# NCEES Sample Questions and Solutions



## darius (Jul 8, 2014)

I was just wondering if the NCEES Sample Questions and Solutions book is comparable with the real exam, from difficulty point of view. I mean, if you have a good handle on those problems when you see them for the first time, would you say you would have a good handle on the real test?

Maybe this question is best to answer by people who already had the real exam experience and might be a helpful tip for first time test takers.

Thanks!


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## Andy Lin (Jul 8, 2014)

The difficulty was fairly comparable when I took the real exam last October so I would say the answer is "yes" (at least for me).


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## HurryCA! (Jul 9, 2014)

I think the real test was slightly easier than the sample questions for the multiple choice.


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## TJM (Jul 9, 2014)

HurryCA! said:


> I think the real test was slightly easier than the sample questions for the multiple choice.




I agree with this, for me I thought the multiple choice on the actual test was significantly easier than the sample questions. However, I thought that the afternoon questions were slightly more difficult and a little more in depth than the sample questions. Overall though, I thought that the sample questions were a very good representation of the exam in terms of difficulty, format, and content. I would recommend using the sample questions as a practice exam, but then to also take the time to study all the specific topics that the sample questions address. For me, the fact that they are in the NCEES publication make them high probability topics.

Edit: I realize I didn't answer the second part of your post.... The answer is yes, if you felt like you were prepared for what was on the sample questions I would think you are fairly well prepared for the test. However, some of the afternoon problems can be very specific, so not having any major holes in your knowledge is important and these holes wouldn't necessarily be exposed from the sample problems.

Hope this helps.

-TJ


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## CyclonePE (Jul 9, 2014)

I agree with TJM. The morning exam seemed easier than the sample but the aftenoon was about the same.


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## TehMightyEngineer (Jul 22, 2014)

I'd personally say the multiple choice was about the same when I compare my practice exam multiple choice score to the time I failed to pass vertical and my attempt at lateral. All three times I got around 75% or so. I assume I got similar on my passing score for vertical.

I'd say the afternoon questions are actually harder than the sample exam. Well, maybe not harder but I'll say that can be more time consuming and not always what you would expect. Thus, if you're not 100% prepared for these problems then you could run out of time (the reason I didn't pass both times). When I got problems that were in line with what I expected I passed vertical. So I would expect similar difficulty problems compared to the exam for the afternoon but be aware that time is by far the biggest challenge on the afternoon (and possibly morning) sections.


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## TehMightyEngineer (Jul 22, 2014)

TJM said:


> However, some of the afternoon problems can be very specific, so not having any major holes in your knowledge is important and these holes wouldn't necessarily be exposed from the sample problems.




THIS! If I had been given this tip the first time I took the exam I would have been done by now.


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