Busted! CFA® Police Catch "cheater" During Exam

Saw this article on dealbreaker this morning (all credit goes to Bess Levin):

"CFA® Police: 'The Candidate Was Moving His Hat And Hands Around Using What Appeared To Be Signals'"

http://dealbreaker.com/2012/07/cfa® -police-the-candidate-was-moving-his-hat-and-hands-around-using-what-appeared-to-be-signals

"Tuesday, at approximately 10:30AM, scores of financial services employees breathed a collective sigh of relief. Relief that months of studying had paid off in the form of a passing score on the Level I and II CFA® exams. Relief that, even though months of studying had been a total waste of time with nothing to show for it, they could get on with their lives and stop wondering. One guy was less lucky. He’s in a CFA® holding cell right now pending an investigation, thanks to some supposedly suspect fidgeting and a couple proctors with itchy trigger fingers, possibly hoping to impress their superiors."

CFA® Special Investigator - Exam Matters "Johnathan M. MacKesson" is leading the investigation and reviewing the "CFA® Suspected Cheating Report". Read the full report in the article.

Having never taken the CFA® , is supervision during the exam really this strict? I find this whole ordeal to be quite humorous.

22 Comments
 

Yes. I had a plastic bag under my seat to bring in my materials (basically just pencils, erasors, calculator are allowed) and this broad accosted me like she had found some sort of weapon on an airplane. They do not mess around.

I was taught that the human brain was the crowning glory of evolution so far, but I think it's a very poor scheme for survival.
 
Tolland15Yes. I had a plastic bag under my seat to bring in my materials (basically just pencils, erasors, calculator are allowed) and this broad accosted me like she had found some sort of weapon on an airplane. They do not mess around.

kudos for using "broad" and "accosted" in the same sentence. LOL.

Money Never Sleeps? More like Money Never SUCKS amirite?!?!?!?
 

Yea, the CFA takes itself way too seriously. Like, they check my eraser and inside of the of my calculator to see if there's writing on it. How can anyone write enough on a eraser to benefit them on a 6 hour exam?! I can go on.

 
MoneyballCFA takes itself way too seriously
Funny, because a lot of people don't BWAHAHAHAHAHA

Testing in general is getting strict. I sat for a licensing exam last week and there was a camera on every person there. The walls were glass, so I could see myself being watched by someone in the room next door as I took the exam. They really don't mess around.

Just curious though: who wears a hat to an exam?

Get busy living
 
sayandarulashouldn't be a problem if you're not cheating...
Eh, not sure if I agree. If I am afraid to scratch my face because someone might confuse that for me sending signals to someone else a la a third base coach, it could make the testing environment awful, especially for 5 or 6 hours.
If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
 
happypantsmcgee
sayandarulashouldn't be a problem if you're not cheating...
Eh, not sure if I agree. If I am afraid to scratch my face because someone might confuse that for me sending signals to someone else a la a third base coach, it could make the testing environment awful, especially for 5 or 6 hours.
Agreed. I have a pretty annoying habit to tap my feet or my fingers just whenever, especially when I'm trying to think. Not to mention I'll stare into open space if I'm trying to think sometimes. I've never had any serious problems because most proctors at college/ACT/HS don't really care that much. But if they are holding this guy cause he was fidgeting with his hat then I bet they would think I'm using morse code or something.
 
happypantsmcgee
sayandarulashouldn't be a problem if you're not cheating...
Eh, not sure if I agree. If I am afraid to scratch my face because someone might confuse that for me sending signals to someone else a la a third base coach, it could make the testing environment awful, especially for 5 or 6 hours.

i see where you're coming from. when i was taking level 1, i got bitched at because my test ticket that we were required to have was too close to my booklet, rather than on the top edge of my desk.

Money Never Sleeps? More like Money Never SUCKS amirite?!?!?!?
 

seems suspicious, should be investigated. normal course of action, as mentioned earlier, if not cheating, i wouldn't be worried.

If the glove don't fit, you must acquit!
 

That's why you study your ass off, finish the exam early, and go home and have some good lovin' with your woman afterwards. No one will think you're cheating then.

Baby you're the perfect shape, baby you're the perfect weight. Treat me like my birthday, I want it this way and I want it that way. It makes a man feel good baby.
 
kingtutWhat's always amazed me about the process is that it is so incredibly strict within the confines of the testing room, but I could read the entire CFAI curriculum in a bathroom stall if I wanted to do so.
Perfect analogy for real life vs working in NYC, it's a bug jar
Get busy living
 

Pretty sure they had a dude standing in the bathroom when I went to take a piss. It made me uncomfortable so the piss refused to come out. They also wouldn't let me leave my hood up which pissed me off. Both understandable measures, but c'mon now.

GBS
 
Best Response
GoldmanBallSachsPretty sure they had a dude standing in the bathroom when I went to take a piss. It made me uncomfortable so the piss refused to come out. They also wouldn't let me leave my hood up which pissed me off. Both understandable measures, but c'mon now.

I've always taken the exams in Atlanta. Inevitably, I end up taking a leak midway through one of the sessions. The Atlanta test center has just one proctor standing outside. The bathroom has stalls so it would be extremely easy to flip through the secret sauce book while you did your "business". If the proctor actually walks through to check whether people are taking dumps then that's a new level I don't want to even think about.

Just thinking out loud, but that would be a pretty easy way to gain a few points. Bottom line though, if you have to resort to cheating in the bathroom there's a 99% chance you're going to fail anyway which is the beauty of the exam.

 

"It could have been just a nervous tic but it was almost constant and was very repetitive."

They are going to feel like the biggest dicks in the world if this guy has tourette's...

 
A2Allegiance"It could have been just a nervous tic but it was almost constant and was very repetitive."

They are going to feel like the biggest dicks in the world if this guy has tourette's...

LOL yeah. If it was repetitive....how is it a signal? Proctors not be smart?
Get busy living
 

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