PE scoring method 4

[CivilTyro]

Hello all,
Please help me understand the scoring method of PE exam. I am taking PE in April 2012. My buddies are telling me that in the Morning exam, I have to get at least 5-6 questions correct in every category. Is that really true? Do I have get 5-6 correct out of 8 questions in each field; Structural, Transportation, Construction, Geotech and Water Resources?
I am not concentrating on Structures thinking I will do well in the other four areas. Am I making a big mistake?
Also, Is the passing dependent on getting, for eaxample 65-70% correct out of 40 questions in AM and PM separately or 65-70% correct out of total 80 questions? Meaning Can I do bad in AM and do great in PM session and still pass the PE?
I could not find this information on web anywhere, so please kindly respond to my thread here. Thank you so much.

 

[BridgeEI]

Ncees.org and search under the PE exam for scoring. Only depends on total number correct/incorrect. Unless you're taking the SE then it's a whole different story.

 

[MiketheEngineer]

Do you believe in God?? IF you do - have you ever met him?? Didn't think so...

Kind of like the scoring!!

My guess is that it is a "floating" score. Say - everyone misses question #4 - then they may throw that out as being too ambiguous??

And re-score everything???

Since every question is fill in the little circle - why would would it take 6-8 weeks to get the results. Should be available in a matter of hours - not weeks!!

Go figure!!

 

[CivilTyro]

@MiketheEngineer,
It is almost impossible for everyone to miss one question. So, I don't think re-score everything is the option, there.
I think the link that BridgeEI mentioned says that there is no minimum qualifying in each section, which is what I was hoping to find out and was kinda relieved to know this information on NCEES website.
But, I understand your response, there is lot of ambiguity on scoring methods. My buddies keep telling me they failed multiple times because they thought they have to get, for example, 4 out of 8 questions right for each breadth section.
I asked them how they know that information, they say that it is implicit from the diagnostic report they got after they failed the PE for the first time. I think since they did poorly in some areas, they are thinking of this minmum correct reponses in each field. But agreed that they do not have proof on NCEES website or anywhere else for their mode of reasoning.
It would be nice to get some more responses from forum readers so people will obtain more knowledge on this issue.
Thanks.

 

[msquared48]

@ Mike:

My written answers were so brilliant and over the top, it took a team of 15 engineers fifteen weeks to get back to me.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

http://mmcengineering.tripod.com

 

[Erdbau]

CivilTyro, your friends are incorrect. The only number that matters is the total score. The NCEES sets a minimum passing score, and if you are at or above it, you pass. If you are below it, you fail. The black magic that NCEES doesn't reveal is exactly how they determine the minimum number. That number varies with each offering of the test. Apparently, they determine this number without knowledge of the test scores, i.e. the test is not scaled based on actual performance.

My source is the Civil Engineering Reference Manual by Michael Lindeburg. I have no idea whether it's true or not, but this text is a well respected book, and in my opinion, a must have for the exam.

Engineerboards.com is dedicated to topics such as this. I encourage you to visit the site. You will probably find answers to the many other questions you surely have about the test.

 

[civilman72]

CivilTyro - I think your strategy is a good one - concentrate on the four subjects you know best and flip a coin (make sure you bring your "lucky" one) on the structural part.

I agree with what everyone else has stated - overall score is all that matters.

On a side note: sounds like you shouldn't trust your "buddies," not only because of their lack of understanding of the test scores but also because of their lack of ability to pass the test. When you become a PE and they are working under you, I would definitely double-check ALL of their work!

 

[francesca]

I wouldn't take PE exam advice from people who have failed multiple times. Here was my strategy:
- Don't even crack a book on Structures
- Read the Lindeburg manual and summarize for all other chapters
- Work every problem I could find on Transportation & Water Resources

I did the AM in 2 hours, the PM in 3 hours and passed first time. Because I knew the Lindeburg manual so well I was able to flip through and find the answers to most of the structures stuff anyway - that is, those that weren't blindly obvious from the question itself (interpret graph, etc.).

IMO, the PE is a lot easier than the EIT.

 

[MiketheEngineer]

I stand by my opinion - WHY does it take 6-8 weeks to score "fill in the circle" tests??

Some guys have actually missed the cut off date to take the next exam because they didn't get the results of their tests soon enough!!

While I don't think the test is a joke - I think the people who run it are a JOKE!!

 

[charliealphabravo]

PPI2Pass.com used to publish a lot of scores on their website (raw scores I think). I don't know if they still do.

I recall that I was able to use the published scores to reverse engineer the approximate number of questions that I needed to answer correctly. I think I had to assume that 70% of the applicants would be passed.

 

[eea]

Mike, the PE exam used to have one of the two sessions handscored / long answer / show your written work. At least that is how it was for me back in the mid-90s. I recall mine in the AM and the guy next to me had the multiple choice. They reversed it in the afternoon. Look mom, no cheating. We also did NOT get to bring in any study books like Lindberg.

It was a good study guide, but I found that I really needed to know and quickly use the reference books I could bring into the exam. I index tabbed all of them to the type of problems that kept creeping up in Lindberg and tore through the PE exam pretty quickly too. Once you hit the final hour though, they made you stay in your seat so as not to disrupt anyone else. I forced myself to stay for the full eight ('er two-4s) and check everything.

At the end of the day, either you know it or you don't. You'll make it.

 

[MiketheEngineer]

Yes - when I took the PE and if I remember correctly - we had 4 problems out or 8 or 10 in the morning and same in the afternoon.

You got to pick your four and then long hand them out. Each was graded by real people. Say you made a simple math mistake - you wouldn't nicked too bad as long as you showed you knew how to do the problem - I think??

I found the PE test much easier than the EIT(FE) - circa 1985!!

 

[sodengineer]

Francesa and Mike-

I couldn't agree more. Getting the PE is like a series of succesively lower bars.
The first and most difficult is the four year degree. A very high bar to entry.

The next is the EIT. Difficult but not as difficult as the four year degree (if you paid attention and learned something.)

The next is the four years of experience. Much easier than the previous two steps-after all, I was getting paid to learn! This step is part of the education process, no less important than the four year degree. Learn all you can during this stage.

The last step of taking the PE exam is pretty straightforward if you have been paying attention the previous eight years.

 

[Ron]

Francesca and Mike...same here. Mike...my exam was like yours (1981). Choose 4 from 8, morning and afternoon. Hand checked/graded.

Each exam, whatever the format, goes through a series of validations. Ultimately, raw score means little. Each is scored differently depending on statistical validation of questions and answers.