Understanding the Appeal Process for CAS Written Exams

It is a candidate’s worst nightmare. You walk out of the exam feeling uncertain about your performance. After the blackout period, you begin to discuss your answers with friends and colleagues. You realize that, on one particular high point-value question, everyone else has used a different approach and gotten a very different answer. Scores are released; your “5” is a disappointment, but you have to admit it is not a total surprise. You pore over the results of the Examiner’s Report as soon as it is released. Just as you feared, there is nothing in it that resembles your approach.   

What to do in this situation? Experienced upper-level exam takers will tell you that there is no substitute for getting an early start on your preparation for the next sitting—and if you are being honest with yourself, there were probably several places where you could have picked up the necessary points with a bit more work. In this particular case, however, there is an additional course of action that may be appropriate: the written exam appeal process.   

The appeal process for CAS constructed-response test items (i.e., Exams 5-9) gives candidates a way to propose what they believe is an alternative correct solution not found in the Examiner’s Report. A complete description of the appeal process is found in the CAS Syllabus of Basic Education. (The Syllabus also provides a description of the separate appeal process applicable to CAS multiple-choice exams such as MAS-I and -II. In essence, the multiple-choice appeal process is just an administrative check to verify that a candidate’s answer sheet was scanned correctly; it will not be covered in detail here.)   

First, it is important to clarify the purpose of the written exam appeal process. It is not a means to have your paper re-graded. (Every near-passing paper has already been graded and re-graded several times with an eye to ensuring consistent application of the grading rubric.) Rather, an appeal is a way to put forward an alternative valid solution that the Exam Committee may have overlooked. Often, the appeal will be put forward by a candidate hoping to change his or her grade from a Fail to a Pass, but this is not a strict requirement. In fact, any candidate can submit an appeal, provided they have identified an alternative solution and are prepared to provide detailed reasoning in support of that claim. From the Syllabus: “If the candidate believes that there is a correct solution that is not contained in the Examiner’s Report, the candidate must provide this alternative solution and specific reasoning in support of this claim with their appeal.”   

Successful appeals often have the common characteristic of bringing new information to light. A December 2008 Future Fellows article by former Exam Committee Chair Arlie J. Proctor gives some examples of the format a valid alternative answer might take:

• State A published revised regulations after the Syllabus was printed and the new regulations indicate that the answer should be…
• Joe Actuary has a Proceedings paper in which he outlines a different method for solving this problem. Joe’s paper has the following solution…
• My company has a procedure for calculating the indication that includes the following methods not covered on the syllabus…
• Question #Y was deemed defective, but I answered by making the following assumption/correction and I think my answer should be considered for credit.
• The model answer(s) indicate that the question-writer wanted to solicit an answer based on article “A”. However I believe paper “Q” would have been appropriate based on my interpretation of the question.

As these examples suggest, when you write an appeal you do not have to reproduce the exact details of your answer on the exam. Your appeal will be considered on its own merits, independently of anything you wrote on the exam. In fact, your original exam paper will not be consulted during the Exam Committee’s initial review. Therefore, it is important to write your appeal in such a way that it makes sense as a standalone document. Only if the Exam Committee finds your appeal valid will your original exam paper be reviewed. In that event, all papers that could possibly change from Fail to Pass will be reviewed and, if necessary, re-graded.   

To put this in perspective, keep in mind that most appeals are unsuccessful, either because they do not provide the required alternative solution and specific supporting reasoning, or because they bring up points that were already considered by the graders. As the syllabus makes clear, the decision of the Exam Committee Chair regarding these matters is final. And even when an appeal is successful, the additional credit may not be sufficient to push a candidate’s score above the pass mark. You may, however, find it reassuring to know that the Exam Committee considers the effect of successful appeals on all papers that might change from Fail to Pass as a result. Occasionally, a person who did not submit an appeal will have his or her grade changed to a Pass due to someone else’s successful appeal.   

Finally, please keep in mind that appeals aren’t for reporting defective questions — to do that, you can email defective-item@casact.org within the first two weeks after the exam. Also, appeals aren’t meant to be a way to give feedback on the question being asked or the material included on the syllabus — for that, the exam survey is your best bet.   

Based on this information, you are now equipped to decide if an appeal is appropriate in your particular case. Appeals can be sent to the CAS Office via mail, fax, or email at appeals@casact.org, and may be submitted up to two weeks after the publication of the Examiner’s Report. Good luck on all your future exams!