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1
- #1
ICman
Industrial
- Feb 28, 2003
- 165
As a member of a National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) exam board, I learned a lot about the requirements to become a Professional Engineer or Land Surveyor. Basically, the individual certification Boards are charged with assuring that the individuals certified as PE/PLS are competent. The Boards accomplish this thru a detailed professional background check (history), setting minimum educational and/or experience requirements, and thru testing.
Every Board relies on the NCEES to produce and grade the Fundamentals (EIT) Exam and (most of) the PE/PLS exams. These exams are written by national committees and the same exam is given on the same day to all applicants. In other words, every person taking the Chemical Engineering exam is taking the same test, on the same day, at the same time of day (respective to time zones). The completed exams are sent to the NCEES for grading.
I found that the grading process is very fair, and is designed to separate those candidates that are competent to practice engineering or land surveying from those that are not.
Echoing this objective, Albert J Hebrank, Jr., PLS, stated in an article appearing in the Spring 2003 Washington Board Journal, ". . . the successful candidate must demonstrate minimum competence to provide proper surveys on his own to his own clients."
Looking at the passing rates on exams, and trying to compare them to other exams (in other disciplines or years) is not practical. For instance, only 20% may pass the Mechanical exam, while 80% pass the Electrical exam. Perhaps 60% passed the Mechanical exam the previous year. It depends on the pool of examinees. Therefore, each test is graded uniquely each time it is given. Some questions may be used repeatedly over the years, which tend to level out passing rates. All questions are constantly reviewed for their applicability to determine minimum competence.
So, if you are trying to obtain your PE or PLS, there is no one "against" you. To protect our society, we just want competent people doing the design and survey work.
... Stephen T. Lange, P.E.
Every Board relies on the NCEES to produce and grade the Fundamentals (EIT) Exam and (most of) the PE/PLS exams. These exams are written by national committees and the same exam is given on the same day to all applicants. In other words, every person taking the Chemical Engineering exam is taking the same test, on the same day, at the same time of day (respective to time zones). The completed exams are sent to the NCEES for grading.
I found that the grading process is very fair, and is designed to separate those candidates that are competent to practice engineering or land surveying from those that are not.
Echoing this objective, Albert J Hebrank, Jr., PLS, stated in an article appearing in the Spring 2003 Washington Board Journal, ". . . the successful candidate must demonstrate minimum competence to provide proper surveys on his own to his own clients."
Looking at the passing rates on exams, and trying to compare them to other exams (in other disciplines or years) is not practical. For instance, only 20% may pass the Mechanical exam, while 80% pass the Electrical exam. Perhaps 60% passed the Mechanical exam the previous year. It depends on the pool of examinees. Therefore, each test is graded uniquely each time it is given. Some questions may be used repeatedly over the years, which tend to level out passing rates. All questions are constantly reviewed for their applicability to determine minimum competence.
So, if you are trying to obtain your PE or PLS, there is no one "against" you. To protect our society, we just want competent people doing the design and survey work.
... Stephen T. Lange, P.E.
