# NCEES Released Power PE CBT Pass Rates



## justin-hawaii

The overall pass rate for the new CBT exam is 71% as of January 2021.

https://ncees.org/engineering/pe/pass-rates/

We have been keeping track of the pass rates on our website.  No April or October 2020 paper/pencil exam was given, so we only have October 2019 and April 2019 to compare the new pass rate.  

October 2019:  Overall pass rate was 40%.  

April 2019:  Overall pass rate was 50%.  

https://www.engproguides.com/power-pe-survey.html

Also please see below our compiled reviews of the power pe cbt.  

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Dvq9OvxkNvpHjcZvKE7KkcN739X04-H7rO5CdWeIXeU/viewanalytics


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## jd5191

Damn! Went from one of the hardest to one of the easiest!


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## tmntjmc

jd5191 said:


> Damn! Went from one of the hardest to one of the easiest!


I don't think that's the case. Having taken the pencil and paper multiple times, I can tell you many factors that contribute to that percentage differentiation. 

There are many that signed up to take the pencil and paper exam who just "wing" it and even though they haven't prepared, they might as well sit through and see how it goes (I was one of those people). 
With Covid, I doubt many would spend the money and inconvenience right now to go to an exam without having properly put in the time. I think those who have taken the exam as CBT are ones who desperately want it and have put in the time, I doubt anybody would wing it during this time. 
For me personally the added ease of access and environment makes a ton of difference to relax while taking it. In my exam room there was maybe 7 people if that all taking different exams, very quiet, no stress in getting there super early for parking, waiting in line, feeling all the anxiety and stress around you etc that takes a toll whether we know it or not. 
 As far as the actual exam difficulty, it didn't feel any harder or easier than the previous ones I had taken though as many have mentioned here, it was more theory based though there are plenty of work out problems regardless. 

I don't know my result yet but overall I felt better regardless of the outcome of this time around. 

Best of luck to all.


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## jd5191

tmntjmc said:


> I don't think that's the case. Having taken the pencil and paper multiple times, I can tell you many factors that contribute to that percentage differentiation.
> 
> There are many that signed up to take the pencil and paper exam who just "wing" it and even though they haven't prepared, they might as well sit through and see how it goes (I was one of those people).
> With Covid, I doubt many would spend the money and inconvenience right now to go to an exam without having properly put in the time. I think those who have taken the exam as CBT are ones who desperately want it and have put in the time, I doubt anybody would wing it during this time.
> For me personally the added ease of access and environment makes a ton of difference to relax while taking it. In my exam room there was maybe 7 people if that all taking different exams, very quiet, no stress in getting there super early for parking, waiting in line, feeling all the anxiety and stress around you etc that takes a toll whether we know it or not.
> As far as the actual exam difficulty, it didn't feel any harder or easier than the previous ones I had taken though as many have mentioned here, it was more theory based though there are plenty of work out problems regardless.
> 
> I don't know my result yet but overall I felt better regardless of the outcome of this time around.
> 
> Best of luck to all.



I would think more people try to "wing it" with the CBT because of ease of testing location to your home, flexibility in scheduling year around, being able to take it more often, and how quickly you get your results so you can find out if you need to retake it. Personally speaking, I'd rather take the exam now to see if I maybe pass ... and if I fail, I'd find out within a week and start studying again to take it in April.


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## tmntjmc

jd5191 said:


> I would think more people try to "wing it" with the CBT because of ease of testing location to your home, flexibility in scheduling year around, being able to take it more often, and how quickly you get your results so you can find out if you need to retake it. Personally speaking, I'd rather take the exam now to see if I maybe pass ... and if I fail, I'd find out within a week and start studying again to take it in April.


That can also be the case, maybe the sample size is just too small right now. The exam just started being available last month so the sample size is still fairly low to get a good estimate. Overall though you are right, the flexibility may lead some to just take it and see what happens type of thing. Best of luck


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## BebeshKing PE

Wow! from 40% bumped up to 71% passing rate?? 

Good job!!!


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## PEExam123

_Operational amplifiers_ is part of the Exam Syllabus ?? I mean.. is it part of the scope of PE Power Exam ?


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## DilutedAr18_PE

I think one other factor you have to consider is that most of the people like myself who took the test thus far in Dec or Jan have been studying for a long time waiting to take the exam with two exams being cancelled. A higher percentage of examinees were extremely prepared or even over-prepared. I would not have studied nearly the quantity of hours that I did, if I would have been able to take the exam sooner.


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## Zach Stone P.E.

DilutedAr18_PE said:


> I think one other factor you have to consider is that most of the people like myself who took the test thus far in Dec or Jan have been studying for a long time waiting to take the exam with two exams being cancelled. A higher percentage of examinees were extremely prepared or even over-prepared. I would not have studied nearly the quantity of hours that I did, if I would have been able to take the exam sooner.



Bingo. 

Still curious to see how the results trend over the course of an entire year, however.


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## Dothracki PE

PEExam123 said:


> _Operational amplifiers_ is part of the Exam Syllabus ?? I mean.. is it part of the scope of PE Power Exam ?


Op amps are not in the power exam. I think that might be in electronics, controls, and communications exam. The power exam does dive a little into DC power supplies, diodes, and thyristors. But there isn't much as far as signal processing.


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## Sparky Bill PE

jd5191 said:


> Damn! Went from one of the hardest to one of the easiest!


"one of the easiest exams" is a smack in the face for a lot of us that literally studied over a year. 

Most engineers I know at my work study 6 to 8 weeks. If they pass they are PE's if not they just quit forever. It isn't "common" for people to do what me and others have done and study a year to master that test.


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## swhaite92 PE

It looks like the sample size is about half of a typical P&P exam administration. I think it's a combination of being those motivated to be first in line to sign up for the CBT exam, extra study time with two P&P exams cancelled, and time pressure basically being removed with the CBT exam eliminating BYO resources and having searchable resource documents provided (however limited they may have been).


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## jd5191

Sparky Bill PE said:


> "one of the easiest exams" is a smack in the face for a lot of us that literally studied over a year.
> 
> Most engineers I know at my work study 6 to 8 weeks. If they pass they are PE's if not they just quit forever. It isn't "common" for people to do what me and others have done and study a year to master that test.


The comment was meant to be encouraging, not disparaging.


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## akyip

Well, I just took it for the first time today. Without saying too much, even with all the preparation I did, I'm not sure whether or not I passed.


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## rburns18 PE

akyip said:


> Well, I just took it for the first time today. Without saying too much, even with all the preparation I did, I'm not sure whether or not I passed.


I'm sure you did well. You have provided a lot of explanations and diagrams for a lot of us on here so you definitely have a firm understanding of many topics. You will probably be second guessing yourself a lot in your head the next week or so but all you can do now is relax a little and wait for the results next week.


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## speakeelsy PE

DilutedAr18_PE said:


> I think one other factor you have to consider is that most of the people like myself who took the test thus far in Dec or Jan have been studying for a long time waiting to take the exam with two exams being cancelled. A higher percentage of examinees were extremely prepared or even over-prepared. I would not have studied nearly the quantity of hours that I did, if I would have been able to take the exam sooner.


This is so true! And it was definitely still a hard test despite nearly a year of preparation.

I saw a post saying that no spots were available until February for the exam. So i doubt there were many people signing up to "wing" the exam in December and January. So results right now are definitely skewed!

Id love to see the results in 6 months to a year from now. I feel like the pass percentage will probably trend downward - especially with the small sample of failing scores on justin's survey. 50/80 failed, and that was a pretty common score on my practice exams in the middle of my study regime.


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## David Brown

On my prior two paper and pencil attempts, I estimate I had 50 and 54%. I passed this time around on the CBT exam and I would guess I got at least 60 out of 80 or better. I felt really good about the test. It was as hard as the prior two, but didn't have as many protection questions as I expected. I really credit my class with Zach Stone and *Free Online Review Course: For The Electrical Power PE Exam* www.electricalpereview.com. It was the best class to teach an old dog like me what I had forgotten.


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## witte

What was the main difference between using your own resources vs. the PDF provided in the CBT exam (difficulties, organization, prep)

GJW


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## akyip

witte said:


> What was the main difference between using your own resources vs. the PDF provided in the CBT exam (difficulties, organization, prep)
> 
> GJW


To start off without giving too much away, the reference PDF provided for the CBT pales in comparison and is much lighter (much less information) than the binder that I created originally for the paper-and-pencil exam. As an example, a lot of people in this forum (including myself) have said that the reference PDF does not have as much for electrical system protection as we would've liked.


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## DLD PE

Does anyone know what the overall pass rate is now compared to January when it jumped to around 70%?


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## Dothracki PE

DuranDuran PE said:


> Does anyone know what the overall pass rate is now compared to January when it jumped to around 70%?


Looks like 62% with a 50% pass rate of repeat takers as of July 2021






NCEES PE exam pass rates


Are you preparing for an NCEES exam? View the pass rates for all of the NCEES Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exams.




ncees.org


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## Zach Stone P.E.

Still higher than the last paper and pencil rates (was about 50% for first-time takers and about 30% for repeat takers), however, it is trending downward. I'm curious to see what it will finally plateau at.


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