Exam 3F/MFE Pass Mark - Effective 2008 - Pass Marks for Joint CAS/CIA/SOA Multiple-Choice Exams

Sep 27, 2026

Pass marks for the actuarial multiple-choice Exam 3F/MFE are described, including confidentiality policy changes effective 2008 and the plan to publish pass marks from November 2007 onward. The document explains how pass marks are reported as percentages, how computer-based testing and multiple exam forms affect passing-score ranges, and how 0-10 grades map from raw scores. It also provides a table of historical pass marks and passing counts, plus methodology under item response theory.

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What Is The Pass Mark?

Multiple-Choice Examination Pass Marks To Be Released

A Word About the 0-10 Grades

Exam 3F/MFE Pass Mark

Canadian Institute of Actuaries Casualty Actuarial Society Society of Actuaries Pass Mark for Exam 3F/MFE Pass Marks on Joint CAS/CIA/SOA Multiple-Choice Exams By Brett Rogers, SOA Registrar and Director of Exam Analysis Effective in 2008, Exam 3F/MFE is jointly administered by the Casualty Actuarial Society and the Society of Actuaries and is cosponsored by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. What Is The Pass Mark? One of the most frequently asked questions about the multiple-choice actuarial examinations is,“What was the pass mark for the exam?” In other words,“How many questions did I need to answer correctly on the exam to pass?” In the few weeks that follow the release of grades (on the familiar 0-10 scale), this question is asked repeatedly of the SOA Education and Examination staff by various interested parties such as exam candidates, employers, and others who are just plain curious. Until now, everyone has gotten the same answer: Pass marks for all SOA examinations (including those jointly sponsored with the CAS) are confidential. However, that is now changing. Multiple-Choice Examination Pass Marks To Be Released The CAS Board of Directors and SOA Board of Governors both passed resolutions in June 2007 requiring that pass marks be released for all multiple-choice examinations beginning with those tobe given in November 2007. The grades for those exams, using the familiar 0-10 scoring system, will be released to candidates in January 2008. The multiple-choice exam pass marks will be published on the SOA and CAS Web sites as percentages, rounded up if necessary to the nearest whole percent. Exam P/1 is administered via computer-based testing. As such, multiple forms of the exam are given and the number of correct answers needed to pass may differ from one candidate to another. For this exam, information about the range of passing scores will be provided. A Word About the 0-10 Grades The 0-10 grading scale, with scores of 6 and greater being passing grades, will continue to be used on all SOA exams. Raw scores are converted to 0-10 scores using increments of 10 percent of the pass mark. For example: • A grade of 6 represents raw scores of at least 100 percent, but less than 110 percent of the pass mark. • A grade of 5 represents raw scores of at least 90 percent but less than 100 percent of the pass mark. • A grade of 0 represents raw scores that are less than 50 percent of the pass mark. • A grade of 10 represents raw scores ofat least 140 percent of the pass mark. When setting the pass marks for the actuarial exams (multiple-choice or written-answer), the examination committees have one goal in mind: separating candidates who have demonstrated adequate knowledge of the material – and therefore deserve to pass – from those who have not demonstrated such knowledge. Scores are only meant to give candidates a relative idea of how close or far away they were from passing or failing and are not factored in when pass mark discussions are held. Consequently, on rare occasions there have been exams on which achieving a grade of 10 was not possible – even for a perfect paper. For example, let’s say the pass mark was 22 for a 30-question exam. One would have to achieve a score of 30.8 (140 percent of 22) to score a 10. Therefore, a grade of 9 would be the highest possible score by candidates on this exam. Exam 3F/MFE Pass Mark | Exam | Pass Mark* | Number of
Exams | Effective
Number of
Exams | Number
Passing | Percent
Passing | Percent
Effective
Passing | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | November 2013 | 72% | 2303 | 2057 | 972 | 42.2 | 47.3 | | July 2013 | 72% | 2857 | 2575 | 1414 | 49.5 | 54.9 | | March 2013 | 72% | 2676 | 2450 | 1289 | 48.2 | 52.6 | | November 2012 | 72% | 2393 | 2129 | 1033 | 43.2 | 48.5 | | August 2012 | 72% | 2267 | 2061 | 1094 | 48.3 | 53.1 | | April 2012 | 76% | 2834 | 2551 | 1363 | 48.1 | 53.4 | | November 2011 | 72% | 3353 | 2991

FAQs

Why were Exam 3F/MFE multiple-choice pass marks kept confidential, and what changed?

Previously, pass marks for all SOA examinations (including jointly sponsored exams) were confidential. Resolutions required release of pass marks beginning with multiple-choice exams given from November 2007, with published grades to candidates in January 2008.

How are pass marks published for multiple-choice exams?

They are published on the SOA and CAS websites as percentages, rounded up to the nearest whole percent. Under computer-based testing, multiple forms are used, so the needed correct answers to pass may vary by candidate.

How does the 0-10 grading scale relate to the pass mark?

Scores are converted to 0-10 using increments of 10 percent of the pass mark. A grade of 6 means at least 100% but less than 110% of the pass mark; a grade of 5 means 90% to under 100%; a grade of 0 means below 50%; and a grade of 10 means at least 140% of the pass mark.

Sep 27, 2026

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