Its unnerving to see a crop of people who failed when they thought they were prepared, left the testing center feeling they passed (I think this is never a good sign), getting 85% or better on the prep materials, and yet get knocked to the sidewalk with a failing grade.  How can some one getting 85% on study material fail this test?

I know I've read several times that there is no grading curve on these tests, but I'm not sure I beleive that any more.  I wonder if THEY close the flood gates on the number of CPA's entering the market via these tests. 

What do you think?

i doubt there is a quota.

I do believe that the performance of other candidates in the testing window has a huge effect on your score. Questions that other candidates consistently get wrong will add more to your score if you get them right.

When i read about people walking out of the exam feeling great and then receiving a failing score, it is both disheartening and confusing. I can only assume that those people routinely picked the "trick" answer in the mcq section OR when doing the practice mcqs they memorized answers and not principles.