The passing score is determined by the AICPA Board of Examiners (BOE). Like most other significant BOE decisions, the passing score decision is supported by a strong collaborative effort among the examination partners.  The standard-setting process followed for the computer-based test (CBT) was rigorous, and performed with input from the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), state board members, and several consultant psychometricians.

In setting the passing score, the BOE considered many factors, including standard-setting study results, historical trends, any changes in examination content, and input from the academic community and the profession.  The passing score is the basis of the pass or fail decision recommended to boards of accountancy on the advisory score report.  

The passing score is 75 on a 0-99 scale.  The scale of 0-99 does not represent "percent correct." A score of 75 indicates examination performance reflecting a level of knowledge and skills that is sufficient for the protection of the public.

Scoring is fully automated for all examination components except the written communication portion of simulations. Some written communication responses are scored by a network of readers (CPAs), while others are scored using an automated process. All scoring routines - whether automated or not - are verified at various stages of the scoring process.

The AICPA uses IRT (Item Response Theory) for the objective portion of the examination. IRT is a well-established psychometric approach to scoring used by licensing and certification examinations that administer many different test forms. IRT scoring ensures that scores and pass or fail decisions based on scores from different examination forms are comparable. Based on the large amounts of data that are collected in pretesting, the difficulty level as well as other statistical characteristics of examination questions are known and taken into account in scoring.

IRT scoring takes into account differences in the difficulty of test questions in addition to other statistical properties. IRT scoring uses statistical properties of items, and the pattern of correct and incorrect responses, to calculate scores representing candidates' knowledge and skill levels. These scores are comparable because they have been calculated taking difficulty levels, as well as other item statistics, into consideration.

In AUD (Auditing and Attestation), FAR (Financial Accounting and Reporting), and REG (Regulation), multiple-choice testlets account for 70% and simulations 30% of the score. The 30% simulation portion is further divided into 10% for written communication and 20% for all other parts of the simulation. In BEC (Business Environment and Concepts), multiple-choice questions account for 100% of the score.

For all examination sections except BEC, separate scores are produced for multiple-choice questions, written communication, and simulations (not including written communication). The three part scores are then weighted according to the percentage value of each component, and added together to arrive at a total score.

No. Responses to pretest questions are never taken into account in calculating candidate scores. Pretest questions are included in every examination (they may be multiple-choice questions, portions of simulations, or written communication exercises) only for the purpose of collecting data. The data are needed to assess the quality of the questions, and to collect scoring information for later use when the questions become operational items

No. All candidate results are scored using the same process and method to ensure uniformity and the validity of the pass or fail decision. In the rare instances when serious technical problems occur during testing, candidates may be given free retests.