# Calculator Policy



## Gibby601 (Jan 7, 2008)

From NCEES website: http://www.ncees.org/exams/calculators/

"_Only models of calculators approved by NCEES are permitted in the exam room. No other models of calculators are permitted in the exam room. The following are the only calculators that will be permitted in the exam room for the 2008 exam administrations. _

Casio: All fx-115 models. Any Casio calculator must contain fx-115 in its model name.

Hewlett Packard: The HP 33s and HP 35s models, but no others.

Texas Instruments: All TI-30X and TI-36X models. Any Texas Instruments calculator must contain either TI-30X or TI-36X in its model name."

Would a TI-30XS Multiview meet this criteria? I just want to make sure I'm using an acceptable calculator. It has a 4-Line display, but I haven't seen anything that says that particular feature is banned.


----------



## MA_PE (Jan 7, 2008)

Gibby601 said:


> From NCEES website: http://www.ncees.org/exams/calculators/"_Only models of calculators approved by NCEES are permitted in the exam room. No other models of calculators are permitted in the exam room. The following are the only calculators that will be permitted in the exam room for the 2008 exam administrations. _
> 
> Casio: All fx-115 models. Any Casio calculator must contain fx-115 in its model name.
> 
> ...


I'd say it fits the criteria, but I don't have any authority. You might e-mail NCEES for clarification/confirmation.


----------



## kevo_55 (Jan 7, 2008)

Gibby,

Like MA said, I'd check with your state. Also, when they check calculators during the exam I've seen proctors with color pictures of acceptable calculators. No joke!


----------



## gymrat1279 PE (Jan 7, 2008)

kevo_55 said:


> Gibby,
> Like MA said, I'd check with your state. Also, when they check calculators during the exam I've seen proctors with color pictures of acceptable calculators. No joke!


They had color pictures of the calculators at my exam site too. I had a new model of the TI-30XIIS that matched the picture and an older model for backup that was a different color that didn't match the picture. I thought I might have trouble when I saw that they had pictures of the calculators, but luckily I didn't.


----------



## Gibby601 (Jan 7, 2008)

MA_PE said:


> I'd say it fiots the criteria, but I don't have any authority. You might e-mail NCEES for clarification/confirmation.



I called NCEES per your suggestion. The man I talked to said any calculator model number that starts with TI-30X is acceptable.


----------



## ROBIAMEIT (Jan 7, 2008)

if you REALLY want to be sure . . . DONT BRING ANYTHING THATS NOT ON THE LIST . . .

THE EXACT LIST!!! . . . .

Proctors DONT have the authority to approve calculators . . . . and WONT bend AT ALL . . . .

IF IT AINT ON THE LIST . . . LEAVE IT AT HOME!!!

last exam i was in they had such a big fuss over some dude who had a battery powered TI and IT WASNT ON THE LIST . . . .


----------



## Sschell (Jan 7, 2008)

I've got to agree with ROBIAMEIT on this one. Even if NCEES tells you on the phone that your calculator is OK does not mean that the proctor knows that. I would get something in writing from your State Board to be safe (don't forget to bind it so they don't accuse you of having loose paper).

Most likely it will be ok, but it only takes one a-hole proctor to ruin your day.


----------



## Brianne (Jan 7, 2008)

The guy two down from me got kicked out for having the wrong calculator. It's nice of them to make more calculators approved this year, but I question whether or not the proctors will understand the new rules. I think they liked carrying around the pictures. When they came to check my calculator, I just pointed at the sheet to show her it was the same one.

Of course, for the second day of testing in CA, they let you bring any and all calculators. The couple in front of me had about five calculators each, including two graphing calculators per person. And giant boxes of batteries. I think that may have been overkill because I just used the same new TI-36X SOLAR I bought for the PE.


----------



## ODB_PE (Jan 7, 2008)

ROBIAMEIT said:


> if you REALLY want to be sure . . . DONT BRING ANYTHING THATS NOT ON THE LIST . . .
> THE EXACT LIST!!! . . . .
> 
> Proctors DONT have the authority to approve calculators . . . . and WONT bend AT ALL . . . .
> ...


Agreed - You can get all but the HPs for under $20. Why leave the possibility for something to go wrong?

Better yet - learn the sliderule. No batteries to go bad. Baffle the proctors. Amaze fellow testers.


----------



## NCcarguy (Jan 7, 2008)

If you feel like you HAVE TO HAVE a calculator that MIGHT be OK.....at least have a backup plan (another calculator that absolutely IS on the list) don't go to all that trouble studying, just to get kicked out exam day because the calculator you brought wasn't exactly what they had pictures of.

I'm also fairly certain that THAT would be considered a failure! That could be problems if it takes you more than a couple of times to pass the test (and that happens to SOME people, I won't mention any names)


----------



## RIP - VTEnviro (Jan 7, 2008)

Gibby601 said:


> Would a TI-30XS Multiview meet this criteria? I just want to make sure I'm using an acceptable calculator. It has a 4-Line display, but I haven't seen anything that says that particular feature is banned.


I used a Casio fx-115MS on mine. It has a 2 line multiline display and as fine.


----------



## Mike in Gastonia (Jan 7, 2008)

Gibby601 said:


> From NCEES website: http://www.ncees.org/exams/calculators/"_Only models of calculators approved by NCEES are permitted in the exam room. No other models of calculators are permitted in the exam room. The following are the only calculators that will be permitted in the exam room for the 2008 exam administrations. _
> 
> Casio: All fx-115 models. Any Casio calculator must contain fx-115 in its model name.
> 
> ...


The way I read that for TI models is that as long as your TI starts with either TI-30X or TI-36X what ever is after that doesn't matter. Same thing for the casios. As long as it starts with fx-115, it's good to go. Shouldn't that make it easier for the proctors?


----------



## PEPG (Jan 8, 2008)

One time during an exam a guy had the wrong calculator (which I can't understand - did he read the NCEES guidelines?) He was sitting next to me. They did not throw him out - they just said he couldn't use his calculator. I had two approved TI calculators, so I gave him my back-up. If you ask me, the proctor looked pissed that I bailed this guy out. The proctor told me that if my calculator died during the exam, I would not be allowd to retrieve the on I lent out! Can you believe it?


----------



## squishles10 (Jan 8, 2008)

ol said:


> Agreed - You can get all but the HPs for under $20. Why leave the possibility for something to go wrong?
> Better yet - learn the sliderule. No batteries to go bad. Baffle the proctors. Amaze fellow testers.


You can't use a sliderule- it has moving parts. Check out the discussion of Feild's Wheel to verify that one. How they can ban a sliderule I just don't get but there it is.


----------



## udpolo15 (Jan 8, 2008)

I wouldn't be surprised if in the next couple of years they start supplying the calculator and adding another $20 to the fee.

I bet someone has popped open an approved calculator and added programs, saved specs/regs and other functionality.


----------



## ODB_PE (Jan 8, 2008)

Has anybody actually had a calculator failure during the exam?


----------



## EngRanger (Jan 8, 2008)

ol said:


> Has anybody actually had a calculator failure during the exam?



No, but my HP33-S went dead one week before the exam!! I had already purchased spares, but I'm glad I was swapping batteries on the kitchen table rather than losing time during the exam.


----------



## ODB_PE (Jan 8, 2008)

EngRanger said:


> No, but my HP33-S went dead one week before the exam!! I had already purchased spares, but I'm glad I was swapping batteries on the kitchen table rather than losing time during the exam.


Yes, the 33s can be a pain to change batteries during crunch time.

I gotta say, I used to be tied to my TI-86 and later my HP33s - but pre-exam I convinced myself to try the casio fx-115MS. With the solar there is absolutely no worries. It is now my daily driver.


----------



## roadwreck (Jan 8, 2008)

ol said:


> Yes, the 33s can be a pain to change batteries during crunch time.
> I gotta say, I used to be tied to my TI-86 and later my HP33s - but pre-exam I convinced myself to try the casio fx-115MS. With the solar there is absolutely no worries. It is now my daily driver.


I used to be all about the TI's, I had them in just about every variety, but prepping for the PE I opted for the casio (b/c of it's double line screen) and I am very impressed. It's now the calculator I use on a daily basis.


----------



## IlPadrino (Jan 8, 2008)

udpolo15 said:


> I wouldn't be surprised if in the next couple of years they start supplying the calculator and adding another $20 to the fee.
> 
> I bet someone has popped open an approved calculator and added programs, saved specs/regs and other functionality.


I doubt it... but it would sure be interesting to see which model they chose! I'd guess they'd have at least two (one RPN and one normal) - and the RPN costs at least $40.

There's no problem with adding programs to your calculator and given the PE exam is open book, why save reference material? Maybe for the FE exam you'd like lots of programs (it would sure speed up some of the calculations), but you'd have to do it by hand (none of the approved calculators let you automatically install programs). I was very sad when they prevented the use of the HP48 - I've got so many programs for that thing (all of which can be installed) it would make you sick!


----------



## NCcarguy (Jan 8, 2008)

ol said:


> Has anybody actually had a calculator failure during the exam?



I took THREE (3) of them to the test with me, AND had extra batteries too.....There was NO WAY I was going to get caught with a dead calculator! It's just NOT something to play around with!


----------



## udpolo15 (Jan 8, 2008)

IlPadrino said:


> I doubt it... but it would sure be interesting to see which model they chose! I'd guess they'd have at least two (one RPN and one normal) - and the RPN costs at least $40.
> There's no problem with adding programs to your calculator and given the PE exam is open book, why save reference material? Maybe for the FE exam you'd like lots of programs (it would sure speed up some of the calculations), but you'd have to do it by hand (none of the approved calculators let you automatically install programs). I was very sad when they prevented the use of the HP48 - I've got so many programs for that thing (all of which can be installed) it would make you sick!


I didn't think about RPN since I don't use it. My calculator for the PE cost around $25ish.

My point with the calculator modification would be to actually make changes to the calculator itself like swapping out the processor (not sure if that is the right term) and installing something more powerful. The ability to save a program to solve certain types of problems would offer a huge advantage not everyone else has.

Probably more of a concern is compromising exam security. Some of the concern with the unapproved calculators is the ability to transmit info. It couldn't be that hard to add that functionality to an approved calculator such that it appears to be unmodified. People might even go further and create the ability to store actual problems, either manually or optically. Not saying anybody would do any of this, but i can't believe scenarios like this haven't been discussed as NCEES.


----------



## ROBIAMEIT (Jan 8, 2008)

NO KIDDING . . . there was a dude in one session who had this calculator with a HUGE display . . .like a kid would use . . . looked like he grabbed it from a Walmart three ring binder . . had nothin on the thing except ASMD . . . . . and the proctors wouldnt let him use it . . . . took it away . . . .


----------



## Capt Worley PE (Jan 8, 2008)

^^^HAHAHAHA!!!! He deserved it, though.


----------

