# I thought I was getting dismissed from exam........scary



## iwire (Oct 31, 2013)

I thought I was getting dismissed when suddenly i looked up and saw 4-5 proctors surrounded near me. The guy next to me got dismissed from the exam. It's crazy and scared the same time. I heard a quite of people got dismissed.


----------



## wilheldp_PE (Oct 31, 2013)

Do you know what your neighbor did to get booted?


----------



## iwire (Oct 31, 2013)

wilheldp_PE said:


> Do you know what your neighbor did to get booted?


I think from what I heard he got booted from having some sort of pencil marks in his reference materials - old marked, apparently they do check!


----------



## wilheldp_PE (Oct 31, 2013)

When you're a proctor, you have a few minutes worth of work to do, then 7+ hours of boredom. Of course you're going to be looking for every little banned thing.


----------



## mudpuppy (Oct 31, 2013)

Wait, so you're not allowed to have pencil marks in your books now? Back in my day--I took plenty of notes in pencil in my references. I also brought in handwritten notes on paper, as far as I recall this was ok as long as it was bound. What do they expect people to do, mark up their books in red pen?


----------



## nicoga3000 (Oct 31, 2013)

I honestly had no idea you couldn't make marks in your references. I guess the idea is that since they only give you a pencil, any pencil marks could be misconstrued as trying to copy down material to take out of the exam?


----------



## iwire (Oct 31, 2013)

That's what I thought but I guess they are assuming you are marking /copy....it's crazy


----------



## Capt Worley PE (Oct 31, 2013)

mudpuppy said:


> Wait, so you're not allowed to have pencil marks in your books now? Back in my day--I took plenty of notes in pencil in my references. I also brought in handwritten notes on paper, as far as I recall this was ok as long as it was bound. What do they expect people to do, mark up their books in red pen?




All notes had to be in ink when I took it. No pencil notes allowed.


----------



## mudpuppy (Oct 31, 2013)

Ut oh, I've said too much. I hope they don't take away my license.


----------



## John QPE (Oct 31, 2013)

nicoga3000 said:


> I honestly had no idea you couldn't make marks in your references. I guess the idea is that since they only give you a pencil, any pencil marks could be misconstrued as trying to copy down material to take out of the exam?


This is exactly it...and if it weren't for this board I'd have never known


----------



## Capt Worley PE (Oct 31, 2013)

mudpuppy said:


> Ut oh, I've said too much. I hope they don't take away my license.




NFS, dude. I bet the NSA is turning this over to NCEES right now. They'll have a BOLO and an APB on you ASAP from the PTB,

You're SOL, you poor SOB.


----------



## PE_2_Be (Oct 31, 2013)

There are other older threads on this forum about this. This rule varies by state. My state has a second state-specific candidate agreement that mentioned this issue in a confusing way. After I saw this thread, I called my state board today. We ARE allowed to have pencil handwritten notes in our reference books. As long as we don't write in our reference books during the exam, we are fine. I got scared for a minute because I am studying write now for the April 2014 PE, as a first time taker, and making pencil notes in my books.


----------



## PSU09Vet (Oct 31, 2013)

iwire said:


> wilheldp_PE said:
> 
> 
> > Do you know what your neighbor did to get booted?
> ...




What state did you take your exam in, iwire?


----------



## Peele1 (Nov 1, 2013)

nicoga3000 said:


> I honestly had no idea you couldn't make marks in your references. I guess the idea is that since they only give you a pencil, any pencil marks could be misconstrued as trying to copy down material to take out of the exam?


That's the theory.

If you have no pencil marks, then you can't be accused of writing in your book during the exam. If you have them, you have a hard time proving that you didn't make them during the exam.

It is like having a good alibi.


----------



## PSU09Vet (Nov 1, 2013)

Peele1 said:


> nicoga3000 said:
> 
> 
> > I honestly had no idea you couldn't make marks in your references. I guess the idea is that since they only give you a pencil, any pencil marks could be misconstrued as trying to copy down material to take out of the exam?
> ...




And every state is different, or at least most states DGAF. The handful that do either expect everyone to know that already like common knowledge, or don't always do a very good job of telling everyone before the test.


----------



## engrstructural11 (Nov 1, 2013)

It seems pretty silly to impose such a strict rule. If somebody was hell bent on transferring information from the test they wouldn't need to write anything down in their references. I personally can remember 75% of the questions from the afternoon session just off the top of my head. Does NCEES think that people immediately forget the test the moment they leave the testing area? If somebody wanted to copy test material, they could simply copy the information the minute they get back to their car all the problems they remember where their memory is the freshest.

I do agree with the rule that you can't write on anything other than the test booklet though because this infers evidence of intent to transfer information. But a rule that all your references need to be in pen or typed? That is way over the top and accomplishes nothing except handicapping test takers who have a good reference from a class where they took notes all semester.


----------



## palvarez83 (Nov 1, 2013)

Yeah as long as you don't make notes during your exam, you are fine. This is tough for Mechanical if you bring your own psychrometric charts.... I know a guy that got booted for it. During the exam last friday I noticed I had made a mistake on one of the practice problems I had worked out(in pencil) on the practice exam. I was about to erase and change... when I realized what I was about to do... Nevermind.


----------



## snickerd3 (Nov 1, 2013)

give it a couple more years and the PE will also be CBT and it will be a closed book exam and then you wont have to worry about notes in references


----------



## ptatohed (Nov 1, 2013)

Since when are we using the word 'dismissed'? I've always preferred 'ejected'. 'Dismissed' is "Ok, you are free to go". 'Ejected' is a big black leather boot in your back kicking you out the door so hard you fall face down on the concrete.


----------



## iwire (Nov 2, 2013)

Sorry..i was kind of busy for past few days..trying to catch up with work and life...I took the test in MD. We received the notification/paperwork to take the exam maybe like 2-3 weeks before the exam. On fine print, it's stated no pencil marking...

It's crazy that the proctors going around and checking people's book/reference though..randomly


----------



## RIP - VTEnviro (Nov 2, 2013)

ptatohed said:


> Since when are we using the word 'dismissed'? I've always preferred 'ejected'. 'Dismissed' is "Ok, you are free to go". 'Ejected' is a big black leather boot in your back kicking you out the door so hard you fall face down on the concrete.




Expelled is also a good term for it.

Ejected is get outta here and don't come back until tomorrow or until any administrative suspension runs its course.

Expelled is get outta here, you are persona non grata, and if we catch you on the premises ever again, you will be arrested for tresspassing.


----------



## iwire (Nov 2, 2013)

Maybe I should use word expelled or rejected but the proctor used dismissed ....anyhow, it's sucks to be dismissed for something like that...wasted a lot time preparing for it for something you did like back in college..


----------



## PE_2_Be (Nov 3, 2013)

iwire said:


> Sorry..i was kind of busy for past few days..trying to catch up with work and life...I took the test in MD. We received the notification/paperwork to take the exam maybe like 2-3 weeks before the exam. On fine print, it's stated no pencil marking...
> 
> It's crazy that the proctors going around and checking people's book/reference though..randomly


This is not fair and total bullshit. The NCEES agreement says nothing about not being able to have pencil markings in your materials. People study for the PE for months, years, and make several notes and markings in their books while studying. And then when you get your exam notice 2-3 week prior to the exam there is some brand new off-the-wall rule where you can't have pencil note markings in your books?! They can't pull that crap. Is MD the only state that does this? Again, this is not a rule implemented by NCEES, and MD has no right to pull this out of their ass, especially in only 2-3 weeks notice. If I was the guy that got kicked out, I would file a complaint with NCEES. If that didn't work, I would file a lawsuit. I would fight this thing until the death. There is no way he should have been kicked out and lose out on the hundreds of dollars he paid and hundreds of hours of study time he put in.


----------



## Mike in Gastonia (Nov 3, 2013)

PE_2_Be said:


> iwire said:
> 
> 
> > Sorry..i was kind of busy for past few days..trying to catch up with work and life...I took the test in MD. We received the notification/paperwork to take the exam maybe like 2-3 weeks before the exam. On fine print, it's stated no pencil marking...
> ...


Dude, lighten up before you have a heart attack......

Do you know who NCEES works for? The states. States have agreed to give the national exam and use the same passing scores, etc., but they can have more strict rules than the ones ncees has. For years, Illinois didn't allow you to bring in your personal notes or linderberg's books. Go ahead and call ncees - I bet they tell you the same thing.......

It sucks for the guy being thrown out, but I bet it was written in his paperwork from maryland.


----------



## RIP - VTEnviro (Nov 3, 2013)

Don't pay attention to that guy.

He's an ignorant, racist, homophobic troll whose about 1 step away from being banned.


----------



## PE_2_Be (Nov 3, 2013)

VTEnviro said:


> Don't pay attention to that guy.
> 
> He's an ignorant, racist, homophobic troll whose about 1 step away from being banned.


Stop spreading lies. I am not racist. You have no proof of that.

And I don't care who NCEES works for. I would sue somebody, if not NCEES then the state board. I've done it before. I don't take crap like this lightly and that guy shouldn't either. I can be a pain in the ass like hemorrhoids.


----------



## The Car (Nov 4, 2013)

PE_2_Be said:


> VTEnviro said:
> 
> 
> > Don't pay attention to that guy.
> ...


Good thing you're cool with the ignorant, homophobic, and troll parts.

As for racist...didn't think you were until you started etting upset about it.

udden, udden


----------



## daxx1313 (Nov 4, 2013)

In CA the proctors never checked my references for pencil marks, and I guess I lucked out by doing all of my study work in pen. I don't remember anyone getting kicked out in my group so maybe they were napping. Who knows... I just hope I passed.


----------



## nsgoldberg (Nov 4, 2013)

I checked with CA first to make sure pencil was allowed. I started a thread about it on this site somewhere. They basically said they hold to the candidate agreement. Nothing in that mentioned pencil in the references, so it is allowed - by not being banned.


----------



## nsgoldberg (Nov 4, 2013)

I saw someone at the Pomona Fairplex (CA) getting walked out. Not sure what it was over. Crappy for him though.


----------

