i think this exam was harder than the apr exam

[pissed_off_eng]

This is the second time for me and I swear the geotech part was alot harder this time than in apr??

 

[maryannette]

Sorry to hear that, PO'ed. Hopefully you passed this time. If not, we'll be here for you next time.

 

[tensionmember]

For what it's worth, I too have heard that the afternoon Geotech was a beast this time. Hopefully it will be reflected in the cut score....

 

[engwriter]

I haven't posted ever, but have read a lot of the discussions. Anyway, I agree. This exam seemed a lot harder. I was upset by the end of it.

 

[ues558]

With geotech in the afternoon session, What do you think about 50/80 for a passing score?

 

[sgsmith2_PE]

This was my 1st time taking the test, but the afternoon Construction sucked as well...I heard it was harder than previous exams. If it makes you feel any better, depending on the cut score, a lot of us will be going through the same pain again in April with you....lol.

 

[inferno]

This was my second time taking the P.E. as well. I am not sure if it is because I studied a lot more or what, but I found the morning part to be really easy. Honestly, I would be surprised if i missed more than between 5-7 questions in the morning. Now, I must agree, the Geotech in the afternoon was pretty tough, and I have no idea how well I did on it. I really can't remember the afternoon Geotech that well in April, but I do know that I felt like I had more time this time than I did in April.....

 

[JSteven]

2nd Time with the Geotech as well... found it to be harder than April but with that being said, I felt i did much better.

 

[tymr]

With geotech in the afternoon session, What do you think about 50/80 for a passing score?

I'd take it.

 

[J_S]

Yes I guess the exam was harder than April. A friend of mine took Geotech in April and he suggested me for the same as easy route than taking Structural. I expected questions where you would be able to plug in numbers and do something, but it was almost complete practical geotechnical engineering. I hope the cutoff is lower for Geotech afternoon guys, since the Structural afternoon was piece of cake.

And someone said given the difficulty, can we expect cutoff of 50/80. Isn't this like the usual cutoff. I am told if you get 49 you are through.

 

[pissed_off_eng]

Yes I guess the exam was harder than April. A friend of mine took Geotech in April and he suggested me for the same as easy route than taking Structural. I expected questions where you would be able to plug in numbers and do something, but it was almost complete practical geotechnical engineering. I hope the cutoff is lower for Geotech afternoon guys, since the Structural afternoon was piece of cake.
And someone said given the difficulty, can we expect cutoff of 50/80. Isn't this like the usual cutoff. I am told if you get 49 you are through.

Mary- thanks for the support and kind words.

For the rest of us if the cutoff is 50/80 that means 25 questions right. So if you solved 1/2 the exam correctly and guessed the other 1/2 you would pass. solve 20 guess 20. from the 20 guesses you are likely to get 5 correct. Damn i still failed- this sucks. Im going to go open up a hotdog stand.

 

[J_S]

I did about 35 correct in morning and definitely 20 in afternoon. Don't worry dude, you'll be fine. Wait and pray for the best.

 

[inferno]

Yes I guess the exam was harder than April. A friend of mine took Geotech in April and he suggested me for the same as easy route than taking Structural. I expected questions where you would be able to plug in numbers and do something, but it was almost complete practical geotechnical engineering. I hope the cutoff is lower for Geotech afternoon guys, since the Structural afternoon was piece of cake.
And someone said given the difficulty, can we expect cutoff of 50/80. Isn't this like the usual cutoff. I am told if you get 49 you are through.

I wish it was 49/80. Unfortunately I am pretty sure it is 56/80 everytime. I got 55/80 on this past April test and still failed....My theory is that they have a bunch of questions to choose from, and over the years, they score each question like 1 to 5 or something like that from easiest to hardest, and when they come up with the test, they pick a certain number of #1 questions and a certain number of #2 questions...etc.

 

[cparanal]

It was my first time taking the test and hopefully it would be the last as well. I thought the morning exam was reasonable. The level of difficulty of the questions in relation to the amount of time allotted for the examinees to answer the test were, again, reasonable.

I took the Structural depth and found it quite hard. There were some items that you know exactly what the answer is and there are other that you just have to make an intelligent guess.

Again, overall, I thought it was, for the third time, a reasonable exam.

 

[cparanal]

What is the percetage passing for the national exam? Is it 60%? I was told that only the CA exams are graded on a curve.

 

[chaocl]

What is the percetage passing for the national exam? Is it 60%? I was told that only the CA exams are graded on a curve.

There is no curve in CA and in all other states. If there is a curve that the passing percentage should be the same everytime.

Link for the percentage in the past 10 years in CA:

http://www.pels.ca.gov/applicants/exam_statistics.shtml

 

[cparanal]

There is no curve in CA and in all other states. If there is a curve that the passing percentage should be the same everytime.
Link for the percentage in the past 10 years in CA:

http://www.pels.ca.gov/applicants/exam_statistics.shtml

Thanks for the link.

I just noticed that the percentage passing in October has always been lower than the April result. Do they just make it harder because of the repeat-takers. Hmmm..makes me wonder.

What I meant by CA exam is Seismic and Surveying. I was told that they distribute the grade for those two exams. I could be wrong. I wish the Board would just let everyone know how they determine the cut score.

 

[pissed_off_eng]

i got 50/80 on the april exam- their is no way the cut off is 50/80 for any of the exams- otherwise you could theoretically pass by guessing almost half. i need a drink - a strong one. this hot dog stand is looking like a mighty attractive alternative.

 

[chaocl]

i got 50/80 on the april exam- their is no way the cut off is 50/80 for any of the exams- otherwise you could theoretically pass by guessing almost half. i need a drink - a strong one. this hot dog stand is looking like a mighty attractive alternative.

50/80 is the final score but how many of the questions that you think you got correctly? Is it 40 (50%) or more? because if you are sure about 50% that you will have another 50% which are unsure. If you take 40*0.25 = 10 and + 50% = 50/80

 

[pissed_off_eng]

50/80 is the final score but how many of the questions that you think you got correctly? Is it 40 (50%) or more? because if you are sure about 50% that you will have another 50% which are unsure. If you take 40*0.25 = 10 and + 50% = 50/80

-someone earliar posted that the cutoff will be around 50/80 to pass.

its 50/80 questions correct which equates to 62% in this messed up little world. i think you need atleast 56-57/80 correct to pass which is about 70%. So if you solve hallf and guess half you obviously are very likely to fail.

I need another drink...a much stronger one..