1. Question Number and Section
Indicates which question you are answering and the section of the exam you currently have on screen.

2. Time Remaining
Displays the time you have remaining in the current section. Clicking it will display the total exam time remaining.

3. Progress
Tracks the percentage of questions complete in the current section.

4. Finish
Don’t click this button until you have responded to or flagged all of the CBQs. Clicking it will take
you to a review showing questions unanswered or flagged, and from there you can move on to the voluntary survey section of the exam.

5. Navigation Menu
A visual representation of where you are on the current section of the exam. You may use this menu to quickly move between questions. The numbered buttons change appearance according to their status (see below for more details).

6. Question
Displays the content of the current question.

7. CBQ Scenario
Displays a new screen with all of the information you will need to answer the questions. It will
open as a PDF.

8. Time Value Tables
This gives you access to Time Value Tables for questions that require them. It will open as a PDF.

9. Calculator
A basic tool for simple computations. It is similar to calculators used in common software programs.

10. Answer Options
Where you select the correct answer(s) out of the option(s) provided.

11. Preferences
The gear icon leads to a preference menu filled with options for adjusting the text and background colors of the exam screens. If you experience discomfort or difficulty reading the
exam screens due to the default color scheme, this menu is helpful for finding a more visually
accessible palette.

12. Section Review
The grid icon opens a menu where you can review your unattempted, attempted, and flagged questions.

13. Flag
Mark a question for later review.

14. Back
Move to the previous question.

15. Next
Move to the following question.

Work through the MCQ parts systematically
Start the process of answering by reading the actual question, which is usually the last sentence of the stem. Use the question to determine what amount of information in the stem is important and what is non-essential. Write down the important information so it is easier to separate it from everything else in the stem.

Apply your exam time-management strategy when you answer practice MCQs
If you allot 1.5 minutes per question to complete all 100 MCQs on each exam part, you’ll have 30 minutes that you can either spend reviewing your MCQ answers or carry over into the case-based question portion of the exam. On the exam, you should use as much of this time to review as you need and then move on to the CBQs. During your study sessions, you should practice answering each MCQ in 1.5 minutes.

Learn from your mistakes
You need to answer a lot of practice questions to prepare for the 200 total multiple-choice questions on the CMA exam, and each question you get wrong gives you the opportunity to avoid making the same mistake when it counts. You learn more from your mistakes than you do from getting everything right, so you should review answer explanations as you complete practice questions. Whether you answered correctly or incorrectly, review the answer explanations for all of the answers. The detailed answer explanations included in Gleim CMA Review will help you understand why the original answer you chose is wrong and why the correct answer indicated is right.

Focus on what the question is asking
Read the question stem first, then go back and read the rest of the information provided to pull out what is needed. Don’t focus on all of the data that a question may provide until after you have determined what the actual question is. This will help you filter out misleading information and save you valuable test-taking time.

Be on the lookout for questions that ask for an exception. These questions will usually use words such as not, except, false, least, etc. These words will usually be bold on the CMA exam, but do not assume they all will be.

Predict the answer
Right after you’ve read the question, your mind will be the most focused. Make a prediction about what the right answer should be before you read the answer choices. Once you have an answer in mind, scan the answer options to see if your answer is present. Even if your predicted answer is present, it’s a good idea to read the other options to ensure none of them are better.

Read all of the answer choices carefully
Sometimes a question will have multiple answers that could be argued to be correct. Remember, you’re always looking for the answer choice that best answers the question.

In addition, sometimes reading the answer choices can clue you into what the question is asking. If all of the answer choices seem wrong based on your understanding of the question, you should probably reread the question to make sure you’re not missing something.

Watch for qualifying words like “always” or “never.” These words leave no room for exceptions and can often make an otherwise good answer incorrect because exceptions usually exist.

Answer every question on your first pass
You don’t lose points for answering questions wrong on the CMA exam, so never leave any question blank. Even if you don’t know the answer, select one of the possible answers. This will at least give you a 25% chance of answering correctly, and if you’re able to first eliminate two answer choices through educated guessing, you can increase your odds to 50%.

If you don’t know the answer, use your educated guessing skills and mark the question to review later. If you have time remaining in your 3 hours, you can go back and review questions you’ve marked to see whether you’re able to determine the answer. If you still aren’t sure, stick with your first choice and don’t spend a lot of time worrying about it.

Don’t be afraid of making an educated guess
The CMA exam covers a large amount of information, and even a well-prepared CMA candidate is likely to encounter some questions they don’t know the answer to. In these cases, an educated guess can make all the difference.

Follow these steps to improve your educated guessing technique:

• Rule out answers you think are incorrect right away. Many questions, including calculation questions, will have one or two answers that are easy to eliminate if you’re familiar with the material.
• Ask yourself whether one of the remaining answers more completely addresses the question than the others. You can usually narrow it down to two choices. Pick the best one of the two.
• Once you’ve narrowed your options down, trust your instincts. Unless you realize you read the question incorrectly or made a calculation error, your gut is usually correct. Talking yourself out of a correct answer is a common reason for selecting the wrong answer, so select the one that makes the most sense and move on. Use that time you would have spent deliberating where it can make a difference.

 Skim the CBQ scenario before you read the questions.
By skimming the scenario, you’ll have context to help you understand the questions. Then you can read the questions to determine which areas of the scenario need your focus (this will help you avoid extraneous information).

Read the requirements for each question carefully.
Focusing on the question requirements will allow you to easily identify the most relevant information in the scenario.

 Answer the easiest questions first.
Within any CBQ scenario, some questions will be easier than others. Getting a few easy questions solved before you tackle a tougher one can help you build your confidence.

 Answer every question.
Do not agonize over any one question or scenario. You will be able to return to questions previously answered and move between scenarios as time permits. If needed, you can always flag questions and go back and add something or check your work if you have extra time.

 Follow a time management system.
Time is valuable, and you’ll need the entire hour to answer all of the questions in each CBQ. The number of questions per scenario will vary, as well as how much total time you have to spend (based on when you completed your multiple-choice section). You will have 60 minutes in total, so practice allocating 30 minutes per scenario and then dividing that time evenly between questions.

Many candidates will find the case-based questions more difficult than MCQs because they test your ability to take your knowledge of the concepts and apply it to real-world scenarios. 

We provide free CMA exam practice questions for both Part 1 and Part 2. Sign up or log into your Gleim account to try these questions. When you’re ready to start studying, choose our CMA Review Course to get thousands of practice questions. 

On CMA exam day, you’ll have 4 hours to complete the exam. There are 3 hours for the multiple-choice questions and 1 hour for the case-based questions. If you finish your MCQs early, you’re allowed to carry over any time remaining to the CBQs.