Answers to Your Last-Minute CMA Exam Questions + Expert Advice for Boosting Your Score
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Stressing out about the upcoming CMA exam? Have questions about what the exam is like? How it’s scored? What can you bring on exam day?
We’ve got the answers to all your burning questions—plus great advice from BYU professor Steven Smith, Ph.D., CMA, to help you prepare.
Frequently Asked Questions & UWorld Expert Answers
- Multiple-choice questions are worth about 75% of the score, and the essays are worth about 25%.
- That is a good question, but it is hard to put a number to because it varies greatly depending on your learning style and familiarity with the content. We suggest figuring out what you already know and then determining how much time you need to finish mastering the rest of the material.
- Yes. You take all of it in one sitting. The first three hours are MCQ, and the last hour is essays. If you finish MCQs early, you get that extra time for essays.
- No. You do not lose points for incorrect answers.
- When I took the exam, I moved on to the next part. It helps to keep the momentum going and just keep pushing forward.
- We try to replicate them the best we can in both content and difficulty levels.
- No. You cannot go back once you leave the MCQ part of the exam.
- There are specific calculators that you can bring to the exam.
- Exam results will be emailed and posted to your online profile approximately six weeks after the end of the month in which you take the exam.
- Yes. Each question is equally weighted.
- It is taken at a Prometric Testing Center.
- There is no word limit on essays.
- Yes. You can only proceed if you get at least 50% of the MCQs.
- Essays are graded on the amount of correct information given on each question. Adding as much information as possible is always good, as you will never receive negative marks for your answers.
- You will need to know all the different formulas.
- I would take them separately. Study for one and take it, and then study for the next one and take it.
- Both parts of the CMA exam are offered via Prometric testing centers during the following months:
- Winter: January-February
- Spring: May/June
- Fall: September/October
Testing windows begin on the first day of the opening month (i.e., January 1) and conclude on the last day of the closing month (i.e., February 28).
- The total points are 500, so the total points for the MCQ are 375, and 125 for the essay portion.
- There is no spreadsheet-type tool in the test—only a basic calculator.
- Here is a great blog post with tips for taking the exam, including the essay part.
- The CMA Candidate Handbook gives details on canceling or moving your exam.
- There are annual changes to the exam. Here are the most recent changes to the CMA exam.
- If you purchase our bundled package, UWorld CMA Elite Unlimited Review Course, you will receive our guarantee of free electronic updates and use of the materials until you pass the exam.
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