# How I Passed The PE with One Simple but Unknown Tip



## VTmePE07 (Dec 31, 2014)

One thing I learned while studying that exponentially increased my chances of getting the right answer to a question I did not know how to do is...

(I'll post after 50 views)


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## MechE_in_PA_PE (Jan 1, 2015)

I m waiting in hushed anticipation


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## matt267 PE (Jan 1, 2015)

Why do you need 50 views first?


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## kfrazie1 (Jan 1, 2015)

Lame


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## Ship Wreck PE (Jan 1, 2015)

Maybe he's getting paid per click??


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## matt267 PE (Jan 1, 2015)

Ship Wreck PE said:


> Maybe he's getting paid per click??


You can do that?
RG's been holding out on us.


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## Ship Wreck PE (Jan 1, 2015)

You have not gotten paid for all your 100k work??


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## NJmike PE (Jan 1, 2015)




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## Ken PE 3.1 (Jan 1, 2015)




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## Ramnares P.E. (Jan 1, 2015)

Did he get banned yet?


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## matt267 PE (Jan 1, 2015)

Ship Wreck PE said:


> You have not gotten paid for all your 100k work??


No. 
This is bullshit.


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## Ken PE 3.1 (Jan 1, 2015)

Can I post my secret to passing the PE? Answer enough questions correctly.

There, free of charge.


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## NJmike PE (Jan 1, 2015)




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## Ken PE 3.1 (Jan 1, 2015)

VTmePE07 said:


> One thing I learned while studying that exponentially increased my chances of getting the right answer to a question I did not know how to do is...
> 
> (I'll post after 50 views)


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## Dark Knight (Jan 1, 2015)

Hahahaha...No!!!!!!!!!

Where is Sap when we need him?


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## NJmike PE (Jan 1, 2015)




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## VTmePE07 (Jan 2, 2015)

Honestly, I said 50 views because i love the pics with quotes people post on these threads! There are two really good ones that seriously made me pee a little when I read them. Nice Job!!

On to the tip...

So I took the Mechanical HVAC PE this past October and enrolled in a study course. The course was like three months long and had a few different instructors. One of the instructors use to write questions for the test for like a decade. In the middle of one of his lectures he said something nonchalantly that I thought was ridiculous. I stopped the class and asked him to repeat it three times and if he was absolutely positive. What he said made my entire course fee worth it even if I didn't attend another class after that. He told us that...

There are 40 questions in the morning and 40 questions in the afternoon portions of the exam (duh, i know). BUT, for each of these portions there are always 10 A's, 10 B's, 10 C's and 10 D answer choices! I seriously exponentially increased my chances of guessing on the ones I did not know just from knowing this.


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## roadwreck (Jan 2, 2015)

VTmePE07 said:


> There are 40 questions in the morning and 40 questions in the afternoon portions of the exam (duh, i know). BUT, for each of these portions there are always 10 A's, 10 B's, 10 C's and 10 D answer choices! I seriously exponentially increased my chances of guessing on the ones I did not know just from knowing this.


I'd be willing to bet this isn't always the case and even if it were true I don't see how it would be that much of a benefit.

If you selected incorrectly for any of your answers then believing this would cause you to potentially select another incorrect answer, simply because you believe there are a balanced number of A's, B's, C's &amp; D's. I think you'd be better off trying to answer each question to the best of your ability rather then wasting time counting up how many of each letter you answered.


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## VTmePE07 (Jan 2, 2015)

I called NCEES to see if it was ok to share this info and not only did they say it was ok but they also confirmed this. And yes it is a huge advantage. The best way to take the test is to go through and answer the questions you know how to do first. Let's say you've done that and you go back to find out there are 2 that you just absolutely do not know how to do. If you count the responses you already have you find the answer has to be either C or D because you already have 10 As and 10 Bs. Logic says to guess C for both of them and you will get at least one right. That my friend is an advantage!


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## VTmePE07 (Jan 2, 2015)

roadwreck said:


> VTmePE07 said:
> 
> 
> > There are 40 questions in the morning and 40 questions in the afternoon portions of the exam (duh, i know). BUT, for each of these portions there are always 10 A's, 10 B's, 10 C's and 10 D answer choices! I seriously exponentially increased my chances of guessing on the ones I did not know just from knowing this.
> ...


I called NCEES to see if it was ok to share this info and not only did they say it was ok but they also confirmed this. And yes it is a huge advantage. The best way to take the test is to go through and answer the questions you know how to do first. Let's say you've done that and you go back to find out there are 2 that you just absolutely do not know how to do. If you count the responses you already have you find the answer has to be either C or D because you already have 10 As and 10 Bs. Logic says to guess C for both of them and you will get at least one right. That my friend is an advantage!


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## kevo_55 (Jan 2, 2015)




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## Road Guy (Jan 2, 2015)

So what is the goddamn tip? I'm getting anxious over here.


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## VTmePE07 (Jan 2, 2015)

Road Guy said:


> So what is the goddamn tip? I'm getting anxious over here.


There are 40 questions in the morning and 40 questions in the afternoon portions of the exam (duh, i know). BUT, for each of these portions there are always 10 A's, 10 B's, 10 C's and 10 D answer choices! I seriously exponentially increased my chances of guessing on the ones I did not know just from knowing this.


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## Ken PE 3.1 (Jan 2, 2015)

VTmePE07 said:


> Road Guy said:
> 
> 
> > So what is the goddamn tip? I'm getting anxious over here.
> ...


Dangerous rumors to be spreading.


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## VTmePE07 (Jan 2, 2015)

Ken 3.0 said:


> VTmePE07 said:
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> > Road Guy said:
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Call NCEES and ask them yourself. I did. I asked if it was ok to share info like this and they said yes and confirmed it.


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## Road Guy (Jan 2, 2015)




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## Ken PE 3.1 (Jan 2, 2015)

VTmePE07 said:


> Ken 3.0 said:
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> > VTmePE07 said:
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So, if I understand this correctly, the same organization that told everyone an hour before they released the results that they did not know when they would be released I'd going to acknowledge that there is some sort of methodology to the whole exam????
Sorry, but I call


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## VTmePE07 (Jan 2, 2015)

Ken 3.0 said:


> VTmePE07 said:
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> > Ken 3.0 said:
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everyone's different...worked for me though. have to take everything you hear in life and decide for yourself what to believe.


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## VTmePE07 (Jan 2, 2015)

Road Guy said:


>


love this one but not as good as the old lady in the chair


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## Ken PE 3.1 (Jan 2, 2015)

VTmePE07 said:


> Ken 3.0 said:
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> > VTmePE07 said:
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Very true. However, seeing things like this can lead to a certain perception on test day.People need to be prepared for the exam, not looking for a magic trick to pass.


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## VTmePE07 (Jan 2, 2015)

Ken 3.0 said:


> VTmePE07 said:
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> > Ken 3.0 said:
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By all means people should be studying their butts off. But nobody gets them all right and when you do need to guess...knowing this will vastly increase your chances.


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## Ken PE 3.1 (Jan 2, 2015)

Only if you got the first 39 correct.


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## VTmePE07 (Jan 2, 2015)

Ken 3.0 said:


> Only if you got the first 39 correct.


or the first 38...then you know one is C and one is D so just guess C for both and you get one right. If you didn't know this tip then your chances of getting both are ridiculously lower obviously.


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## Ken PE 3.1 (Jan 2, 2015)

Must only apply to the mechanical test, cause I know I didn't have 10 of each on mine. Thank god I didn't use this tidbit of info. I might have failed trying to over think an already difficult test.


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## Ramnares P.E. (Jan 2, 2015)

VTmePE07 said:


> I called NCEES to see if it was ok to share this info and not only did they say it was ok but they also confirmed this. And yes it is a huge advantage. The best way to take the test is to go through and answer the questions you know how to do first. Let's say you've done that and you go back to find out there are 2 that you just absolutely do not know how to do. If you count the responses you already have you find the answer has to be either C or D because you already have 10 As and 10 Bs. Logic says to guess C for both of them and you will get at least one right. That my friend is an advantage!


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## Ramnares P.E. (Jan 2, 2015)

I'm almost ashamed to say I'm a PE if you're one also VTmePE07


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## VTmePE07 (Jan 2, 2015)

Ken 3.0 said:


> Must only apply to the mechanical test, cause I know I didn't have 10 of each on mine. Thank god I didn't use this tidbit of info. I might have failed trying to over think an already difficult test.


Yeah I am not sure if it applies to any other tests. That's why I posted it under this Mechanical section. Definitely don't want to throw anybody else off. Can always call and ask them though. Congrats on passing! I heard in a couple years it will be all computerized like the FE just changed over to.


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## Ken PE 3.1 (Jan 2, 2015)

I still find it difficult to believe that the NCEES is going to produce a test that you could turn into a statistical advantage just by counting how many "A's" you answered already.

I guess anyone that listens to this deserves the inevitable, taking it again in October.


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## VTmePE07 (Jan 2, 2015)

Ken 3.0 said:


> I still find it difficult to believe that the NCEES is going to produce a test that you could turn into a statistical advantage just by counting how many "A's" you answered already.
> 
> I guess anyone that listens to this deserves the inevitable, taking it again in October.


Im telling you I didn't believe it at first either. I had to ask the instructor three times. everyone in the class was shocked but extremely gracious. That's why I called NCEES too. Unless you made the questions at some point or knew someone that did you would not believe all of the statistics that go into it. Most people have absolutely no idea how they make the test and what the rigorous process is but those that do understand. Haha I take it Ramnares P.E. has absolutely no clue.


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## matt267 PE (Jan 2, 2015)

VTmePE07 said:


> ...Haha I take it Ramnares P.E. has absolutely no clue.


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## VTmePE07 (Jan 2, 2015)

Anyone out there in a study course with an instructor that use to make the test questions...go ahead and ask them about this and post afterwards. (although that would kill all the hilarious memes)


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## Dark Knight (Jan 2, 2015)

Take it easy on VTmePE07.

I know that what he is posting sounds like a lot of BS but who knows what is in the mind of the brilliant NCEES' gods. They have come with more ridiculous things in the past so cannot discard this one.


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## Ken PE 3.1 (Jan 2, 2015)




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## Ken PE 3.1 (Jan 2, 2015)

Dark Knight said:


> Take it easy on VTmePE07.
> 
> I know that what he is posting sounds like a lot of BS but who knows what is in the mind of the brilliant NCEES' gods. They have come with more ridiculous things in the past so cannot discard this one.


Anything is possible, but seriously?


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## VTmePE07 (Jan 2, 2015)

Dark Knight said:


> Take it easy on VTmePE07.
> 
> I know that what he is posting sounds like a lot of BS but who knows what is in the mind of the brilliant NCEES' gods. They have come with more ridiculous things in the past so cannot discard this one.


haha these memes are great though you have to admit! (well some of them) It's not hard to verify at all...just call NCEES.


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## Dark Knight (Jan 2, 2015)

I know it sounds stupid Ken.

Am not saying it should be taken seriously but to be fair, if you are clueless and desperate; what can you lose?


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## Ken PE 3.1 (Jan 2, 2015)

I guess I just like passing the old fashioned way, answering more than what was required.


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## P-E (Jan 2, 2015)

vtme you better alert ppi to get this tip into the merm right away. Hurry hurry


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## Dark Knight (Jan 2, 2015)

VTme, Am not sure if what you are saying is true but this I can say: nobody is going to call NCEES to confirm your allegation. It sounds stupid and am not trying to insult you here. Am just saying that is hard to believe that the max engineering organization on the planet will leave the door open to something so childish.

Not saying is not true though. As an engineer and being responsible, am not going to think that something like that can really help me in the PE test. Now, if should I be a slacker who did not prepare myself to take the test, coming crunch time would not hesitate taking that desperate measure.

Just to let you know, in the past it was said that NCEES favorite letter was C because statistically was the less common chosen option in the test. Is that true? I do not know as no one can know if what you are saying is true.

Congrats for passing.


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## Ken PE 3.1 (Jan 2, 2015)

As a last ditch, oh shit they just called 15 minutes, effort. Sure, go for it. But selling it like a study habit??? Not well advised.


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## VTmePE07 (Jan 2, 2015)

Ken 3.0 said:


> As a last ditch, oh shit they just called 15 minutes, effort. Sure, go for it. But selling it like a study habit??? Not well advised.


100% agree. Absolutely don't use this as your method of passing the test. You have to put in the time and effort to pass this exam. However, in the event you absolutely cannot figure out a question or two...gold mine!


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## EB NCEES REP (Jan 2, 2015)

Do you remember who you spoke to at NCEES?


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## kevo_55 (Jan 2, 2015)

/someone is fired.


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## VTmePE07 (Jan 2, 2015)

EB NCEES REP said:


> Do you remember who you spoke to at NCEES?


I do not. Do you work for NCEES? Maybe you can lay this one to rest.


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## Ken PE 3.1 (Jan 2, 2015)

Now it's a party. EB rep has showed up.


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## Ken PE 3.1 (Jan 2, 2015)

VTmePE07 said:


> EB NCEES REP said:
> 
> 
> > Do you remember who you spoke to at NCEES?
> ...


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## NJmike PE (Jan 2, 2015)




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## EB NCEES REP (Jan 2, 2015)

Our offices are closed today but I will ask around on Monday.


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## NJmike PE (Jan 2, 2015)




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## Ramnares P.E. (Jan 2, 2015)

I have called NCEES and they have verified that any PE who believes this will have his license revoked.


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## ptatohed (Jan 3, 2015)

I don't think this is so far fetched from what could be the truth. I don't know about you guys, but I have always assumed the A B C Ds were at least close to evenly distributed. I did not know it was for sure 10 10 10 10, but I wouldn't be totally surprised by this, if it happens to be true. What I don't agree with is VT's claim that this will "exponentially" help someone guess (or that this info is worth $1500). I would contend that if you already answered enough questions correctly for this information to even begin to benefit you, you have already answered enough questions to pass!


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## civilized_naah (Jan 3, 2015)

I have always found that when someone says "exponentially", they really don't mean exponentially - it is just something they think sounds nice. I would expect an engineer to use it more appropriately, though


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## maryannette (Jan 3, 2015)

Exponentially is not always a huge increase. It could be an exponent of 1.01 or even .7 or less.


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## P-E (Jan 4, 2015)

maryannette said:


> Exponentially is not always a huge increase. It could be an exponent of 1.01 or even .7 or less.


You're right he should have said logarithmically.


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## Lumber Jim (Jan 5, 2015)

I heard that NCEES acknowledging that the test has an even distribution of lettered answers is a way for them to "weed out" individuals that shouldn't be taking the test in the first place without losing out on the exam fee...

Also note that I head from a reliable source that NCEES is a hologram...

This is the inter-webs and therefore this is truth...


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## Ken PE 3.1 (Jan 5, 2015)

I called NCEES and they said that if you study smartly that this will exponentially increase your chances of passing.


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## IlPadrino (Jan 5, 2015)

This topic came up before... http://engineerboards.com/index.php?showtopic=19589

If VTmePE07 is right (and I think he is), it's only the first step in passing without knowing the material. But I won't tell... no matter how many views this post gets.


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## NightWatch (Jan 6, 2015)

A lot of assumptions here. We are assuming that they balance the morning and afternoon sessions separately? What if they balance the whole thing? 20, 20, 20, 20 instead of 10, 10, 10, 10?


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## Porter_ (Jan 6, 2015)

best tip ever, thanks VTmePE07. i'm fairly certain this can be used beyond just the PE exam. i intend to use it for:

1) ordering pizza toppings at Dominos

2) choosing fund allocations for my 401k

3) devising an algorithm to get my wife in the sack more often

4) predicting the super bowl winner

the possibilities are endless.


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## Ken PE 3.1 (Jan 6, 2015)

If ncees went out of their way to purposefully skew the answer sheet, wouldn't it be funnier to them if the morning section had 29 A's and 1 other answer?

Could you imagine the level of anxiety in the rooms?


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## Ramnares P.E. (Jan 6, 2015)

I actually had a History teacher in HS who gave a 40 question exam where every answer was A. It was a bit interesting seeing the looks on everyone's faces midway through the exam.


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## Ken PE 3.1 (Jan 6, 2015)

Ramnares P.E. said:


> I actually had a History teacher in HS who gave a 40 question exam where every answer was A. It was a bit interesting seeing the looks on everyone's faces midway through the exam.


That would be funny to watch.


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## ofareggie (Jan 6, 2015)

I have also heard this from an instructor from a review course I took. Not saying that it is true or that this knowledge cemented my passing score, but when I banged out the 35-or-so questions that I felt confident about, and saw I did not have man C's, for the questions where I resorted to guessing, I went with C... and I passed.

And, VTmePE07, you have taken the criticism and jabs with kindness and grace.


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## Ken PE 3.1 (Jan 6, 2015)

ofareggie said:


> I have also heard this from an instructor from a review course I took. Not saying that it is true or that this knowledge cemented my passing score, but when I banged out the 35-or-so questions that I felt confident about, and saw I did not have man C's, for the questions where I resorted to guessing, I went with C... and I passed.
> 
> And, VTmePE07, you have taken the criticism and jabs with kindness and grace.


Congrats on passing.However, if you got 35 or so in both sections with a high level of confidence, I would feel comfortable in saying you could have guessed z's and alpha's as answers and still passed.


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## ofareggie (Jan 6, 2015)

Ken 3.0 said:


> ofareggie said:
> 
> 
> > I have also heard this from an instructor from a review course I took. Not saying that it is true *or that this knowledge cemented my passing score*, but when I banged out the 35-or-so questions that I felt confident about, and saw I did not have man C's, for the questions where I resorted to guessing, I went with C... and I passed.
> ...


Agreed. Also, on an unrelated note, the title of this thread reminds me of this:


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## Ken PE 3.1 (Jan 6, 2015)

ofareggie said:


> Ken 3.0 said:
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> > ofareggie said:
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Could not agree more.


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## treborTAMU (Jan 6, 2015)

Porter_ said:


> best tip ever, thanks VTmePE07. i'm fairly certain this can be used beyond just the PE exam. i intend to use it for:
> 
> 1) ordering pizza toppings at Dominos
> 
> ...


#3 is genius! I'm doing this tonight!


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## VTmePE07 (Jan 6, 2015)

ofareggie said:


> I have also heard this from an instructor from a review course I took. Not saying that it is true or that this knowledge cemented my passing score, but when I banged out the 35-or-so questions that I felt confident about, and saw I did not have man C's, for the questions where I resorted to guessing, I went with C... and I passed.
> 
> And, VTmePE07, you have taken the criticism and jabs with kindness and grace.








A-A-RON


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## matt267 PE (Jan 6, 2015)

^that was actually quite funny.

Almost as funny as a trick for passing the PE.


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## Lumber Jim (Jan 7, 2015)

In order to put this to bed you need to answer one question for yourself:

Is NCEES the type of organization to apply time and money to reorganizing the answers to questions for every version of every test so that each test has an equal distribution of As, Bs,Cs, and Ds.

I'm on the fence because I'm the type of person that arranges all the pencils sitting on my desk in a nicely organized fashion...and I took and passed their test.


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## VTmePE07 (Jan 7, 2015)

Lumber Jim said:


> In order to put this to bed you need to answer one question for yourself:
> 
> Is NCEES the type of organization to apply time and money to reorganizing the answers to questions for every version of every test so that each test has an equal distribution of As, Bs,Cs, and Ds.
> 
> I'm on the fence because I'm the type of person that arranges all the pencils sitting on my desk in a nicely organized fashion...and I took and passed their test.


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## IlPadrino (Jan 7, 2015)

Lumber Jim said:


> In order to put this to bed you need to answer one question for yourself:
> 
> Is NCEES the type of organization to apply time and money to reorganizing the answers to questions for every version of every test so that each test has an equal distribution of As, Bs,Cs, and Ds.
> 
> I'm on the fence because I'm the type of person that arranges all the pencils sitting on my desk in a nicely organized fashion...and I took and passed their test.




Google words like "multiple choice", "psychometrics", "key-balanced", etc., and you'll see there's more to this discussion than anal retentiveness.


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## SNAPE/SMOTT PE (Jan 9, 2015)

Dayum, gone a few days and look what happens.


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## Ken PE 3.1 (Jan 9, 2015)

SNAPE/SMOTT PE said:


> Dayum, gone a few days and look what happens.


Yeah, the whole world feel apart on you. No need to study for standardized tests anymore. Just need to know how many of each letter they are looking for.


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## SNAPE/SMOTT PE (Jan 10, 2015)

Ken 3.0 said:


> SNAPE/SMOTT PE said:
> 
> 
> > Dayum, gone a few days and look what happens.
> ...


If only I had known this those times I failed...right.

Could have maybe, possibly, figured out what pattern the a b c d went in. Take the first hour to answer the "definitely right" questions, then use the other three hours figuring out how many of each letter you need, and what pattern it would be in. I mean if they are so ocd as to make 10 of each letter answers for each 4 hour go, surely there is a pattern on the answer sheet too!


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## Ken PE 3.1 (Jan 10, 2015)




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## NJmike PE (Jan 10, 2015)




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