Executive Takeaways
- The passing score is a scaled 450 on a 200–800 point scale.
- The exam consists of 150 multiple-choice questions delivered over 4 hours (240 minutes).
- Under the 2024 Job Practice, Domains 4 and 5 represent over half the exam (26% each = 52% total).
- Between 10 and 20 questions are experimental pre-test items that carry zero weight.
Core Practitioner Framework
The 2024 Domain Heavyweight Matrix
Prioritizing study hours where ISACA awards the majority of scaled points.
- 1Domain 4 (26%): Information Systems Operations and Business Resilience (BCP/DRP, incident management, cloud ops).
- 2Domain 5 (26%): Protection of Information Assets (IAM, cryptography, network security, physical security).
- 3Domains 1, 2, 3 (48% Combined): Audit Process (18%), IT Governance (18%), and Systems Acquisition & Development (12%).
The 2024 Job Practice Weight Shift
Candidates relying on outdated prep materials often study under the 2019 framework (21/16/18/20/25). Under the official 2024 Job Practice update, ISACA shifted significant weight into operational resilience and asset protection: Domain 1 (18%), Domain 2 (18%), Domain 3 (12%), Domain 4 (26%), and Domain 5 (26%). Over 52% of your exam now tests cybersecurity, cloud architecture, and disaster recovery.
Podcast Excerpt • Marcus & Ava
Marcus:Ava, in 2024 ISACA updated the CISA Job Practice, and a lot of candidates missed the memo on the domain weights.
Ava:It is a huge shift! Domain 4 (Business Resilience) and Domain 5 (Asset Protection) are now 26 percent each. That means more than half your entire exam score comes from just those two domains!
Marcus:Meanwhile, Domain 3 on system acquisition dropped down to 12 percent. If you master cloud security, incident response, BCP, and disaster recovery, you are already halfway to the 450 passing mark.
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