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Practice for the CAIA® exams should match the response the exam asks you to produce. Selection-style questions test whether you can identify the best answer under time pressure; the Level II written element also asks you to explain or calculate without an answer list doing the prompting. Work from the current CAIA curriculum, practise retrieval in both forms where relevant, and review the reason for each mistake rather than counting completed questions.
Start with what CAIA Association actually publishes
A CAIA Association format graphic linked from its live exam guidance shows two sections. It identifies 100 multiple-choice questions in each Level I section. For Level II, it shows 100 multiple-choice questions in the first section and three sets of constructed-response questions in the second. These are the published response types that drive the practice split below. Because other CAIA guidance displays different section timing, use the handbook for your own sitting before turning a graphic into an exact minute-by-minute schedule.
The CAIA Association candidate FAQ confirms that Level II includes essays and that exam content comes directly from the curriculum readings. The association’s curriculum and study tools page says the official digital curriculum is updated annually and that editions apply only to exams in their calendar year. Its linked exam handbooks are the place to check the precise structure for your own sitting. Format details from an old handbook should not silently become rules for a later cycle.
CAIA’s current study-tools page also describes sample exams as previews of format and pacing, with access stated as forthcoming in November when the page was checked on 20 October 2026. That date matters to a planning decision: if the official sample is not yet available, do not build a plan around having already completed it. Use the curriculum’s learning objectives in the meantime, and revisit the official page when the sample is released. A sample is a practice instrument, not a promise about which exact topics or questions will appear.
Train the decision, not just the recognition
For a selection question, write a short justification for the option you choose before checking the key. Also state the specific condition that would make a close alternative plausible. This protects against a common error: remembering a term and selecting the first option that contains it. The correct choice may hinge on a qualifier such as excess versus total return, gross versus net cash flow, or a constraint that changes the otherwise standard model. The explanation, not the letter selected, reveals whether you recognised that qualifier.
After marking, sort the miss by cause. Was the concept unknown? Was the formula known but the input units wrong? Did you overlook a negative sign or a word that narrowed the scope? Did you run out of time and guess without eliminating an implausible option? These causes call for different repairs. Return to the relevant current-year curriculum passage for a knowledge gap; redo the arithmetic for a calculation error; underline decision words in the stem when misreading is the pattern. A single “wrong” bucket is too coarse to guide the next session.
Timed blocks are useful once accuracy is reasonably stable. Begin with a small set and record both the answer and the time spent. A fast wrong response may indicate shallow recognition; a slow correct response may indicate that recall is not yet fluent. Neither timing pattern is fixed by indiscriminately doing more questions. Explain the rule in your own words, practise a comparable invented example, and then try a fresh item without referring to notes. This sequence tests transfer rather than memory of a specific answer.
Level II requires an additional output skill
For candidates using the remote proctored route, CAIA Association guidance describes timed sections and says a section cannot be revisited once its time expires. That changes the rehearsal: practise closing a block when the timer ends and record which decisions you postponed too long. This is a conditional point about remote delivery, not a claim that every test-centre rule is identical. Confirm the current handbook for your booking before setting exact pacing targets.
Because the CAIA Association identifies an essay component at Level II, a candidate cannot rely only on selecting from displayed alternatives. Practise moving from a command word to a concise answer. “Calculate” needs the relevant inputs, a method and a labelled result. “Explain” needs a causal link. “Evaluate” needs a judgement tied to stated conditions, often including a limitation. These are practice templates, not claims about how any particular official item is scored. Always follow the instructions in the current handbook and the wording of the item you actually face.
An effective drill starts with a blank page or document. Read a learning objective from the current curriculum, hide the explanation, and write the smallest complete response that would show the mechanism. Compare your answer with the official material after committing to it. If the result is incomplete, identify the missing step: definition, direction of effect, assumption, numerical unit or conclusion. Rewrite once from memory. Copying a polished answer into notes gives an attractive page but little evidence of independent recall.
For a calculation, display enough working to expose the method, then attach the correct unit to the final value. In private practice, calculate an invented case and change one assumption to see whether the direction of change makes sense. For a verbal response, avoid a long introduction. Lead with the conclusion, state the decisive reason, and add a boundary condition where the result could reverse. This reduces the risk of using all the available time on background material while leaving the asked judgement unstated.
A worked practice scenario
Suppose an illustrative curriculum objective asks you to distinguish two ways a private asset value might be measured. This is a practice scenario invented for this article, not a real CAIA question. First create a selection drill: present yourself with several plausible valuation descriptions and decide which one fits a stated data limitation. Then create a written drill: without looking at options, explain why the chosen method fits, what input it relies on and what uncertainty remains. Both drills cover the same concept, but the written version exposes whether you can supply the reasoning yourself.
Next, review the result. If you selected the correct description but could not say why it fits, the answer list probably carried part of the reasoning for you. If the written explanation was sound but the selection drill failed, inspect the distractor that pulled you away and note its exact condition. If both failed, return to the curriculum rather than rehearsing the same invented prompt repeatedly. The purpose of the scenario is to diagnose the skill gap, not to mimic confidential examination content.
Build a practice sequence around the current curriculum
CAIA’s curriculum overview explains that a new edition is released for the next calendar year and lists the topics for that year. Use the edition for your actual exam cycle. Start each topic with the learning objective and a plain-language explanation. Follow with untimed application, then timed selection practice. For Level II, add concise written retrieval on objectives that call for explanation or evaluation. End by revisiting errors after a delay. This sequence gradually removes prompts while keeping the official curriculum as the factual anchor.
Keep the error record compact: topic, what the task asked, your failure mode and the next drill. A line such as “confused total and excess return; rewrite the derivation from a blank page” is actionable. A line such as “review portfolio theory” is too broad. Periodically select unresolved entries and retest them cold. A reduction in repeated mistakes is more informative than a large question count, because it shows that feedback changed the next response.
The CAIA program page can help you situate topics within a study plan, and Omni’s methodology describes the approach to practice. Before relying on any format detail, open the official handbook for your sitting through CAIA Association’s current resources. Then allocate practice to the responses it actually requires. A disciplined plan combines curriculum accuracy, justified choices and, for Level II, a habit of producing a clear answer when the options are gone.
Sources
- Frequently Asked Questions | CAIA Association · caia.org · Retrieved
- Curriculum and Study Tools | CAIA Association · caia.org · Retrieved
- Explore the Curriculum | CAIA Association · caia.org · Retrieved
- Optimizing Your Remote Proctored Experience | CAIA Association · caia.org · Retrieved
- Breakdown of Exam Format graphic | CAIA Association · caia.org · Retrieved
