed

By Thomas G. Myers, FCAS
Chairperson
CAS Examination Committee

During the Fall 1999 exam administration, the candidates who took Part 4A in Boston encountered an extremely unusual problem. The Boston exams were held in a hotel meeting room. Unknown to the CAS, the Boston Fire Department had scheduled a test of the hotel's alarm system during the time that the Part 4A exam was scheduled. As a result, fire alarms and loudspeaker announcements went off repeatedly throughout most of the exam period. The exam proctor attempted to get the hotel to discontinue these tests but was told there was nothing the hotel could do to stop the alarm testing.

The CAS receives complaints from time to time about the facilities where the exams are offered. The Examination Committee and the CAS Office do their best to address these situations and to try and make sure that the exams are given under conditions that are fair for all candidates. The CAS has limited ability to control the circumstances at individual exam centers, however.

In this case, the Examination Committee felt that the circumstances were so extreme that an adjustment was warranted to bring the scores of the Part 4A Boston candidates in line with the overall candidate population. The Part 4A grades were released based on these adjusted scores.

---