DFS/PEV & Other Exams this Week

Ok - there are hundreds of posts on these forums in which students are complaining about the exam content and also automatically assuming that they have failed. I'm hoping that this post will make you feel a little better within yourself and put a few minds at rest. I'm not an examiner nor am I a marker - I've done the AAT exams and went on to do further professional exams and therefore know exactly how the majority of you feel.<BR><BR>The AAT are not out to get you, nor contrary to a few posts are they out to "rip you off" by making you fail the exams in order to get more re-sit fees out of you. The AAT set their exams in accordance with the range statements they issue on the launch of any new standards. The AAT (as stated in Andrew Harrington's post) is not a qualification which is simply handed out to anyone. They expect you to be put under pressure as the profession as a whole is demanding. They will set technical questions in exams which are demanding and which will not only test your understanding but put you in a demanding situation as the profession genuinely is. This is not an attempt to get people to fail, therefore, getting more fees out of you - it is an attempt to put you in a technically demanding situation which you are likely to face in real life - and the questions will be set in accordance with the range statements with real life situations in mind.<BR><BR>Exams cannot be written which mirror others simply because to do this will discredit the status of the AAT. Many people (ignorantly) assume that the AAT is a "junior" qualification - this it certainly isn't - if you look at job advertisements there are countless numbers which demand AAT studiers/members - this is because of the status the AAT has. If the AAT base their exams on previous sittings or make their exams "predictable" - it will be classed as a junior qualification because the qualification will be as easy to get as buying a bottle of milk.<BR><BR>You are all students of the AAT - you are not trained or objective markers. Markers (I know this for a fact) will give credit on answers who bottom line is effectively totally incorrect. For example, in DFS if you feel that your cash flow statement went off on a tangent - you will still get marks for your approach, the presentation, the workings and credit just for attempting the question. You will not necessarily fail the question because you calculated figures incorrectly. If you calculate a figure incorrectly but then carry the same figure into another part of the question, you will not be penalised twice. Students who feel that their attempts at PEV/DFS and other exams have basically been fruitless - may well be in for a pleasant surprise on the 17 August.<BR><BR>During my days as a student, there were a lot of exams (certainly at AAT) where I was in the same position as yourselves and was convinced that I'd failed - only to receive my results to say I was successful. This goes to prove the point that nobody who has made an attempt at the paper can justifiably say they have failed. You have all worked hard - the stress levels are at a peak and fair enough you do feel disgruntled with the examiners, but don't also forget that there are thousands of other students around the world sitting the exams and a lot of these will not have necessarily worked as hard as you guys and this will be recognised by the AAT during the marking process.<BR><BR>I hope this has made a few of you feel a bit better about yourselves - the best advice you could take now is to forget the papers that you have sat - what can you do about them now? What good will comparing answers do apart from make a few of you feel even worse? Don't be despondent and don't forget after this week you've all got a ten week break till the results.<BR><BR>Good luck for the 17th August.