Candidate Know Before You Go

  • Pearson Vue Confirmation Email

    After you schedule your exam, Pearson VUE will send a confirmation email listing your exam date, your appointment time, the address of the exam center, and directions to the exam center. Please ensure you receive this email - if you do not receive this email, you may not be scheduled. More information on scheduling can be found on the CAS page of the Pearson Vue website.

  • Exam Breaks

    Each exam administered at a Pearson VUE testing center will now include one optional 15-minute break. The time taken during the exam break will not be counted towards the overall exam duration. Candidates can take this break at any time during the four-hour exam. After taking a break, candidates will be able to access previously answered questions. An exam break is optional. If a candidate does not take a break, the exam will still end at four hours. An additional 15 minutes of time will not be given.

    During this break, candidates will be allowed to leave the exam room and use the restroom. Candidates may access their locker for food and/or beverages, and medication if necessary. Candidates may also access their backup calculator during any break if needed. Candidates are not allowed to leave the premises or access a mobile phone, exam notes, study guides, or anything other than the items specifically mentioned in #6 above.  Any candidate who violates this rule will not be allowed to return to their exam. All violations will be documented by the Pearson VUE proctor and subject to disciplinary action. For full information about exam breaks please familiarize yourself with the exam break FAQ.

    The break is a floating break whereby candidates can raise their hand and have the proctor place them in break at any time within their exam. There is a "Pause Exam" button in the bottom left corner of the exam that candidates can select themselves to initiate when they want to begin their break. A pop-up will appear asking them to confirm that they want to begin the break or return to the exam. If they initiate the break, they then must raise their hand if they'd like to leave the exam room. There is only one break; if a candidate ends the break before the 15 minutes is over, the remainder of the break time is forfeited.

    Image showing "Pause Exam" option

  • New Exam Answering

    For Exams 5 and 6U, there will be some questions in the spreadsheet environment that require candidates to submit their final response in a specific cell highlighted in yellow for a streamlined grading process.  For these questions, instructions will be explicitly included in the question. if the answer isn't inputted into this cell the response will still be graded.

    Here is an example of how the instructions would look in the exam:

    Image showing cell where answer should be entered

  • MAS-I, MAS-II, and Exam 5 New Exam Question Tips

    Please review these tips on the new exam questions for exams MAS-I, MAS-II, and 5:

    Testing-Tips-for-new-item-types.aspx (pearsonvue.com)

  • Exam 5 New Exam Formatting

    The exam 5 questions have been reformatted so that questions that were previously listed as parts of one question will now each appear as a separate question. Therefore, the number of questions on the exam will appear higher, but the actual exam length has not changed.

  • Pearson VUE Admission Policy

    Please arrive at the test center 30 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment time. This will give you adequate time to complete the necessary sign-in procedures. If you arrive more than 15 minutes late for your appointment, you may be refused admission and your exam fees will be forfeited.

    You must show one government issued form of identification. The unexpired ID must contain your name exactly as it appears in your exam registration, your photo and signature. Please review the ID policy for acceptable forms of identification.

    Before you may enter the testing room, you will be required to read through the candidate rules agreement. For identity verification purposes you will also be required to provide your signature, have a digital facial photo taken, and have a palm vein scan. No personal items may be taken into the testing room except a calculator. This includes all bags, books, notes, phones, writing instruments, watches and wallets. Candidates will be asked to show empty pockets and have any eyewear inspected prior to entering the testing area.

    In the testing area, a laminated spiral notebook will be available to you with a fine point felt pen for scratch work. If you need additional notebooks, raise your hand and the proctor will provide you with up to two additional notebooks. Noise cancelling headphones are available at the testing center if you choose to use them.

    Candidates may bring the following battery or solar-powered models of the following Texas Instruments calculators to the testing center: BA-35, BA II Plus, BA II Plus Professional, TI-30Xa, TI-30X II (IIS solar or IIB battery), TI-30XS MultiView (or XB battery).

  • Pearson VUE Test Centers Health and Safety Measures

    On this page you will find general information regarding health and safety practices, requirements for entry, and any geographic-specific impacts.

    COVID-19 Update Page

  • Reschedule Policy

    To reschedule your exam, you must contact Pearson VUE or access your online Pearson VUE account a minimum of 48 hours prior to your appointment. Exams cannot be rescheduled less than 48 hours prior to your appointment. Failure to reschedule in time or failure to appear for your appointment will result in the forfeiture of your exam fee.

  • No-Show Policy

    Exam slots are limited, so if you are unable to attend your exam appointment, please cancel your appointment at least 48 hours prior to the exam with Pearson VUE AND the CAS, or you will be charged a $100 administrative "no-show" fee. Please note that your exam fee will be forfeited if your appointment is canceled after the refund deadline.

    To cancel your appointment 48 hours+ prior to exam and avoid “no-show” fee: Contact Pearson VUE support, or cancel via your Pearson VUE account, AND email casexams@casact.org with cancellation request and proof of Pearson VUE cancellation.

    To cancel your appointment within 48 hours of exam: Contact Pearson VUE support AND email casexams@casact.org.

  • Site Closures

    Should a candidate be notified that their site has closed and are within 48 hours of their scheduled exam appointment, they should first contact the CAS. Candidates who receive a site closure notice more than 48 hours before their scheduled exam should contact Pearson VUE Customer Service or login to their Pearson VUE account to reschedule. 

  • NDA

    All candidates will be required to review and agree to a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) acknowledging the CAS Exam Discipline Policy at the start of their exam. This policy was last updated on February 14, 2022.

  • Candidate Feedback and Grievances Policy 

    If you experience an administration irregularity (noise, technology issues, etc.) issue during your exam, please inform the Pearson VUE administrator as soon as the issue occurs. Candidates should request a Pearson VUE Case Number* to submit with grievance submissions. Candidates may also submit a grievance with the CAS up to 5 business days after the exam, however the first course of action should be to inform the Pearson VUE administrator on-site of any issues that occur during the exam.

    The CAS Candidate Feedback and Grievances policy outlines the process for submitting Candidate Feedback regarding suspected defective items (such as items testing material not on the syllabus or items that cannot be answered with the information provided) and provides more details on Candidate Grievances.

    *Pearson VUE Case Numbers are assigned to any administration irregularity that may occur from the time a candidate checks in at the exam center to when they leave the exam center. Case Numbers are directly connected to the cited irregularity and should be included with feedback and grievances submissions to the CAS.

Exam-Specific Information

CAS Exams MAS-I & MAS-II

We would like to make you aware of some resources as you prepare for CAS Exams MAS-I & MAS-II administered at Pearson VUE Testing Centers.   

Sample Questions

There are sample questions for both MAS-I and MAS-II available on the Pearson/CAS website, at the bottom of the page. The main purpose of the sample questions is to present an example of what to expect in the Pearson VUE testing environment, complete with the instructions similar to those that are given on exam day. These sample questions are intended to give our candidates an opportunity to practice and become familiar with Pearson VUE functionality. The sample questions are retired questions from fall 2019 and will not appear in future CAS examinations.

A blank sample worksheet is available on the Pearson/CAS website. The sample worksheet is untimed and does not require reviewing the exam tutorial. The worksheet is also larger than what is typically used for individual questions. For most items presented during exams, candidates are given 150 rows and 40 columns. This spreadsheet has 500 rows to allow candidates to build multiple items in the same worksheet. Candidates for MAS-I and MAS-II will have access to one blank spreadsheet to use for scratch calculations over the entire exam.

  • Zooming In and Out: Candidates are able to zoom in and out of Pearson's platform by either selecting Ctrl +/- on the keyboard
     
  • Functions: Pearson's spreadsheet includes several functions. Candidates are free to use any of these functions in their responses to the questions on the exam. See the list of functions here and on the Pearson VUE/CAS website under “Related Links.”
     
  • Reference Items and/or Tables: Any reference items and/or tables required for the examination will be loaded directly into the Pearson environment and will be available to the candidates on the screen by the click of a button either in the bottom left corner or at the top of the question. More information on this is available in the tutorial that precedes the exam.
     
  • F11: Pressing F11 while doing the sample exam questions will increase the screen size and more closely mimic the exam center experience.
     
  • Navigator Button: Clicking on the Navigator button in the Pearson environment will provide a list of all questions, including a topic description and point value. Candidates can use the navigator to quickly jump between questions.

 

Exam Day Information

For questions about what you will need to bring on the day of your exam, please visit the Pearson VUE/CAS website and review the Admission Policy.
 
If you have any additional questions, please contact CAS Administrative and Customer Support at casexams@casact.org.

 

CAS Exams 5-9

We would like to make you aware of some resources as you prepare for CAS Exams 5 – 9 administered at Pearson VUE exam.  

Sample Questions

The CAS released a set of sample questions and example solutions for Exams 5 – 9 through the Pearson VUE/CAS website. The question set allows candidates to:

  • practice and become familiar with Pearson VUE's computer-based testing functionality and interface.
  • understand how to work in the spreadsheet format, respond to questions, and navigate between questions.
  • understand how full-credit solutions could be presented, as sample solutions are included for each question.
  • familiarize themselves with the essay response format.
  • practice questions that utilize advanced spreadsheet functionality.

The question set includes problems that generally represent a cross-section of question styles from CAS Exams 5 – 9 and are not exam specific.

Please also note that while graders are able to consider formulas entered in the Pearson VUE spreadsheets, candidates will not be required to have knowledge of specific spreadsheet formulas to receive full credit. If a particular spreadsheet function is recommended to produce a result, candidates will be given instructions for its use, or a definition of inputs and outputs. Candidates should compose responses and show all work and reasoning to maximize credit. Partial credit will be given for candidates who are able to demonstrate some understanding of the question. Candidates should note that the sample answers provided with the question set are one possible way to answer the questions but are not the only solution that would be awarded credit.

As candidates access the sample exam questions and work the problems, please note the following:

  • Graphing/Drawing: Candidates will not be expected to do any graphing or drawing in their responses on the exams.
     
  • Formatting: Formatting capabilities do exist in the Pearson spreadsheet environment. As long as candidates show their work and graders are able to follow their logic, candidates are not required to format their work to be visually appealing (e.g., borders around tables).
     
  • Functions: Functions and Formulas: In the Pearson VUE environment, typing in a formula incorrectly will result in a blank cell. Pearson's spreadsheet includes several functions. Candidates are free to use any of these functions in their responses to the questions on the exam. See the list of functions here and on the Pearson VUE/CAS website under “Related Links.
     
  • Zooming In and Out: Candidates are able to zoom in and out in Pearson's spreadsheet by either selecting Ctrl +/- on the keyboard or by changing the viewing % on the toolbar. The spreadsheet defaults to 90%.
     
  • Reference Items and/or Tables: Any reference items and/or tables required for the examination will be loaded directly into the Pearson environment and will be available to the candidates on the screen by the click of a button either in the bottom left corner or at the top of the question. More information on this is available in the tutorial that precedes the exam.
     
  • F11: Pressing F11 while doing the sample exam will increase the screen size and more closely mimic the exam center experience.
     
  • Navigator Button: Clicking on the Navigator button in the Pearson environment will provide a list of all questions, including a topic description and point value. Candidates can use the navigator to quickly jump between questions.
     
  • Symbols: A symbol selector has been included to allow you to insert symbols or mathematical operators that are not available on a keyboard. The symbols included in the sample questions are just a sample of possible symbols and additional symbols may be available. We do not anticipate that you will need to use these symbols very often.
     
  • Showing Your Work: The entire spreadsheet, including all formulas used, will be sent to the graders. Candidates can answer anywhere outside the grey area, however, they should make sure the responses are well-organized and easy for the graders to find and understand.
     
  • Undo Options: If you accidentally erase part of the question, there is an option to "undo" the last several keystrokes by using the appropriate undo button in the toolbar or by pressing Ctrl-Z. There is also an option to reset the entire question, however, this will erase any part of the solution you have already typed.
     
  • Sorting: The Pearson spreadsheet does not allow candidates to sort any of the data.
     
  • Time Limits: While we have set the sample questions with a time limit of two hours, candidates will have four hours to work the exam questions during the actual CAS exams.

A blank sample worksheet is available on the Pearson VUE/CAS website. The sample worksheet is untimed and does not require reviewing the exam tutorial. The worksheet is also larger than what is typically used for individual questions. For most items presented during exams, candidates are given 150 rows and 40 columns. This spreadsheet has 500 rows to allow candidates to build multiple items in the same worksheet.

 

Exam Day Information

For questions about what you will need to bring on the day of your exam, please visit the Pearson VUE/CAS website and review the Admission Policy.
 
If you have any additional questions, please contact CAS Administrative and Customer Support at casexams@casact.org.