Expected Release Dates
Headline updates for Fall 2026: interactive web applets that turn the densest syllabus papers into hands-on calculators — plus substantial additions and rewrites to the Brehm and Mildenhall & Major reading summaries and Excel supplements on Exam 9. Enrollment opens on or about June 1.
Key dates and costs
Enrollment opens
Fall 2026 Exam 8/9 Courses will open for enrollment on or about June 1, 2026 (depending on when CAS releases Spring 2026 exam results).
Early bird 🐦 Special
Each exam period, early enrollees (~1st month of course open) receive $100 off the regular cost of the course. (This is on top of the $50 Credit for existing CCE students, as applicable.)
Discounted enrollment ($100 off) for Fall 2026 exams will run for the first month of course open.
Course Cost
Course cost remains unchanged from 2024/2025/Spring 2026: $425 for Exam 8; $450 for Exam 9. For information on extensions/ previous student discounts, see the FAQ.
Overview of expected updates
Interactive Web Applets — stop running out of practice problems
Every CCE web applet is a full re-implementation of a syllabus paper — Bailey & Simon credibility, exposure curves, Coval, Panning, Risk measures, GLM diagnostics, and more. Change your inputs and the applet re-solves the problem end-to-end, showing the intermediate steps.
Translation: Turn each reading into thousands of worked examples. Verify your hand calculations, stress-test edge cases, sweep a parameter and watch the answer move. This is how you stop memorizing worked examples and start understanding the process.
Brehm and Mildenhall & Major — substantially expanded
Two of the most-tested Exam 9 readings received substantial additions and rewrites this cycle. Both the written reading summaries and the Excel supplements have been deepened to walk through the harder mechanics step by step, with new worked examples and clearer connections to the underlying theory.
Syllabus and course updates
- Reflect CAS syllabus updates -- Exam 8 has major changes (addition + removal of readings).
- Update practice exams for feedback and syllabus changes.
- For both Exams 8 and 9, release an additional practice exam by mid-September.
CCE Updates
- Interactive web applets for key syllabus papers — generate unlimited custom practice scenarios and see full calculation trails.
- Prior CAS Questions added to a searchable web applet for easier browsing across readings.
- We've re-added prior CAS questions to the Excel notebooks for each reading.
- Incorporation of feedback on existing exams and other course materials.
CCE Course Overview
This overview highlights the main course resources, practice tools, and materials available in the CCE CAS 8/9 Review Course.
Everything that comes with the course
CCE goes well beyond a question bank. For every reading on the syllabus you get video lectures, written summaries at two levels of depth, and downloadable Excel files packed with original practice questions and prior CAS questions. Sample materials are available on the CCE Online Course for logged-in users (no payment info required to browse).
Lecture Videos 🎥
Video lectures for every reading on the syllabus, walking through the source paper end-to-end with worked examples, intuition, and exam-focused commentary.
Detailed Reading Summaries 📖
Long-form written summaries that translate dense source papers into clear, exam-focused prose. The companion to the videos when you'd rather read than watch — and the deepest written reference in the course.
High-Level Summaries 🧠
Condensed PDF summaries of each reading — perfect for late-stage review and refreshing key concepts in the days before the exam.
Excel Practice Question Banks ✏️
Hundreds of original CCE practice questions across the syllabus, plus the relevant Prior CAS Questions for each reading, all in downloadable Excel format.
Crystal Clear Quick Check ✅
Short, focused conceptual quizzes woven throughout the course to keep your understanding sharp as you work through each reading.
FOUR Original Practice Exams 📝
Three full-length CCE Practice Exams available now in downloadable Excel format. A fourth completely new original practice exam is planned for release by mid-September.
Interactive Web Applets ✨
Interactive calculator applets that turn dense syllabus papers into hands-on tools. Each applet lets you vary every input and instantly see how the calculation flows through — so you can generate an unlimited number of practice scenarios from a single reading.
One paper → thousands of worked examples
Traditional study relies on a fixed pool of past-exam questions. CCE applets let you keep working the same methodology with new numbers every time. Change the default probability, the correlation, the credibility parameter, the tranche cutoff — and the applet re-solves the problem end-to-end, showing every intermediate value.
It's the difference between memorizing a handful of worked examples and actually understanding how the model behaves. Students can stress-test edge cases, verify their hand calculations, and explore "what-if" questions that no static question bank can answer.
Each applet exposes the full parameter set — change one input at a time to isolate its effect, or change many at once to build a custom scenario.
Calculations are verified against published reference values from the source papers, so the numbers you see are the numbers the examiners expect.
Intermediate tables, charts, and step-by-step breakdowns — see exactly where each number comes from, not just the final answer.
Try extreme values or random parameters, and watch how the output responds. This is how you start to understand the process, not just recite it.
Changes from Spring 2026 to Fall 2026
Use the toggle below to view exam-specific changes. Headline update this cycle: a growing suite of interactive web applets that let students generate unlimited custom practice scenarios from each key reading.
General CCE Changes
Applies to both Exam 8 and Exam 9.
- New interactive web applets for key exam topics — vary your inputs and instantly see the full calculation. Generate an unlimited number of fresh practice scenarios from a single reading.
- A new Prior CAS Questions web applet makes it easier to browse past exam questions across readings.
- Prior CAS Questions are also included in each lesson's Excel Supplement.
- All Reading Summaries and Excel Supplements refreshed for content and clarity.
- Existing original practice exams Apple, Orange, and Lemon are refreshed for feedback and will generally be longer than before, with minor wording updates.
- A fourth completely new original CCE Practice Exam is expected by mid-September.
Exam-Specific CCE Changes
Specific to Exam 9.
- Substantial additions and rewrites to the Mildenhall & Major and Brehm Reading Summaries and Excel Supplements — two of the most heavily tested Exam 9 readings. Both the written summaries and the Excel supplements have been deepened to walk through the harder mechanics step by step.
Exam-Specific CCE Changes
Specific to Exam 8.
- Course materials updated to reflect the CAS syllabus changes, which largely affect Exam 8 (additions and removals of readings — see the CAS Changes column for details).
- New applet coverage focused on Exam 8 readings such as Bailey & Simon, GLM diagnostics, and Bahnemann, in addition to the cross-exam applet rollout described at left.
CAS Changes
Specific to Exam 9.
Domain B
Task 3 adds “including the selection of interest rates” to the cash flow evaluation task. Task 5 is updated to emphasize decomposition of insurance profitability, including return on equity, margin on premium, and leverage.
Domain C
Task 1 is expanded to add “and sources” and includes examples such as informational asymmetries, competition, and potential financial distress.
Domain D
A new Task 1, “Describe the common process of ERM,” is added. The prior task numbering shifts accordingly. The operational risk task broadens to operational and strategic risks, and model selection is expanded to include evaluating correlations of risks. The domain grows from 6 tasks to 7.
Cummins Capital reference
The erratum added mid-term during the Spring 2026 sitting is now noted on the syllabus.
CAS Changes
Specific to Exam 8.
Domain A: Classification ratemaking
The task list is reorganized and expanded from 8 tasks to 9. Task 1 now emphasizes developing the components of a classification ratemaking model and interpreting the results. A new A6 task is added for calculating the loss cost of a class or group. The territorial stripping task broadens to include limits and to focus on controlling for and integrating rating factors.
Domain A: New reading
Chalk et al., From GLMs to Comprehensive Insurance Pricing: Techniques and Challenges (CAS Monograph #16, 1st edition), is added as a new reading covering tasks A7–A8.
Domain B
Task B2 is expanded to include variability and evaluating the reasonability of estimates. The NCCI Experience Rating Plan Manual and Retrospective Rating Plan Manual are dropped from the 2026 syllabus.
Updated editions
Goldburd et al. is updated to the 2025 edition, and Holmes & Casotto is updated to the 2025 revision including errata.
How to Use CCE on LearnWorlds
This page covers account access, navigation, notifications, and where to ask course-related questions.
Getting started
Sign in to the course
Use your LearnWorlds login credentials to access your purchased CCE course. Once inside, you can move through lessons, videos, quizzes, PDFs, and downloadable Excel materials.
Keep your notifications on
Default notification emails are typically sent when you enroll in a course, when someone mentions you in a discussion comment, when someone sends you a message, and when you complete the course.
Using the course player
Track completed content
The course player is used to access course content. Completed content is indicated by a green check mark.
Find downloadable 📎 files
When a lesson includes a downloadable file, usually an Excel file, you will see a paper clip to the left of the lesson. After clicking it, the download appears at the top of the main screen.
Ask course questions
Course questions can be posted in the lesson discussion area so you can keep questions close to the related material and see relevant responses in context.
Use the overview pages for policy details
For downloadability, course structure, and resource availability, use this guide together with the relevant course overview sections and FAQ page.
FAQ
Answers to some of our most frequently asked questions.
Latest info
Pricing and availability timelines
For the latest information about course cost and availability, see Release Dates.
How long does access last?
6 months from purchase.
Can I purchase exams, videos, or practice questions separately?
In our current platform, access is granted at the course level only.
Are the materials downloadable?
Yes, PDFs and Excels may be downloaded.
Renewals, extensions, and prior CCE students
Renewal policy
As of 2023, the renewal policy for courses purchased in or after 2023 is:
- First renewal: 6 month duration, available anytime, free.
- Otherwise, returning students are eligible for a $50 discount.
Prior CCE students
Prior CCE students who are not eligible for renewal can receive a $50 Crystal Clear Exams Comeback Credit coupon code using the Google Form here: CCECC Form.
Helpful Links
Use this page for official CAS links, exam-day logistics, prior materials, and post-exam resources.
Key exam links
Exam schedule
CAS announces the 2026 exam schedule
For the Fall 2026 sitting, Exams 8 and 9 are scheduled for October 19–27, 2026.
Exam 9 syllabus
Exam 8 syllabus
Pearson VUE exam info
Past syllabi
Past exams and pass marks
About Crystal Clear Exams
Our mission is to help actuarial students learn with clarity, confidence, and purpose — concept-driven study materials that make even the most advanced CAS topics approachable and engaging.
Our approach
Crystal Clear Exams was founded in 2018 to support candidates sitting for the CAS upper-level exams. The guiding belief behind every CCE resource is simple: students retain material longer, and perform better on exam day, when they understand why a method works — not just the mechanics of how to apply it. Every course reading, video, practice exam, Quick Check quiz, and interactive applet is built around that principle.
Concept-first learning 🧠
Topics are organized around the underlying intuition, so students build durable understanding rather than memorized formulas that fade after exam day.
Active practice 💪
Quick Check quizzes, four original practice exams, and the growing suite of interactive applets give students repeated opportunities to work with the material, not just read about it.
Syllabus-aligned ✅
Every release is refreshed to track the current CAS syllabus, so candidates spend their limited study hours on what is actually going to be tested in their sitting.
Meet the team
CCE is a small, focused team dedicated to helping candidates succeed on CAS Exams 8 and 9.
Crystal Garcia, FSA, FCAS
Crystal launched Crystal Clear Exams in 2018, the year after completing her FCAS. Her path into actuarial education runs through two disciplines: a B.A. in Mathematics from Johns Hopkins and an M.Ed. in Math Education from Harvard, followed by several years teaching high school math and tutoring students across a wide range of ages, from pre-K through GMAT prep.
She then transitioned into the actuarial field, beginning in retiree health consulting in New Jersey. After earning her FSA in 2015, she worked in predictive analytics, moved into P&C modeling, and today applies her experience in data science at an InsureTech firm alongside running CCE.
Through CCE she combines deep actuarial experience with a teacher's instinct for clear explanation, helping students build real conceptual understanding rather than procedural recall.
LinkedIn →Jaime Nieves
Jaime joined CCE in 2025 and is the point person for enrollment questions, renewal credits, Comeback Credit coupons, and day-to-day course logistics. If you have ever emailed admin@crystalclearexams.com, there is a good chance Jaime was on the other end.
Before actuarial education, he spent five years in student services at a Mid-Atlantic community college, where he developed a knack for turning "please help!" emails into clear, actionable next steps. He holds a B.A. in Business Administration and is fluent in English and Spanish.
Outside of work, Jaime is a lifelong salsa dancer, a long-suffering Mets fan, and an enthusiastic (if selectively skilled) home cook.
Anjali Patel
Anjali joined CCE in 2026 as Technology Coordinator and is the engineer behind much of the growing applet library — translating dense actuarial methodology into interactive, intuitive calculators that students can actually play with and learn from.
She holds an M.S. in Computer Science and also works at a full-stack engineer at an EdTech startup. She also keeps the LearnWorlds integration, the CCE website, and the back-end tooling running smoothly behind the scenes.
Outside of code, she is an avid rock climber, a sourdough baker with a mixed track record, and the proud curator of an ever-growing collection of mechanical keyboards.
Get in touch
Course & enrollment questions
For pricing, enrollment, renewals, or anything course-operational, email admin@crystalclearexams.com. Jaime handles most inbound email and will either answer directly or route the question to Crystal or Anjali.
Applets & technical issues
Spot a bug in one of the interactive applets, or have a suggestion for a new one? The About page on each applet explains how to send Anjali the input scenario so it can be reproduced and fixed.
Prior CAS Pass Marks & Rates
Select an exam to view prior sittings, pass marks, percentile summaries, volume trends, and pass-rate history.
Points by sitting
Percent of total points
Passmark table
| Sitting | Total Points | Pass Mark | 75th Percentile | 95th Percentile | Pass % | % for 75% | % for 95th |
|---|
Prior CAS Exam Pass Rates
Volume and pass-rate history for the selected exam. The bar chart uses the secondary (right) y-axis for the number of exams taken and passed, and the primary (left) y-axis for the raw and effective pass ratios.
Exams taken & passed per sitting
Raw & effective pass ratio
| Sitting | Exams Taken | Exams Passed | Raw Pass Ratio | Effective Pass Ratio |
|---|