A criterion-referenced passing standard is determined on the initial test form using a process known as the modified Angoff technique, in which a panel of content experts estimate the difficulty of each question in relation to the minimally qualified candidate. This method uses the average of these ratings across the panel of experts, after significant discussion and multiple rounds of ratings to achieve consensus, to ultimately derive the minimum raw passing standard.
Following the determination of the passing standard on the initial test form, the number of questions candidates need to answer correctly to pass all other test forms is determined through a statistical process known as equating. This statistical process evaluates each question on the test forms and determines if an adjustment to the passing standard is needed due to the differential difficulty of the questions making up the test form.
Scores for the AWS Certification exams are reported as scaled scores, rather than the raw number of questions scored correct. Scaled scores allow for consistent interpretation of scores across multiple exam forms. AWS uses multiple exam forms to replace questions as needed and to preserve the security of the exams. As the separate exam forms may vary slightly in difficulty due to the fact they consist of different questions, the forms are statistically equated to ensure all candidates are held to the same standard of competency. For example, correctly answering seven out of 10 easy questions does not indicate the same level of knowledge as correctly answering seven out of 10 difficult questions. The equated score is then converted to a scale score (in much the same way you can convert between scales such as Fahrenheit and Celsius) for presentation to the candidate. This ensures that two scores have the same interpretation regardless of the form the candidate took.
The passing standard is represented by a scaled score of 700 for Foundational-level exams, 720 for Associate-level exams, and 750 for Professional-level and Specialty exams.