Omitted Problems Affecting Passing Score

Professional Engineer & PE Exam Forum

Help Support Professional Engineer & PE Exam Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

m151755

Active member
Joined
Jun 5, 2008
Messages
39
Reaction score
0
From what I understand, NCEES may omit some exam questions. If this is done and if I happened to have answered some or all of those omitted exam questions correctly, will I lose points?

I’m only asking because there is a chance that some of us may have actually gotten some of these rather more difficult problems correct and in turn may have easily missed some of the easy ones by hastiness. If omitted, will those of us that answered the omitted problems correctly still be awarded the points?

Thanks All and Best of Luck!

 
If they're omitted, it won't be because they're "hard," it'll be because they're impossible.

Folks, stop overthinking and second-guessing and worrying constantly. It's just a test, and it's done. You'll get your results in a month or three, and then you'll either get to take the test again, or not.

 
If they're omitted, it won't be because they're "hard," it'll be because they're impossible.
Folks, stop overthinking and second-guessing and worrying constantly. It's just a test, and it's done. You'll get your results in a month or three, and then you'll either get to take the test again, or not.
^ agreed

Most people I know who passed were confident that they did. Those who didn't pass were disappointed, but not surprised, and were hoping luck would be on their side. Whether someone didn't pass by 1 or 2 questions doesn't mean that he/she should question the evaluation process, but rather should evaluate their own performance.

Everyone knows it's a hard test and should prepare for it accordingly. If you studied your butt off, stuck to the test plan, and applied some common sense, then you will be successful at passing. If you're questioning the process by wanting to know the cut scores or if questions are dropped, then you're wasting your time. No one will ever know how the test is statistically evaluated other than how you performed if you need to retake the exam. I think that in itself is valuable because the Board can just say that you didn't pass and not help you on what you need to improve. The results are just something everyone has to live with.

 
If I were scoring an exam, and I put out a messed up question, then I'd eliminate the question completely and your score would be based on x/79 instead of x/80. But that's how I'd do it. The question would not count for or against you. That is, IMO, the only way to be "fair" about the question.

Will they do that? I dunno. I have no idea. I'm just some guy in a cube behind a computer. And honestly, I agree with the above. The test is over, nothing I can do now but wait.

I'm sure they do all kinds of statistical analysis on results. For example, if you have a group of high scoring exams that all miss the same question, you should take a close look at that question (that's what my wife does on her tests). I'm sure they do that stuff.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Well said Bean PE and sac_engineer. :thumbs: The test is over now and no one can do anything to affect the outcome. I've actually enjoyed putting the books away for awhile and returning to more leisurely activities.

I also tend to agree with what Cableguy said (including the cubicle reference ;) ). I was under the impression that the board meets to evaluate exam questions that were missed the most and are then potentially eliminated from the scoring scheme. But then again, no one knows 100% how it works.

 
Read NCEES's Scoring Process: http://ncees.org/Exams/Pages/Scoring/Scoring_process.php

It is posted on their website, but can be a little difficult to find. They don't refer to "omitting" any questions. What they will do is if a problem has unusual answer statistics (i.e. the wrong answer, or two answers were chosen by a high number of takers), then that question is reviewed. If the review confirms an error in the question, then credit may be given for more than one answer.

Say they decide to give credit for two answers, then if you got it right, you'll get credit and if you got it wrong because of an error or ambiguity on the part of NCEES, you would also get credit.

Hope this helps.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Read NCEES's Scoring Process: http://ncees.org/Exams/Pages/Scoring/Scoring_process.php
It is posted on their website, but can be a little difficult to find. They don't refer to "omitting" any questions. What they will do is if a problem has unusual answer statistics (i.e. the wrong answer, or two answers were chosen by a high number of takers), then that question is reviewed. If the review confirms an error in the question, then credit may be given for more than one answer.

Say they decide to give credit for two answers, then if you got it right, you'll get credit and if you got it wrong because of an error or ambiguity on the part of NCEES, you would also get credit.

Hope this helps.
The crediting makes sense, but the final outcome of passing or failing based on a couple of ambiguous questions would only affect a small number of examinees.

 
this topic is interesting since there were couple of problems which i took in Civil PM struc which im sure i was right my calc but no matter how i look on the choices it isnt found there, i bet ncees missed something... :(

 
this topic is interesting since there were couple of problems which i took in Civil PM struc which im sure i was right my calc but no matter how i look on the choices it isnt found there, i bet ncees missed something... :(

Did you fill out/submit a comment form? I believe you had 10 days to do so.

 
Read NCEES's Scoring Process: http://ncees.org/Exams/Pages/Scoring/Scoring_process.php
It is posted on their website, but can be a little difficult to find. They don't refer to "omitting" any questions. What they will do is if a problem has unusual answer statistics (i.e. the wrong answer, or two answers were chosen by a high number of takers), then that question is reviewed. If the review confirms an error in the question, then credit may be given for more than one answer.

Say they decide to give credit for two answers, then if you got it right, you'll get credit and if you got it wrong because of an error or ambiguity on the part of NCEES, you would also get credit.

Hope this helps.

This page too: http://www.ncees.org/Exams/Pages/Scoring.php

 
this topic is interesting since there were couple of problems which i took in Civil PM struc which im sure i was right my calc but no matter how i look on the choices it isnt found there, i bet ncees missed something... :(

Did you fill out/submit a comment form? I believe you had 10 days to do so.

No, I dont know about filling up something.

 
Most people I know who passed were confident that they did. Those who didn't pass were disappointed, but not surprised, and were hoping luck would be on their side.
I really hope this is not the case and just your observation!

Must have been thinking about this last night becaus I dreamed that I was taking the test and only able to answer 5 of the questions!

Tim

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Most people I know who passed were confident that they did. Those who didn't pass were disappointed, but not surprised, and were hoping luck would be on their side.
I really hope this is not the case and just your observation!

Must have been thinking about this last night becaus I dreamed that I was taking the test and only able to answer 5 of the questions!

Tim
Not my experience. I was certainly not confident I passed, and I did.

I think if you were certain you passed or failed you probably were correct. But most people weren't that certain about it.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Most people I know who passed were confident that they did. Those who didn't pass were disappointed, but not surprised, and were hoping luck would be on their side.
I really hope this is not the case and just your observation!

Must have been thinking about this last night becaus I dreamed that I was taking the test and only able to answer 5 of the questions!

Tim
Not my experience. I was certainly not confident I passed, and I did.

I think if you were certain you passed or failed you probably were correct. But most people weren't that certain about it.




Like every other person is saying here, we'll just have to wait and see. Leaving the exam, I felt great about the morning and feel the afternoon wasn't bad at all. What hurt me is that I suffer greatly from anxieties and have trouble sleeping at times. When I took the FE, I had about 1.5 hours of sleep the night before. I tossed and turned all night, but felt I did well enough to pass. I ended up making an 81 on it, but knew I could have done way better had I been rested. I remember telling family and friends that I would be surprised if I failed the FE exam. The PE exam was not much different. I tossed and turned, looked at the clock about twenty times night before. My alarm was set for 4:30 am. The last time I remember looking at the clock, I remember it being 3:43 am. When I showed up for the exam, I was full of adrenaline. I felt I aced the morning session. After snacking during lunch, my body crashed. I wanted to yell aloud and slap my face, but nothing would work. I said a prayer hoping I would get a second wind and sure enough I got my second wind about two hours into the afternoon session. By then I was also double checking a few that I had answered during the start of the test (corrected a few). All in all, I thought the exam was straight forward and not as difficult as I imagined it to be. My greatest problem was not being rested enough to function at 100%. With that said, I feel like I made 90% in the morning and 70% in the afternoon. I also said the same about this one to family and friends...I'd be surprised if I failed. I will not know my score for another few weeks, but I do know that the afternoon session will make or brake me because I know I could have performed a lot better.

Good luck to all.

 
Most people I know who passed were confident that they did. Those who didn't pass were disappointed, but not surprised, and were hoping luck would be on their side.
I really hope this is not the case and just your observation!

Must have been thinking about this last night becaus I dreamed that I was taking the test and only able to answer 5 of the questions!

Tim
Not my experience. I was certainly not confident I passed, and I did.

I think if you were certain you passed or failed you probably were correct. But most people weren't that certain about it.




Like every other person is saying here, we'll just have to wait and see. Leaving the exam, I felt great about the morning and feel the afternoon wasn't bad at all. What hurt me is that I suffer greatly from anxieties and have trouble sleeping at times. When I took the FE, I had about 1.5 hours of sleep the night before. I tossed and turned all night, but felt I did well enough to pass. I ended up making an 81 on it, but knew I could have done way better had I been rested. I remember telling family and friends that I would be surprised if I failed the FE exam. The PE exam was not much different. I tossed and turned, looked at the clock about twenty times night before. My alarm was set for 4:30 am. The last time I remember looking at the clock, I remember it being 3:43 am. When I showed up for the exam, I was full of adrenaline. I felt I aced the morning session. After snacking during lunch, my body crashed. I wanted to yell aloud and slap my face, but nothing would work. I said a prayer hoping I would get a second wind and sure enough I got my second wind about two hours into the afternoon session. By then I was also double checking a few that I had answered during the start of the test (corrected a few). All in all, I thought the exam was straight forward and not as difficult as I imagined it to be. My greatest problem was not being rested enough to function at 100%. With that said, I feel like I made 90% in the morning and 70% in the afternoon. I also said the same about this one to family and friends...I'd be surprised if I failed. I will not know my score for another few weeks, but I do know that the afternoon session will make or brake me because I know I could have performed a lot better.

Good luck to all.
It sounds like you got it. Good job.

 
I only studied about 2 months. I felt that i did very well in the morning like most. I answered 32 out of 40 with out hesitation.

The Structural afternoon seemed almost tricky, like some of the problems were just to easy...... Or i was getting answers in between multiple choices, that i know for sure i was calculating the answer correctly. Then there were some problems with conflicting data, showing you one set up and telling you to use another. Or the answer was the oddball choice the one way different then the other 3, which made me hesitate.

Also i didnt have aashto/ osha/ or ibc. The ASCE took care of ibc but i lost a couple points not having the aashto/ osha.

Who knows.... I hope i passed, i think passed, but i wouldn't be shocked if i failed.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Back
Top