APMACCA APM September 2020 Exam Results – Instant Poll and Comments

they post the examiners report which tells you almost everything you need to know. itll be posted in some days.

Exactly. How could someone have deleted such an important mail. I don't agree with him. He might have seen a mail and didn't read it, then deleted it. He must have assumed it was the congrats mail. Acca can't really lie about the genuity and accuracy of the mail sent. He should be able to sue them to court.

jamakhalif wrote:Failed with 47 on third attempt! Last time was 47. I’m actually hysterically laughing cause I don’t know what else to do to pass this paper! ACCA should be lenient with these strategic option papers and not fail people who are close to the pass mark!

Do you think you got the 4 professional marks, it could be as simple as making an extra effort to get those in the next sitting. I find the ACCA exams tend to come down to what topics they choose to include in the exam. I'm pretty weak at BSC and the 7S model but I knew a resit wouldn't be too much of a worry if some of my stronger subjects come up.

I feel exactly the same, ACCA is not very transparent as it does not allow students to see their paper, also it does not provide the answers to the exam questions instantly after exams but after few months so students are already forgetting what the questions were, and they do not provide answers to all questions even... I also have 2 exams left, I was sure I am going to pass the APM and I failed - considering the admin review but probably it is pointless. I do not understand what I did wrong on the exam and that makes me feel frustrated. I guess that is what ACCA wants us to feel - so we pay for the recommended by the institution classes and materials. That also does not seem to be very ethical as ACCA recommends study service providers, and then we need to take an obligatory survey and tell them how we studied, which service provider did we use... That would be ok if it would be anonymous and maybe after the exam results are reviled, not before, that simply is not right.

Pass rates are out: https://www.accaglobal.com/us/en/news/2020/october/Septexams_2020.html APM up 1% compared to March.

I've already requested an admin review - not because I expect my mark to change, but rather to hopefully get some clarity on what went wrong. I did most past exams & all practice questions from the revision kit, reviewed all technical articles and the examiners' approach, anything I could possibly think of that could've been useful. For the first time I managed to complete the whole exam, so really disappointed to see I have failed. I guess the first fail is the hardest to take but still not sure what I can change in my approach to ensure a pass next time. I guess to an extent this is a matter of luck and provided all the time and efforts spent, right now it seems unfair...

do admin reviews work? iam very confident that i shudve passed. i got a score of 48. should i send for a review?

jbrodowy wrote:I feel exactly the same, ACCA is not very transparent as it does not allow students to see their paper, also it does not provide the answers to the exam questions instantly after exams but after few months so students are already forgetting what the questions were, and they do not provide answers to all questions even… I also have 2 exams left, I was sure I am going to pass the APM and I failed – considering the admin review but probably it is pointless. I do not understand what I did wrong on the exam and that makes me feel frustrated.<br> I guess that is what ACCA wants us to feel – so we pay for the recommended by the institution classes and materials. That also does not seem to be very ethical as ACCA recommends study service providers, and then we need to take an obligatory survey and tell them how we studied, which service provider did we use… That would be ok if it would be anonymous and maybe after the exam results are reviled, not before, that simply is not right.

I completely agree with that. I don't understand what their excuse could be for not returning our marked papers now that the exams have moved to CBE. Surely the markers have a platform where they grade it on and they could simply send this to us with our results? Would really help a lot of people to see where exactly they went wrong.

I don't think it'll change my result and from what I've read it never does. I just hope they will provide me with some guidance on where I went wrong, as I don't want to believe that passing this exam should be a matter of luck.

Very sorry to all who missed a pass marginally (45-49%) It is evident you know the content well enough or so and therefore an improvement in exam technique will finally land you a pass. Learn the way the examiner sets the question scenarios and match with answer structure. You will see a common pattern. Then practice under exam condition. While going through these, ensure you limit your answers to a PERT(Point, Explain, Relate and Time) framework. To me I would first mention a point straight away to make it easy for markers to do their job. Always determine how much you have to write for each part by calculating how many points you have to write. For example, for a 10 marks question I would divide by 2 to get 5 points and an extra 1 point depending on the requirement(s). If you are asked to identify and discuss, then you know there are points for BOTH requirements and so your answer must address both. I know this works because i failed twice before (41% and 47%) until I worked through the above, and through it religiously. I finally passed now with 54%. Read through other advices and you will surely find a prep structure and plan that suits you best. The best time to retake it is this December! So GOODLUCK.

When the paper and model answers are published check what approach you took to answering compared to the model paper. You may have misread a question. Keep going don't stop it's worth it in the end.

Exam technique may be the answer.

Great advice

Passed first time with 56%

Failed; but I knew that half way through the paper when I spent too much time on calculations. I then had to rush, so timing let me down.

Looks like I am not alone with this issue. @Nadia I completely understand your feeling, I am in the same situation as you. APM was my first fail and I was gutted. I have always outperformed in all the other papers. May I ask, when you get the review back from the appeal, can you please share a post here in the APM Forum so students like us can understand what we lack. I understand we need to upgrade our techniques and I did it this time. I just can't understand what I did wrong.

1st sit 47%, this time 41%, was gutted, will i get marks for each answer if an admin review is requested ? im thinking it will greatly help to address the weaknesses.

I failed on my 6th attempt. I have used various study providers. I write better answers now as know the syllabus inside out. I practised all past exam papers and don't understand what I am doing wrong as I am following the markers advise. I had a good feeling in September that I finally nailed it and now revceived the worst result of 35, shocked and gutted. Sometimes I feel that markers don't even read the answers. Also noted that when I write "self study" on a survey before printing the exam docket, I always fail.

herbertchan wrote:1st sit 47%, this time 41%, was gutted, will i get marks for each answer if an admin review is requested ? im thinking it will greatly help to address the weaknesses.

You can find the details for the admin review here: https://www.accaglobal.com/gb/en/student/exam-entry-and-administration/exam-results/admin-reviews.html "For Strategic Professional exams, we will issue an outcome via email which will also include a Pass or Fail status for each complete question attempted in your examination;"

I failed APM on my first attempt with 48. I am wondering why the pass rates for ACCA papers are stagnant. Is it that ACCA decides on the number of students that should pass? I feel like sitting an ACCA exam is like playing lotto. If the pass rates for some papers continue to be so low, why ACCA is not reviewing their strategy? I don't think so many students are so dunce. ACCA , while maintaining a high bar and standard should also set exams so students can actually pass and not fail. The paper is way too lengthy for the time allotted.

It took me the whole day to absorb that I’ve actually failed this paper with 47% after my 6th attempt. I have done so well in my last two sittings (both failed with 47%) having drastically improved my exam technique and timing. Moreover,I know the whole syllabus in and out, and I actually find the syllabus interesting. As result, I have requested an administrative review to have an idea on where did I go wrong. Meanwhile, I’ll be looking at ATX and AFM as alternative options. Would love to hear your recommendations on which subject should I consider taking in December.

I failed APM with 40% first attempt. I really don't understand why. All the topics I revised were present in the exam but I still failed (even-though I felt the question were really kind). I used the Kaplan revision kit and did 6 past papers. In my personal opinion ACCA is about making money from students exam sittings even-though they advise on their website they want students to pass. It looks suspicious that the pass rate be averaging around 32 - 35 % in the past 3 - 4 years. It looks like the exams and the marking process are engineered to keep the pass rate at this level so the ACCA qualification is perceived difficult and valuable to employers. Without knowing where I went wrong I can only conclude passing the exam is like a lottery. I don't hope for a short-cut with ACCA and I am willing to work but it seems students who failed are kept blindfolded and do not know where to improve.

Susan wrote:I failed APM on my first attempt with 48. I am wondering why the pass rates for ACCA papers are stagnant. Is it that ACCA decides on the number of students that should pass? I feel like sitting an ACCA exam is like playing lotto. If the pass rates for some papers continue to be so low, why ACCA is not reviewing their strategy? I don’t think so many students are so dunce. ACCA , while maintaining a high bar and standard should also set exams so students can actually pass and not fail. The paper is way too lengthy for the time allotted.

It always puzzles me too why these pass rates are stagnant. Surely something is wrong somewhere and it requires urgent attention.

leilagelman wrote:I failed on my 6th attempt. I have used various study providers. I write better answers now as know the syllabus inside out. I practised all past exam papers and don’t understand what I am doing wrong as I am following the markers advise. I had a good feeling in September that I finally nailed it and now revceived the worst result of 35, shocked and gutted. Sometimes I feel that markers don’t even read the answers. Also noted that when I write “self study” on a survey before printing the exam docket, I always fail.

That is something worth noting, I always why that information is vital when downloading exam docket.

I would say enjoy you are one of the lucky ones. I did exactly the same, was particularly happy with Q1, then had enough time for both Q2 and Q3 and still ended up with 47 - so I do hope one day ACCA will make the marking process more transparent and allow candidates to actually see how they got their result.

Passed APM on 5th attempt. After 20 years since first registration, counting 7 years break. My first registration with ACCA was in 2000. Thanks to COVID my SBR exam did not expire in June. Otherwise I would already have given up. Thanks to introduction of CBE examination I was able to generate enough text to pass. With my handwriting I would never pass APM. I was very lucky this time!

Guys, we need someone to help us understand HOW TO SOLVE THE PAPER. This is the biggest issue we face, we are not approaching the paper right. What do you guys think we should do? Should we have our own Zoom classes? Is there anyone who could help us students understand the paper and how to attempt it successfully?

Only advice Prepare previous papers, Watch webinars of Rizwan Maniya. All the best!!! First attempt :52 not great but enough for me.

Failed on my first attempt.. 47%... i also not sure where did i do wrong which i thought i was going to pass.. Thinking of sitting for the December paper because my brain is still fresh with the knowledge..

Finally passed the exam at my seventh attempt with 55 marks. That was my last exam and I received a congratulations email last Friday. My first strategic paper expires in December 2020 and I had a good luck to take the last opportunity after the cancellation of June exam session. Don't give up, even though to subjectivity of this exam. Stick only to giving spesific answers relating to the scenario.