CMA Part 2 Results Showed as Passing and Failed
I pulled up my IMA profile yesterday (12/12/24)to review the results of my CMA (part 2) exam and saw a message stating I passed the CMA certification on my profile page. I was excited and awaited the email to see what my passing exam score was. Later in the day, the IMA sent an email stating the exam results were available with a link to log in to view the results. They changed the way results are communicated. In the past exam results were in the body of the email and now require candidates to log into their site to see results. This change resulted in thousands of people attempting to log in at the same time, and the IMA was not prepared for the change they implemented. The site had difficulty loading that morning. Once the website loading issue was resolved, I was able to access the page with the exam score and it showed a failing score, even though the landing page of my profile stated I passed the exam with a note at the bottom that stated “don’t forget to submit your education and work experience requirements”. When logged into the site again today (12/13/24), the same “You passed the CMA exam” was listed on my profile.
It is my understanding that I am not the only person that logged in to see they passed the exam on one page and showed a score below 360 on another. I have sent an email to IMA support and a number of IMA employees; however, I do not have confidence I will receive a response, and more importantly, any help in resolving this issue as the last time I reached out to support in understanding my exam results, I received a canned message (which ended with “contact IMA at anytime”) and none of my follow up questions/messages received a response. I was ignored! I need to understand if the site showed I passed when I initially logged into my profile, why does the page with the exam score that loaded later in the day show a low grade? Was my grade edited later in the day to a failing score? My profile must have been updated with a passing score for me to see that I passed initially. The IMA charges $495 to take each part of the CMA exam but does not assist candidates who are merely attempting to understand how their exam was graded. Per their 990, their 2023 revenue was nearly $21 million.
They do not provide specific feedback on exams to help candidates understand where to focus if they do not pass. What percentage of the multiple-choice questions (MCQ) were correct should be easily shared as it is calculating as the exam is being taken. Candidate must get at lease 50% of the MCQs correct to advance to the essay portion of the exam. The obscure grading system in which someone can get less than 50% of the MCQs correctly, which results in not answering any essay questions, can achieve a score of 300, but someone who gets past the MCQ (got at least 50% correct) and completes the entire essay section receives a score of 320 seems flawed.
I have searched the internet to find out if there were more people that experienced the same issues. Lack of communication when trying to understand exam results or being told they passed then later that they failed and have to fork up another $495 to retake the exam. Outside of posts on the IMA site, which are tagged with identifying information, nothing exists. I find it hard to believe in this day and age where people run to sites like Facebook, the BBB, etc. to air grievances, there are little to no reviews of the IMA. And if there are reviews, they are only positive. Additionally, when I searched IMA and their Facebook thumbnail shows up it shows they have 1,000 reviews, but when I go to the Facebook page none of those reviews are visible.
I am still looking or answers on the results I received in July as well as the results I received yesterday (12/12/24).