WSET Diploma: Just How Hard Is It? Part 2: Just O.K. is … Terrific!
“So, Distinction on D3 Theory really exists only in theory, and Merits are few and far between (~7%). That means you’re taking a test where you must get a score of 55 to pass, but 65 (Merit) takes a miracle, and 75 (Distinction) doesn’t seem to exist in nature. ”
Remember the AT&T commercial where a guy is in the hospital about to have an operation? He asks the nurse about the surgeon, and she responds with something like, “He’s, uh, … O.K.” AT&T then goes on to tell you that “Just O.K. is not O.K.”
What’s true for wireless and appendectomies may not apply equally well to the WSET Diploma. Just O.K., in the form of a Pass on any exam — and especially on the 50% of the course packed into Unit D3, the “Wines of the World” — is a cause for great celebration.
That’s because it doesn’t happen as often as you might imagine. If you look at the results from the last 21 D3 theory exams, they handed out failing grades to most of the students 17 times.
WSET has just started listing how many candidates got the various grade levels of Distinction, Merit, Pass, etc. Out of nearly 1000 candidates taking the D3 theory exam over three separate administrations, what percentage got Distinction? Zero Percent!
So, Distinction on D3 Theory really exists only in theory, and Merits are few and far between (~7%). That means you’re taking a test where you must get a score of 55 to pass, but 65 (Merit) takes a miracle, and 75 (Distinction) doesn’t seem to exist in nature.
If 70 (the middle of the Merit range) is, practically speaking, the maximum achievable score, then you have to get nearly 80% of all the points you could possibly get just to pass. Sounds like a lot to me.
In my view, these results suggest that WSET needs to do something about either the testing or the teaching, or both.
Diploma candidates are a really dedicated and knowledgeable group. My global “graduation class” included winemakers, wine directors at famous restaurants, and wine educators — even a Master Sommelier. Plus a bunch of enthusiasts whose advanced degrees in medicine, law, science, etc., point to people who know how to study and take tests.
How is it that nobody ever aces the D3 theory exam? More on that in the next post.
For now, perhaps the best approach is to aim for what you think should be Distinction, which is probably what it takes to Pass. Then celebrate the Pass because passing is a big distinction.
As the guy at the wine school (or what WSET calls an “APP”) said when he reported my somewhat disappointing results for the Sparkling unit — on which I was hoping for Merit or Distinction — “You got a Pass on both Theory and Tasting…. Keep up the good work!”
So, just O.K is O.K. for APPs, no matter what AT&T has to say.
Don Drakeman, DipWSET