Reference
CAS Exam Analytics
How the CAS pathway actually behaves: which sittings graded far from their exam's norm, what candidates sit after each exam and how fast, and how many new ACAS and FCAS designations each New Member List brings. Built from official CAS statistics plus 28,568 passing-list records from the Spring 2017 through Summer 2025 window.
- Pass records
- 28,568Spring 2017 through Summer 2025
- Designation records
- 7,779May 2017 through May 2026
- Candidates observed
- 10,568by exact listed name
- Source documents
- 128official CAS PDFs parsed
Pass-rate history by exam
Raw pass rates for the CAS pathway exams, 2007 to 2026. Exams 1 and 2 are the jointly used prelims: the SOA administers them as Exam P and Exam FM, so they also appear on the SOA page. Figures for the CAS-administered exams come from the CAS's official exam statistics. Every card links to the full sitting-by-sitting page; the pass-rates hub covers all 74 tracked CAS and SOA exams.
Difficulty shock by sitting
Each sitting's pass rate compared to that exam's own long-run average, in standard deviations. CAS written-answer exams are famous for swingy results; strongly negative values are sittings that graded far below the exam's norm. Computed over stats-eligible sittings since 2011; micro-sittings under 200 candidates are excluded from the tables.
Toughest sittings vs the exam's own norm
| Exam | Sitting | Pass rate | Candidates | Shock z |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exam 8 | Fall 2011 | 22.2% | 418 | -2.66 |
| Exam 6-US | Fall 2011 | 19.4% | 1,002 | -2.62 |
| MAS-I | Fall 2018 | 30.6% | 846 | -2.12 |
| MAS-I | Spring 2019 | 31.1% | 948 | -2.05 |
| Exam 7 | Spring 2026 | 23.7% | 642 | -2.00 |
| Exam 5 | Spring 2011 | 27.3% | 653 | -1.43 |
| Exam 7 | Spring 2013 | 29.5% | 342 | -1.43 |
| Exam 6-US | Fall 2022 | 30.6% | 428 | -1.35 |
| Exam 6-US | Fall 2025 | 30.8% | 617 | -1.33 |
| Exam 9 | Spring 2011 | 37.0% | 958 | -1.30 |
Most generous sittings
| Exam | Sitting | Pass rate | Candidates | Shock z |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exam 9 | Spring 2024 | 74.5% | 506 | +2.49 |
| Exam 5 | Spring 2018 | 60.2% | 928 | +2.48 |
| Exam 6-US | Spring 2024 | 61.6% | 581 | +2.16 |
| Exam 5 | Fall 2020 | 55.8% | 929 | +1.96 |
| Exam 5 | Spring 2024 | 53.2% | 952 | +1.65 |
| MAS-II | Spring 2021 | 67.2% | 400 | +1.48 |
| Exam 8 | Fall 2023 | 48.2% | 875 | +1.41 |
| Exam 7 | Spring 2014 | 57.7% | 300 | +1.39 |
| Exam 8 | Fall 2014 | 48.0% | 729 | +1.38 |
| Exam 8 | Fall 2013 | 47.8% | 592 | +1.34 |
What candidates sit next
Directed transitions from each passed CAS exam to the same candidate's next observed CAS pass, from exact-name linkage across the Spring 2017 through Summer 2025 passing lists. Candidates already mid-pathway in 2017 appear from their first in-window pass onward, and passes on the joint SOA prelims are not visible here.
After MAS-I
4,157 observed next-exam transitions
| Next exam | Share | Median gap |
|---|---|---|
| MAS-II | 61.2% | 6 mo |
| Exam 5 | 32.5% | 12 mo |
| Exam 6-US | 3.7% | 12 mo |
| Exam 6-Canada | 1.0% | 12 mo |
| Exam 7 | 0.8% | 12 mo |
After MAS-II
2,034 observed next-exam transitions
| Next exam | Share | Median gap |
|---|---|---|
| Exam 5 | 71.5% | 6 mo |
| Exam 6-US | 17.2% | 6 mo |
| Exam 6-Canada | 3.9% | 12 mo |
| Exam 7 | 3.3% | 12 mo |
| Exam 8 | 1.6% | 6 mo |
After Exam 5
3,941 observed next-exam transitions
| Next exam | Share | Median gap |
|---|---|---|
| Exam 6-US | 60.2% | 12 mo |
| MAS-II | 11.8% | 6 mo |
| MAS-I | 10.6% | 12 mo |
| Exam 6-Canada | 10.4% | 12 mo |
| Exam 7 | 4.0% | 12 mo |
After Exam 6-US
2,091 observed next-exam transitions
| Next exam | Share | Median gap |
|---|---|---|
| Exam 7 | 53.7% | 12 mo |
| Exam 8 | 26.5% | 12 mo |
| Exam 9 | 7.2% | 12 mo |
| MAS-II | 5.9% | 6 mo |
| MAS-I | 3.7% | 12 mo |
| Next exam | Transitions | Median gap (months) |
|---|
Momentum after a pass
How quickly candidates who pass each CAS exam show up on another CAS passing list. Because the passing-name window is fixed, each within-N-months share only counts passes that still had N months of window left, so late-window passes cannot drag the rates down.
Full velocity table (10 exams)
| Exam | Passes | Next pass within 6 mo | 12 mo | 24 mo | Median months to next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAS-I | 5,842 | 35.5% | 57.6% | 77.0% | 12 |
| Exam 5 | 5,326 | 34.8% | 58.1% | 75.3% | 12 |
| Exam 6-US | 3,726 | 25.2% | 38.7% | 56.1% | 12 |
| MAS-II | 3,425 | 37.3% | 64.3% | 82.8% | 6 |
| Exam 7 | 3,212 | 40.6% | 57.6% | 74.8% | 6 |
| Exam 9 | 2,852 | 21.6% | 27.5% | 34.2% | 6 |
| Exam 8 | 2,644 | 44.4% | 56.7% | 70.1% | 6 |
| Exam 6-Canada | 832 | 29.9% | 47.3% | 64.2% | 12 |
| Exam S | 696 | 35.1% | 60.6% | 74.1% | 12 |
| Exam 6-International | 13 | 30.8% | 53.9% | 70.0% | 12 |
New ACAS and FCAS designations
Every name on the CAS New Member Lists, May 2017 through May 2026: 4,812 ACAS and 2,964 FCAS conferrals (plus 3 CERA, which the CAS awards rarely). Lists are published around each May and November meeting, and they continue even though passing-candidate names no longer do.
Recent New Member Lists
| List | ACAS | CERA | FCAS |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2026 | 372 | 0 | 102 |
| November 2025 | 307 | 0 | 234 |
| May 2025 | 413 | 0 | 80 |
| November 2024 | 336 | 0 | 305 |
| May 2024 | 289 | 0 | 114 |
| November 2023 | 247 | 0 | 255 |
Methodology, caveats, and opt-out
Pass-rate and difficulty figures come from the CAS's official Exams Results & Summary of Exam Statistics (2011 to present). Person-level metrics come from 110 official passing-candidate PDFs covering Spring 2017 through Summer 2025 plus 18 New Member Lists: 28,568 pass records and 7,779 designation records across 10,568 listed candidates.
The CAS stopped publishing passing-candidate names with Fall 2025, so the exam window above is fixed and will not grow. Transitions and velocity are computed inside that window only: candidates already mid-pathway in 2017 are seen from their first in-window pass, and the joint SOA-administered prelims are not visible. Records link by exact listed name with conservative middle-name matching, so shared names can merge and changed names can split. There is deliberately no exam-to-FCAS travel-time table here: in a closed window only the fastest journeys are observable, which would overstate everyone's pace. The Actuarial Name Lookup shows honest entry-cohort pace bands instead.
Looking for a specific record? Use the name lookup. If you appear on an official CAS list and want your name withheld from that tool, ask via the contact page; suppression hides a name from search without altering official sources or these aggregates. SOA analytics live on the SOA page.