Is ISC Graded on a Curve? CPA Exam Scoring in 2027
No. ISC uses the same passing standard as the other CPA Exam sections. You need a scaled score of 75, and your result does not depend on how other candidates did. What differs is how much the multiple-choice questions and simulations count.
AICPA scoring guidance and quarterly rates · Reviewed November 3, 2026
If the multiple-choice questions felt harder than your mock, wait for the official score before deciding on a retake. A practice test records how you did on its questions. AICPA accounts for the relative difficulty of the questions on your exam form. A count of flagged answers tells you where you hesitated, but it cannot reconstruct that calculation.
Why a higher ISC pass rate can coexist with a tough sitting
From Q1 to Q3, the share passing rose by 3.43 percentage points (70.22 − 66.79). That describes two groups of exam attempts. For your sitting, the passing standard is still 75 on the 0-99 scale. AICPA does not set aside a fixed number of passes for your testing window. Neither quarter supplies personal odds for a 2027 sitting.
What the 60/40 split means for your practice
Under the January 2027 Blueprint, ISC has 82 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and 6 task-based simulations (TBSs). AICPA combines the scaled results for those two formats. The chart above counts passing attempts. The grid below describes one exam. AICPA 2027 Blueprint, printed page 2
On a fresh practice question, explain why the closest wrong choice fails. If you only recognized the wording, try a different example of the same control.
A small number of simulations carries substantial weight. Practice matching each exhibit to a requested response and explaining the evidence for it.
Suppose you answered 8 of 10 fresh MCQs correctly. That is 8 ÷ 10 = 80% on this illustrative practice set. Multiplying 80% by the 60% MCQ weight would not give you official exam points. Instead, revisit the two misses in CPAPass and explain the decision each one required.
Can you apply the rule when the facts change?
Original ISC practice · least privilege
A reviewer needs to read a payroll exception report. Their role also lets them change an employee’s pay rate. Which addresses the excess access more directly: adding a second sign-in factor or changing the role permissions?
Check your reasoning
Change the role to allow reading the report and remove pay-rate editing. A second sign-in factor helps verify who is using the account. An authenticated reviewer would still have the unnecessary edit permission.
Change one fact. A payroll clerk must correct pay rates but has no responsibility for creating user accounts. Read-only access would block the assigned task. Grant the necessary pay-rate permission and withhold account creation.
Try the logical-access question in the free CPAPass ISC set. Before revealing each explanation, name the task and the minimum permission it requires.
If you missed the concept, start with a CPAPass lesson or video and use flashcards or a cheat sheet to revisit the distinction. If you knew the rule but missed the evidence, work a simulation before your next mock. CPAPass lists a five-day study and practice trial without a credit card. Ongoing simulation and mock access is available with the monthly or applicable section plan. CPAPass plan terms, checked November 3, 2026
The passing score, at a glance
Not percent correct.
The exam is not curved.
Read the current AICPA scoring guidance
How CPA Exam scoring works
Candidates receive different but equivalent exam forms. Scoring accounts for question difficulty; your result reflects your performance.
AICPA uses Item Response Theory. A practice percentage cannot be converted directly into an official score.
How AICPA makes exam forms comparable
MCQ and TBS weights by section
ISC is the exception: 60% MCQ / 40% TBS. Every other section is 50/50. Select a section to try its practice questions.
CPA Exam pass rates over time
Compare full-year 2024 and 2025 results with the January-to-June 2026 snapshot. The ISC chart above also includes the third quarter.
All bars use a 0-100% scale. Annual figures are published cumulative rates; 2026 covers Q1-Q2 only. These are section-attempt statistics, not your personal odds or a first-time pass rate. The current Core + Discipline format began in 2024.
Sources: 2024 national table via Montana Society of CPAs; 2025 and 2026 AICPA data.
More detail: CPA Exam pass-rate overview and 2026 quarterly detail.
Your score. Your next step.
Select your score range for a practical starting plan.
Close to 75? Find what is still breaking down.
A 74 is close on the score scale. It does not tell you how many more correct answers you needed.
- Diagnose
Compare your performance report with exam-day notes. Check for a content gap, rushed TBSs, or repeated misreads.
- Practice
Drill the weak skill with unfamiliar questions. If TBSs were weaker, work through exhibits under a timer. Keep mixed MCQs in rotation.
- Recheck
Try fresh mixed sets and a timed TBS. Look for the same mistake to stop recurring before you choose a retake date.
Try free practice questions with CPAPass and review the explanations to see what needs more work.
Start a mixed practice checkStrengthen weak topics, then mix them together.
Start with a broader diagnostic. Your score alone cannot distinguish concept gaps from timing or application problems.
- Diagnose
Sample each Blueprint area with fresh MCQs and a TBS. Log whether each miss came from the rule, its application, or time pressure.
- Practice
Prioritize the weakest areas. Review a lesson, explain the rule in your own words, then apply it to MCQs and a simulation.
- Recheck
Mix repaired topics with stronger areas under timed conditions. Revisit concepts that break when the facts change.
Try free practice questions with CPAPass and review the explanations to see what needs more work.
Start a mixed practice checkReset the study approach, one concept at a time.
Check broad understanding and exam completion first. A disrupted or unfinished attempt can also explain a low score.
- Diagnose
Review all Blueprint areas and note what you left unfinished. Identify prerequisites you cannot yet explain without notes.
- Practice
Work through a concept lesson and a worked example, then solve a small question set. Add TBSs early; build accuracy before speed.
- Recheck
Progress to unfamiliar mixed sets and timed testlets. Set the retake date around demonstrated improvement and your credit deadlines.
Try free practice questions with CPAPass and review the explanations to see what needs more work.
Start a mixed practice checkThis section is passed. Plan your next milestone.
Save your score notice and check your credit expiration dates. Move to your next section, or review your jurisdiction's licensing requirements if all four are complete.
Start a mixed practice checkUse your official exam score, not a practice percentage. These are CPAPass study suggestions, not AICPA score categories or a guarantee of passing.
Use your performance report to refine the plan
If available, your Candidate Performance Report compares you with candidates who scored 75-80. Its stronger, comparable, and weaker labels are relative categories, not percentages mastered.
Use the labels alongside fresh practice and exam-day notes. Open the Candidate Performance Report guide or the anonymous report interpreter.
Considering a score review? It checks the scoring process; score changes are uncommon. Check current NASBA score information.
Put your plan into practice with CPAPass
Try public CPA questions
Answer a fresh set, read the explanations, and identify the rule behind each mistake.
Try free questionsRequest the free MCQ bundle
Use an offline question sample to work through concepts and keep an error log.
Get the free bundlePlanning the next attempt? Use the retake guide, published score-release schedule, or score-release calculator.
CPA Exam scoring questions
- What score do you need to pass the CPA Exam?
- You need a reported score of 75 on the 0-99 scale for each section. A 75 is a passing scaled score, not proof that 75 percent of the questions were answered correctly.
- Is the CPA Exam curved?
- No. AICPA states that CPA Exam scores are not curved. Different forms are designed to be comparable, and question difficulty is accounted for during scoring.
- Are MCQs and TBSs weighted equally on every section?
- AUD, FAR, REG, BAR, and TCP are weighted 50 percent MCQ and 50 percent TBS. ISC is the exception at 60 percent MCQ and 40 percent TBS.
- Do pretest questions affect a CPA Exam score?
- No. AICPA says pretest MCQs and TBSs collect data for possible future use and are not included in the score calculation. Candidates cannot identify them, so every question should receive normal attention.
- Does a score of 74 mean one question short?
- No. A reported score is scaled and does not reveal the raw number of correct answers or the point effect of one question. Use an available Candidate Performance Report and your exam-day notes for diagnosis instead of converting 74 into a raw-question gap.
Make your next practice session count
Create a free CPAPass account to save results, review explanations, and keep working on the patterns you miss.
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