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Capstone Preparation pays off for candidates

I have just received some feedback from the first cohort of Capstone preparation trainees and the preliminary indications are that over 60 percent of my trainees have passed the written part of their exams.

(Parts A, B and C)

This is very good news and represents a substantial improvement on the 14 percent passmark being reported for the Capstone overall.

I have another class this weekend on Saturday and Sunday and hope to get more improvement from my trainees.

I think it is fair to say that the standard of 65 percent passmark overall is a substantial improvement on the initial requirement of 65 percent in each module.

From what I have see the exam approximates what is expected of Accredited Specialists (I am an examiner of those candidates), but the Capstone has unique challenges for candidates by reason not only of complexity but the volume of material informing the questions.

This "problem" in the main can be addressed by good examination technique and the heartening pass rate amongst my trainees reflects their deep understanding of the issues as well as good exam technique.

Good luck to all candidates!

To book in to Capstone training this weekend at my office please click here: https://legaltrainingaustralia.com/capstone/

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  • Guest
    Electric Boogaloo Friday, 06 September 2019

    A good advertisement and a good outcome. Is it possible your actually teaching these people and not just taking money to lower the standard of industry we previously experienced? It seems to indicate perfectly that people previously comming out of uni and practicing immediately was a poor decision by MARA - thank goodness some of us had prior legal experience!

    A job very well done and thank you for helping save our industry!

  • Christopher Levingston
    Christopher Levingston Saturday, 07 September 2019

    Thank you for the commentary.
    The Capstone is an attempt, albeit a bit late to ensure that graduates of the various entry level courses can perform in the real world.
    The difficulty that i can see with the Capstone is that it is simply an examination and not a course and a pity pricey one at that. It is expensive and the Capstone indicative materials do not accurately reflect what the exam is going to look like. For the money being charged there should be at least 1 week of practical training ( 5 days) in support of the candidates, delivered by the examiners, so that the high failure rate can be properly addressed.
    The high initial failure rate is indicative of a number of factors which i think that can be summarised as follows: first there is a real failure to harmonise the entry level courses with the practical exigencies of practice: second the relevant "standard" sought to be imposed is unrealistically high and reflects, in my opinion a deep misunderstanding of how "immigration assistance" is actually delivered. Third, the timing of the Capstone is at the wrong end of the transaction of registration. In my opinion the Capstone ought to be at the end of the first year of registration after candidates have successfully completed the entry level course. In order it should be, entry level course first, then PRP followed by the Capstone so that the candidates, after 12 months of supervised practice then do the Capstone. This gives candidates time to hone their practical skills so that the capstone can "test" the application of theoretical knowledge into a framework of skills expressed in the provision of "immigration assistance".

  • Guest
    RPams Monday, 23 September 2019

    Any way for this review to be delivered online or even as a training manual? I live in Central Queensland and need all the help I can get to pass the Capstone.

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