# Challenging Exam Questions



## UnemployedEIT (May 15, 2012)

Is there any way to challenge an exam question with NCEES? Or least find out what the powers that be deem the correct answer? It seems to me that more than one question on my PM Civil exam could have more than one correct answer. It all depends on how NCEES interprets the application of certain engineering methods and common practice (there are certain methodologies that are not governed by any codes or standards). _Geez this is hard to write without indicating ANY specifics about the questions in question!!! _I guess this is just a rant more than a question then. I just know that if I fail and the same question(s) turns up in October then I will have no way of answering any better than I did in April!!!! So frustrating!!!


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## ptatohed (May 15, 2012)

UnemployedEIT said:


> Is there any way to challenge an exam question with NCEES? Or least find out what the powers that be deem the correct answer? It seems to me that more than one question on my PM Civil exam could have more than one correct answer. It all depends on how NCEES interprets the application of certain engineering methods and common practice (there are certain methodologies that are not governed by any codes or standards). _Geez this is hard to write without indicating ANY specifics about the questions in question!!! _I guess this is just a rant more than a question then. I just know that if I fail and the same question(s) turns up in October then I will have no way of answering any better than I did in April!!!! So frustrating!!!


We all probably have a question or two that we feel could have been worded better. I am totally fictionalizing this but I remember a question like "What is the height of an elephant's ear?". And I thought to myself "Do they mean the height of the ear from the ground or the height from bottom of ear to top of ear?". Again, a fictionalization but you see my point. With that said, I still passed. So, if you happen to not pass this time, I strongly recommend you don't challenge the exam (I don't think you can anyway) and, instead, spend the energy studying hard for the next exam. Good luck.


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## Peele1 (May 15, 2012)

There were a couple of ambiguous questions on the Power exam I took, though I think that Power is less ambiguous than some of the other exams.

Do you measure the elephant ear from the ground to the bottom of the ear, top of the ear, ear canal or the mean altitude of the ear or the geometric mean of the ear since it's not a regular shape?

I've heard that in the past the ambiguity and confusing questions were worse... a type of question that annoys people is when the answer must be "nearest to" or "at least". When you are talking about holding a weight or carrying a current, then it is best to never have "nearest to", since that would not pass code. I felt that they cleaned up the questions and answers a little from the sample tests.

In some cases, I felt that taking enough sample questions helped me to get some ESP into the questioner's mind.


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## Mike in Gastonia (May 15, 2012)

UnemployedEIT said:


> Is there any way to challenge an exam question with NCEES? Or least find out what the powers that be deem the correct answer? It seems to me that more than one question on my PM Civil exam could have more than one correct answer. It all depends on how NCEES interprets the application of certain engineering methods and common practice (there are certain methodologies that are not governed by any codes or standards). _Geez this is hard to write without indicating ANY specifics about the questions in question!!! _I guess this is just a rant more than a question then. I just know that if I fail and the same question(s) turns up in October then I will have no way of answering any better than I did in April!!!! So frustrating!!!


I think there is a time right after the exam where you can submit comments about questions from the test. here's what it says on the ncees website:



> In addition, NCEES reviews all examinee comment forms, and the subject-matter experts consider comments on the forms about specific exam questions. If the reviews confirm an error in a question, credit may be given for more than one answer.


I would guess that this is only for a short time after the exam, otherwise they'd never get the results out.


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## envirotex (May 15, 2012)

They give out the comment forms asking about any "exam irregularities" as you leave the exam. I think this includes comments about specific questions...the first time I took the exam, the guy in front of me collapsed and I had to provide first aid until the paramedics came (no joke). The exam was not suspended or paused in anyway while this was happening. Following the exam, there was a very long line for comment sheets. Needless to say, I didn't do so well on the afternoon session and had to retake the exam.

The second time I took the exam, I remember there being a question that I thought was something really based on what your opinion might be not on anything technical, but I didn't fill out the sheet...I didn't think it was worth it. I passed, BTW.


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## kenny911 (May 15, 2012)

If you took the Transportation PM like I did, there was also one problem that I thought wasn't right either.


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## Jayman_PE (May 16, 2012)

I took Construction PM and thought 1 question in the PM exam was off. Of course it was toward the end so maybe I was off. But after a lot of work, I could not match an answer exactly (although I came somewhat close), and after the exam I am about 50% positive that a piece of information was missing in order to solve. Again, I can't get into the specifics here but the question didn't seem right. I reported it to NCEES in the assessment.


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## Jayman_PE (May 16, 2012)

UnemployedEIT said:


> Is there any way to challenge an exam question with NCEES? Or least find out what the powers that be deem the correct answer? It seems to me that more than one question on my PM Civil exam could have more than one correct answer. It all depends on how NCEES interprets the application of certain engineering methods and common practice (there are certain methodologies that are not governed by any codes or standards). _Geez this is hard to write without indicating ANY specifics about the questions in question!!! _I guess this is just a rant more than a question then. I just know that if I fail and the same question(s) turns up in October then I will have no way of answering any better than I did in April!!!! So frustrating!!!


I did see one or two questions, especially in the AM exam, that had more than one correct answer. I believe the key here is chose the _best_ answer. Many possible answers could be reasonable, can be used to solve a problem, but from the choices there was usually one best answer (unless _None of the Above_ was correct. lol.)


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## desantmf (May 23, 2012)

Yes I remember one question in the am for civil that was had multiple right answers according to the CERM. I am guessing that they will throw that one out. I have faith they will get it right, why else would they spend 6-10 checking/rechecking results. I am not that worried about it. However, if I fail with a 55/56 you better believe I will be asking NCEES some questions.


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## ptatohed (May 23, 2012)

When I first read this thread's title, I thought it was going to be about challenging exam questions. You know, difficult/challenging questions (as opposed to easy/medium questions). :wacko:


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## Jayman_PE (May 24, 2012)

desantmf said:


> Yes I remember one question in the am for civil that was had multiple right answers according to the CERM. I am guessing that they will throw that one out. I have faith they will get it right, why else would they spend 6-10 checking/rechecking results. I am not that worried about it. However, if I fail with a 55/56 you better believe I will be asking NCEES some questions.


I believe I know which one you are referring to. That question was correct - there was one best answer, if we are talking the same problem.


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## desantmf (May 24, 2012)

Jayman_10x - you probably are right however, at the time it just seemed like multiple right answers with no best answer. I did try for the most right(which actually I forgot what I put now), but I thought it was a pretty tricky question.


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