CA3 exam lost for ideas please help

Hello everyone

I would like to reach out for advice/help on this exam as I am finding it really difficult. Is anyone currently sitting the exam or has passed it and would be happy to help/practice? In particular would any students who scored highly on this exam be willing to work as coaches?

I have failed this exam three times after completing all the assignments and mock exams and past exam papers and getting these marked. I have also received exam feedback on both attempts and tried to follow all advice and have completed the online tutorials too.

Will be really glad for any advice as I don't know what to do. This is my last exam and is proving the hardest

J

P.S I do think this is an excellent exam

 

I can share your pain. This exam format is an absolute disgrace to show the level of incompetence in exam design as well as the use of some qualified actuaries to mark a communication exam.
Subjective marking based on a marking scheme with so called "best practice of communication" simply does not work.
Just an example, with the increasing number of non-native English speaker(me included), how could the profession accounted for people from such a variety of language background by using a few (likely) English native speakers to mark exams without introducing bias?

It is almost a joke when the profession is still struggling to form effective communications with its own members on a daily basis and still trying to teach us the art of communications.

 

Just like you I share these frustrations. Then I looked at the IFoA website, the student consultative forum section, and find that the SCF have patiently, since June 2014, expressed deep concerns about this exam. They've explained that students were not understanding at all why they had failed (or passed!) it & that it felt like a lottery. They've made very reasonable requests of help on jargon, sample pass/fail presentations, so that we can all have a fairer shot at passing this exam. Unfortunately it looks like the help was not actioned and therefore in my view these meetings are a waste of time as nothing is really being done. To be frank about it, it looks like SCF is more like somewhere for them to direct complaints at and only hear about them twice a year.

So what can we do? In a school or university setting, if you had pass rates as low as this then students could go to the teachers or professors and complain. For us, our teachers are the acted tutors. I think acted need to have emergency meetings with the profession to figure out exactly what's going on & completely update their provision on CA3 so they can get people passing this.

I've recently sat CA3 but even if I end up passing it this time, I will not have the same kind of feeling or celebration or pride at my hard work, as deep down none of this feels right, as it just feels like a lottery.

A figure of 60% has been quoted as a likely pass mark: well I had over 60% average in the presentation in its previous format years ago & ended up with an FB. They refused to disclose the marks to the written question. Surely it wasn't THAT bad? It doesn't add up.

 

Anyway to the original poster - get in touch with the student consultative forum. Express these concerns to them. You are not alone. We students are not at fault here.

 

I should say also, just in case people get the wrong idea about my motives, that up until CA3, I have found acted's educational materials and tutorials to be excellent.

 

Hi all

My case is very similar to that of Member:
- CA3 is the last exam to qualify (all other exams I did from the first sitting fairly quickly, for example, ST9 and ST5 in one session; with no exceptions)
- failed CA3 four times over three last years (last time with the mark of 62, pass mark was 65)
- bought two examiners reports (one report with a call with the examiners, which appeared to be totally useless).
- purchased and did ALL ActEd products (online classroom, all assignments + 3 mock exams, etc.)
- did almost all past papers (even those from 1990-s), read and analysed all of them many times
- total hours spent on this exam are many times more than on any other exam, including CA1
- non-native speaker and never have been working in an English speaking country

What else can I do to pass this exam? My imagination is completely exhausted to this point.

 

Hi Andy,

This is very similar to myself, though in addition I have:

-Read up on grammar to ensure I don't make any small mistakes
-Learnt how to give a good presentation through hand gestures, tone and pace of voice and body language
-Created video recordings so I can get colleagues, friends and family to comment on my presentations
-Bought a new HD webcam to enhance the quality of video and tone of voice
-I am a native English Speaker

Though I have still failed.

 

I did points 1-3 also, just decided not to include them

 

Well I am as stuck for suggestions to improve as you are...

 

I've just realised that the results for you were out yesterday. Only 296 passed out of 708. I feel very bad for everyone who failed. Chances are I'll be experiencing this when my results come out in 3 months.

At £435 each, they might have taken in up to 708*435 = £307,980

708-296 = 412 failed, so they could make a further 412*435 = £179,220 from their resit.

Add them up = £0.5m

There's no way that this exam cost anywhere near that to supply. Where does the money go? Certainly not on educating us on how to pass it.

I can only suggest people contact acted, student consultative forum and even the financial reporting council to politely express concerns about this assessment. Also Presidents@actuaries.org.uk

 

I don't find anything wrong with your English. I'd never tell it wasn't your first language. Besides, from the acted marking schedules only 5 marks out of 100 were for things like good English, spelling & grammar...

 

Would people be interested in forming a study group?

 

More like forming a petition to call for the exam education head of designing this to resign. That will draw some attention.
This is not just a joke to members, it shows to the whole world that the profession is completely now out of touch to the whole situation without any swift actions taken.
Remember that control cycle in CA1? I don't see the profession applying this concept well themselves.

 

Concerns about this exam have been communicated directly to them via the student consultative forum since June 2014 & matters have not been addressed. Hardly no point continuing that route. President & Chief executive of this profession need to be lobbied directly to urgently intervene personally to fix these problems before next year's exams.

 

Hi

I also failed the august sitting and that was my 6th attempt so not great
It s my last exam and finished all the others a year and half ago so really tired to hear that i m almost there

I m willing to try smth new for the next sitting which is in february so interested in your suggestion of forming a study group

Let me know what you have in mind

 

Given that everyone who's done this exam has a copy of their answers for Q1 & Q2 on word and powerpoint on their own computers, a copy of the exam paper on the IFoA website and their results too... then wouldn't it be interesting for people to upload (anonymously) all their submission somewhere (after the results!) together with grade awarded so that other students can at least get an idea of what has passed & what has failed? The IFoA have been requested in the student consultative forum to supply examples like this but I don't see this has been done. I guess this is a way we could compare our attempts and figure out what works and what does not. In writing this suggestion I presume no rules would be broken but if I'm wrong, please tell me and I'll withdraw this message.

 

Note 8 on the instructions page says "Once the exam is over all related material and notes made during the examination must be destroyed.", so looks like you shouldn't keep anything. That's how I read it anyway.

 

It would take a while to choose examples and I doubt they can do it, even anonymously without relevant candidates written consent. So it needs a rule change in exam procedure which won't be quick, if Council wants to go that route. That's why if in surveys for example if you give a testimonial there is usually a statement somewhere to ask whether you consent to its use or a warning of how it might be used. Variation of protecting intellectual property right and data protection I think - I'm no legal expert. Then there's the question of where to draw the line as by the very nature of communication, each effort is unique hence the caveats on model solution.

 

Not enough time huh? They've been asked for good and bad examples of CA3 since 7th November 2014:

SCF asked if it was possible for the IFoA to produce examples of good and bad presentations along with corresponding marking schedules. RJ (Robert Jelly - Head of Assessment and Learning) said that he would look into this.​