In 2001, the CAS set in motion a number of initiatives to change the manner in which our educational system operates. Many of these have directly affected the construction, administration, and grading of exams, particularly Exams 5 though 9. The changes have left many candidates and members alike feeling uncomfortable about the process itself and the manner in which candidates should prepare for future exams. As actuaries, we like to look first to the past as a predictor of future events. When the past fails to accurately predict the results we see, we are trained to ask the question, “What changed and how will that affect the future?”

The Examination Committee currently fields a number of questions of exactly that nature. Among the more common are:

• Why are the pass marks creeping up over time? Doesn’t this indicate that candidates are better prepared and that more should pass?
  
• The questions on this exam were very different from prior years’ examinations. What caused the change and will the difference persist in future exam sessions?