Skip to content
Eighty Marks
Sign inTry free

Pass mark

CIMA case study pass mark: what 80 out of 150 means

The pass mark for every CIMA case study exam is a scaled score of 80 on a scale from 0 to 150. Here is how that score is reached, what it isn't, and a calculator to turn practice marks into our estimate.

Your result has three parts

  1. A grade: pass or fail. There is no merit or distinction for the case study exams.
  2. A scaled score from 0 to 150. 80 or more is a pass, at every level.
  3. Feedback for each core activity, saying whether you met the passing standard in it.

Why 80 isn't a percentage

Each exam has 100 raw marks. CIMA sets several versions (variants) of each exam in a window, and each candidate sits one of them. Because some variants are harder than others, CIMA converts raw marks to a scaled score, so that the same standard earns the same score whichever variant you sat.

That means 80 is not 80% and it is not 80 marks. CIMA doesn't publish the conversion, or the raw mark needed for 80, and it can differ from one variant to the next. A fixed raw pass mark quoted for the case study is a guess.

How the raw marks are given

  • The shape. Every case study lasts 3 hours. Operational: four 45-minute sections, worth 25, 25, 25, 25 raw marks; Management: four 45-minute sections, worth 25, 25, 25, 25 raw marks; Strategic: three 60-minute sections, worth 33, 34, 33 raw marks. You can move on from a section early, but you can't go back to it.
  • Sub-tasks. Each task is split into sub-tasks, and each sub-task shows a percentage. That percentage is its share of the task's time and, roughly, of its marks.
  • Traits and levels. Trained human markers split each sub-task into traits and place each trait at Level 1, 2 or 3 by best fit. A trait's marks are shared across the three levels, and a trait with nothing worth rewarding scores 0.
  • The four elements. A level is judged on technical understanding, communication, use of the information and application to the scenario. The wording for each level differs a little between Operational and the other two levels.
  • Marked positively. Markers reward what you show and don't take marks away for what you leave out. But an answer that doesn't address the task set earns nothing, however good it is.

Results by core activity, with no minimum in each

Every sub-task belongs to one core activity from CIMA's blueprint: 6 at Operational, 5 at Management, 5 at Strategic. Your feedback says, for each one, whether you met the passing standard.

You don't need to meet the standard in every core activity. The pass depends on your overall scaled score, so a strong showing in some areas can make up for a weaker one. The range printed beside each core activity on your results is its blueprint weighting, not your score.

Practice estimate calculator

Enter the raw marks from a marked practice mock, task by task, to see where they sit on Eighty Marks's practice scale out of 150. It uses the same conversion as the estimate on a mock marked in Eighty Marks.

This is our practice estimate, not CIMA's conversion, which CIMA sets for each exam and doesn't publish.

Your level
Raw marks for each task

From a marked practice mock: the raw marks you scored in each task.

Practice estimate

Enter a mark for every task to see the estimate.

A practice estimate, not a CIMA score. CIMA sets its own conversion from raw marks for each exam and doesn't publish it, so the same raw marks could give a different scaled score in the real exam.

What it means for your practice

  • Aim clear of the line in practice. The conversion moves from variant to variant, so a mock that only just reaches 80 is a borderline result.
  • Answer every sub-task. Each section locks, and marks you don't attempt can't be won back later in the exam.
  • Go deep on fewer points, applied to the company, rather than listing many. That is what moves a trait from Level 2 to Level 3.
  • Use your core activity feedback to choose what to practise next.

Our marks follow CIMA's published 2026–27 marking approach. They are a practice estimate to help you improve, not an official CIMA mark or a prediction of your result.

Sources

Written in our own words from CIMA's published materials for the 2026–27 exams:

How we write and check pages like this: our editorial policy.