Question rating

I have read a lot on here about rating the questions 1, 2, and 3 according to difficulty and going through the test in 3 passes. I am now finding that the questions are gouped by topic in the AM and think it would save more time to complete one area at a time to minimize flipping through the CERM and changing my train of thought. For the afternoon I haven't decided on a plan yet but I hope I can just go straight through and maybe save 2 or 3 that will take the most time for the end.

Any thoughts?

I have read that suggestion before and never liked it. It is adding another step to the test that does not get you to the end goal; answer the questions. And 4 ratings? The last thing I want to do is sit there and wonder if this is a 2 or 3. There is something to be said about grouping the subjects together. I plan to skip directly to the geometric questions in both the am and pm. I have reallly killed those so there is no sense in losing easy points. Then, in the am I will stick to each subject group. The manuals will be opened to the correct place, my worked problems will be opened to the correct place and I can go for it. If you get a harder question in that group, skip it and go back. For example, if you need to size a channel and you need to do trial and error for the size to meet a flow rate, this is a bit time consuming. I would skip that and come back to it. They are all worth the same. It does not make sense to struggle through sizing the pipe, and getting it correct ( 1 point) and then not have time to calculate the concrete volume or answer and easier qualatative questions 2 or 3 points total.

However, that said, I have never done this before. So what the heck do I know. LOL

My plan is simple. Start at the beginning. If I know how to answer it quickly, answer it. If it requires some more thinking or I know it will be time consuming, go back to it later.

[SIZE=10.5pt]I never thought of a rating system as "an extra step". For me, it was a crucial step. But I guess if you are one of those people (not me) who know they will be able to address all 40 questions in 4 hours or less, then I guess a rating system could be optional. But, if you’re like me, and you’re only going to be able to answer, say, 35 questions, you better make darn sure the 35 you choose are the “easiest 35” and the 5 you’ll be guessing on are the “hardest 5”. The only way I know how to do this is with some sort of a rating system. What if you decide to work the exam straight through and end up spending 8 minutes on problem 25 and you run out of time before you reached problems 37 and 38, both 4 minute problems? This is especially critical for the CA Survey and Seismic exams where you only have 2.5 hours to answer 55 questions! My approach was as follows: [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]First Pass:[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Read the problem. Only answer if it’s 1.) “Oh, I know this!” and you can quickly answer within, say, 3 minutes, 4 tops. Or answer if it’s 2.) “What the F is this?? I won’t get this if you give me 25 minutes!”. Take your guess and move on. (Remember, know what you don’t know)[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]If it falls between those two scenarios (easy and too hard), that makes it a ‘medium’ problem. Skip it for now but put a little code on your scantron to designate it as easy-medium (say 4-6 minutes, 7 tops) or hard medium (doable but 6-7+ minutes). [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Second Pass:[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Do the “easy-mediums”. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Third Pass:[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]You’ll be surprised how much of your Scantron is filled in at this point. Do the “hard mediums”. This is where I would run out of time. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Fourth Pass:[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]If you make it this far, either start checking your work (but don’t second guess yourself too much) or pick one of the pure guesses from Pass One and try to work it out. [/SIZE]