Please enjoy this sponsored content from Gleim CPA Review.
Multiple-choice questions (MCQs) are a major component of the CPA Exam. Every section of the current version of the CPA Exam contains several dozen MCQs, which will retain their significance in the next version of the exam. However, CPA Exam multiple-choice questions will not retain their original numbers in the next version. Instead, the number of MCQs in each section will drop in order to accommodate the increased number of Task-Based Simulations (TBSs) that will be appearing on the CPA Exam in April 2017.
Even though the next version of the CPA Exam will feature fewer MCQs, candidates should continue to thoroughly prepare for them because missed CPA Exam multiple-choice questions will have a bigger impact on their score than ever before. Candidates taking the current CPA Exam need to be ready for the total volume of MCQs, while candidates taking the coming CPA Exam need to be ready for the shifted significance of MCQs. So no matter when you take the CPA Exam, you should know the following facts about CPA Exam multiple-choice questions.
The Structure of the CPA Exam Multiple-Choice Questions
Multiple-choice questions are extremely common testing devices, and they are also fairly self-explanatory. Multiple-choice questions include a question and several different answer options from which to choose. To complete the MCQs, candidates must read the question stem carefully, then select the best possible answer from the available options.
The multiple-choice questions for each exam section are served to candidates in three different testlets. The MCQs in these testlets consist of operational questions, which are scored, and pretest questions, which are not scored. Although some of the CPA Exam multiple-choice questions will not contribute to your overall score, you will not be able to distinguish between the operational and the pretest questions. Therefore, you should attempt to correctly answer all of the MCQs in every testlet.
As each exam section covers distinct content, the AICPA has delineated the topics the CPA Exam multiple-choice questions may address in the Content Specification Outlines (CSOs) and Skill Specification Outlines (SSOs). The CSOs/SSOs apply until the exam changes next year, at which point they will be replaced by the new CPA Exam blueprints.
The Number of CPA Exam Multiple-Choice Questions
On the current version of the CPA Exam, BEC and REG each have 72 MCQs with 60 operational questions and 12 pretest questions, while AUD and FAR each have 90 MCQs with 75 operational questions and 15 pretest questions. When the next version of the CPA Exam debuts in 2017, all of these numbers will adjust with the influx of TBSs, and candidates will see more variation among the MCQ amounts. The chart below presents the new figures.
Presently, the AUD, FAR, and REG MCQs have a scoring weight of 60%, while the BEC MCQs have a scoring weight of 85%. When the CPA Exam transitions, however, the scoring weight of the MCQs in all sections will decrease to 50%. While the lower numbers and scoring weights of the next version of CPA Exam multiple-choice questions may seem convenient, they actually afford exam candidates even less room for error on their MCQ performances. Since the purpose of the next version of the CPA Exam is to more accurately represent the duties and responsibilities of real CPAs, the changes will result in a more difficult exam, so you certainly won’t be able to slack off with the MCQs.
A Strategy for CPA Exam Multiple-Choice Questions
Candidates taking the CPA Exam before April 2017 need to build up their MCQ stamina, while candidates taking the CPA Exam after April 2017 need to develop their MCQ accuracy. In either case, you need to focus on the CPA Exam multiple-choice questions as much as ever, and the best way to do so is with the largest CPA test bank on the market. The Mega Test Bank of the Gleim CPA Review System provides you with plenty of practice questions to be prepared for the current and coming iterations of the CPA Exam. The MCQs in our Mega Test Bank authentically emulate the CPA Exam multiple-choice questions, so learn more about the Mega Test Bank today and use it to increase your competence with MCQs!
