exactly, the way I think of it, assume all the questions you thought were hard or tricky you got wrong, so 10 wrong answers (per AM or PM). You still have an 11 question cushion and still pass. Multiply by two for the entire exam.
The CFAI uses the Modified Angoff method to score the exam. Google it and read up on the process. Theoretically, everyone could fail. Your score relative to others sitting for the same exam does NOT matter…period. Basically, a bunch of ‘experts’ in the profession sit down, go over the exam and determine…based on that specific exam/difficulty, what percentage of ‘just competent’ candidates should have correctly answered each question. They then use that to set the MPS, or the score that a barely qualified candidate should have to pass. CFAI takes that score into consideration, but ultimately it’s up to them if they want to tweak that score up or down for whatever reason.