What actually gets tested
The XP instructor mapped every SOA question from Fall 2020 to Mar 2026 to its current-syllabus reading. This page turns that map into a heatmap, sets it beside the XP practice exams' coverage, and lists the readings that have never been tested.
SOA heatmap: readings × sittingsSource: "XP Past Relevant SOA Exam Questions 2020 to Spring 2026". Cells count question-part groups.
How to read it: darker means that reading drove more of the sitting's questions. A red outline marks readings new to the 2026–27 syllabus, which by definition have never been tested. Pre-2025 sittings are the SOA-curated subsets; "SDM" is the predecessor exam.
01234+new reading 2026–27
Patterns worth exploiting
- DMD shows up in every one of the 12 sittings (Ch 5, 7, 8 or 9). Simulation (Ch 5) and LP (Ch 7) dominate. Expect a full DMD question.
- ZBB (Budgeting Ch 30) is the most-tested Objective 2 reading, with multi-part questions in Mar 2026, SDM 2025, Fall 2023, Spring 2023 and Spring 2022.
- Damodaran control and synergy appear together regularly (Spring 2023 was a giant combined question). Always value control first, then synergy.
- Hitt Ch 6/7/9 (diversification, M&A, alliances) carried most of Nov 2025's strategy points. Hitt Ch 7 is in 4 of the 12 sittings, including both of the last two.
- Banks (Koller Ch 43) came back in Mar 2026 after Spring 2024. With the 8th-edition rewrite, it's a strong candidate again.
- Never tested on this list: Hitt Ch 4, Koller Ch 13, 107, 108, 109, 110 Hitchner, 111, 112, 113. Seven of those are new readings. Fall 2022 put heavy points on DICE, which had never been tested before, so don't skip these.
The CFE-FD exam also tested Damodaran Ch 15 (synergy)
Fall 2022 Q5(a)–(d) and Q9(a); Spring 2022 Q10(a); Fall 2020 Q1(b). The "Advanced synergy" extra in Practice Exams is one of these.
XP practice exams: what they coverCalculated from the practice-exam data, in points per reading
Use it to: see which readings the 5 XP practice exams lean on. A reading that is light in both maps is a blind spot to cover with the question banks.