I think the issue with 7-9 is that the CAS is starting to see the FCAS credential as something prestigious that should only be awarded to people who are great critical thinkers with a really solid work ethic. It seems to be moving more and more away from whether you are a qualified actuary. People who are very good at critical thinking on the fly probably make better actuaries on average (not in every case obviously), so I see why the CAS is going with this approach. At the end of the day if the point of the exam 7 is to show familiarity with different reserving methods and that you can apply them in straightforward ways, then I agree the exam is too difficult. If the goal is to hold up the FCAS credential to be a gold star that shows you’re good at critical thinking and have a great work ethic, then I think the exams aren’t doing a poor job.
I do absolutely agree in any case though that the exams have been too long historically. The move to the spreadsheet format is definitely a step in the right direction. When I sat for both 7 and 9 I finished each with around an hour remaining because of the format, I definitely would’ve been pressed for time if they were written. I think a good solution would be to leave the exam length/difficulty as is and increase the allotted time to 5 or 6 hours.
Yes, I used TIA for 9 as well. I haven’t touched the source for any exams other than P and FM.