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CFA Level II retake plan

Did not pass this time? Read your score report the way CFA Institute explains it, see what changed for your next sitting, and get a plan that starts with your weakest topics. Your answers stay in your browser: nothing you enter in the planner is sent to us.

How to read your score report

Page 1, your score. Your result is a scale score set against the minimum passing score (MPS: 2600 for Level II). The shaded box around your score is its confidence interval. If that box touches or crosses the passing line, CFA Institute reads your result as close. If the whole box sits below the line, it advises substantial work before you sit again. Judge the box, not the score line: a score very near the passing line can look as if it touches it only because of how the chart is drawn.

Page 2, your topics. Each topic shows the share of its points you earned, with its own shaded range and two reference lines at 50% and 70%. There is no pass mark per topic: strong topics can make up for weak ones. CFA Institute reads a topic whose shaded range sits entirely below 50% as needing substantial work, and one between 50% and 70% as needing steady study; this planner simplifies that to where the bar sits. It also suggests aiming for 70% or more on practice questions.

Source: CFA Institute, Understanding your exam results, which applies the same reading to every level. EduFite is not affiliated with CFA Institute.

What changed for May 2027

The 2027 Level II topic outline covers the 2027 exams, the first in May 2027. Three topics have new names, and Ethics is set out one Standard at a time.

New names: Corporate Issuers is now Corporate Finance; Equity Valuation is now Equities; Portfolio Management is now Portfolio Construction.

Your report, in four answers

1. On page 1, did the shaded box around your score touch the passing score line?
2. On page 2, where was each topic's bar?

Your plan

Answer the first question when you have your report open; the plan below already works from your topics.

Start here

  1. Financial Statement Analysis

    Start with a short set of questions to see where you stand, then treat it by what you find.

  2. Equities (was Equity Valuation)

    Start with a short set of questions to see where you stand, then treat it by what you find.

  3. Fixed Income

    Start with a short set of questions to see where you stand, then treat it by what you find.

  4. Portfolio Construction (was Portfolio Management)

    Start with a short set of questions to see where you stand, then treat it by what you find.

  5. Ethics (Ethical and Professional Standards on your report)

    Start with a short set of questions to see where you stand, then treat it by what you find.

  6. Quantitative Methods

    Start with a short set of questions to see where you stand, then treat it by what you find.

  7. Economics

    Start with a short set of questions to see where you stand, then treat it by what you find.

  8. Corporate Finance (was Corporate Issuers)

    Start with a short set of questions to see where you stand, then treat it by what you find.

  9. Derivatives and Risk Management (Derivatives on your report)

    Start with a short set of questions to see where you stand, then treat it by what you find.

  10. Alternative Investments

    Start with a short set of questions to see where you stand, then treat it by what you find.

Your next step

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Questions candidates ask after a fail

I failed CFA Level II. Should I retake in the next window or wait?

Look at the shaded box on page 1 first. If it touched the passing line, the next window is often realistic with focused practice on your weakest topics. If it sat well below the line, count the hours you can really give before each window and pick the one that lets you work through your weak topics properly. The planner above does that count for you.

What does the shaded box on my CFA score report mean?

It is the confidence interval around your score: the range your result would probably fall in on another version of the exam on the same day. CFA Institute uses it to tell a near miss from a larger gap.

Is there a pass mark for each topic?

No. The pass or fail decision uses your total scale score, so a strong topic can make up for a weak one. The 50% and 70% lines on page 2 are guides to where you need the most work.

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