Diagnostic Review if you Pass

[Alan Coons]

I have got to ask why diagnostic results for PE exam applicants are only provided for those that do not pass? If this diagnostic report was provided to everyone, every applicant, regardless of pass or fail, would know what their score was and what their strong and weak points were.

 

[Amicus]

Here is one rationale: because the PE is not the SAT. NCEES does not want it to be an indicator of your level of competence as an engineer. All PEs are created equal. That is, they don't want your score to follow you in your career.

Imagine you passed with a 65/80. You might still get passed over for a job when the employer found another candidate who scored a 69/80. Of course those four points do not make the other person a better engineer, and everyone knows that. So there's no need to know, and ignorance is bliss.

 

[IlPadrino]

Here is one rationale: because the PE is not the SAT. NCEES does not want it to be an indicator of your level of competence as an engineer. All PEs are created equal. That is, they don't want your score to follow you in your career.
Imagine you passed with a 65/80. You might still get passed over for a job when the employer found another candidate who scored a 69/80. Of course those four points do not make the other person a better engineer, and everyone knows that. So there's no need to know, and ignorance is bliss.

There's a difference between NCEES or your state Board giving *you* the results and making them available to the public. Still, the bar is "minimally competent" and it would seem NCEES has no desire to say anything more than that. But I've never heard a good theory for why... and I doubt it's because they're worried about you getting passed over for a job!

 

[benbo]

There's a difference between NCEES or your state Board giving *you* the results and making them available to the public. Still, the bar is "minimally competent" and it would seem NCEES has no desire to say anything more than that. But I've never heard a good theory for why... and I doubt it's because they're worried about you getting passed over for a job!

Since most states used to give a score and they stopped, there must be some reason. But Texas and Virigina still give the scores, so it's hard to tell what it is. I guess most of this is up to the state boards. NCEES would probably just as soon do as little extra work and take as little etra percieved risk as they can, even if it doesn't seem like much.