NCEES April 2017 Pass Rates

[lanette259]

Pass rates


PE exam pass rates are from the April 2017 exam administration, except where otherwise noted.


Exam


First-time takers


 


Repeat takers


 


 


Volume


Pass Rate


Volume


Pass Rate


PE Agricultural and Biological


36


69%


6


50%


PE Architectural


90


82%


8


25%


PE Chemical


317


73%


89


39%


PE Civil Construction


838


60%


832


32%


PE Civil Geotechnical


551


68%


339


30%


PE Civil Structural


1657


68%


637


44%


PE Civil Transportation


1798


68%


1003


42%


PE Civil Water Resources and Environmental


1739


70%


724


42%


PE Control Systems (October 2016)


229


79%


49


45%


PE Electrical and Computer: Computer Engineering


25


64%


9


22%


PE Electrical and Computer: Electrical and Electronics


118


81%


30


27%


PE Electrical and Computer: Power


1050


66%


561


36%


PE Environmental


288


69%


115


44%


PE Fire Protection (October 2016)


148


64%


72


38%


PE Industrial and Systems


65


80%


18


44%


PE Mechanical HVAC and Refrigeration


554


77%


165


31%


PE Mechanical Mechanical Systems and Materials


463


75%


153


42%


PE Mechanical Thermal and Fluids Systems


636


68%


226


34%


PE Metallurgical and Materials (October 2016)


45


67%


7


57%


PE Mining and Mineral Processing (October 2016)


51


65%


11


27%


PE Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering


55


60%


6


17%


PE Nuclear (October 2016)


25


72%


10


70%


PE Petroleum (October 2016)


192


66%


55


40%


PE Software


15


73%


5


60%

 

[themandan40]

Nice catch! Didn't think they posted these so quick!

I'm still waiting for results from Minnesota though...

 

[cal91]

7565/10985 First time - 69%

1965/5130 Repeat - 38%

9530/16115 Total - 59%

 

[txjennah PE]

69% pass rate for environmental?  I remember it being lower during previous exam cycles...my ego takes an additional bruising...

 

[DoctorWho-PE]

69% pass rate for environmental?  I remember it being lower during previous exam cycles...my ego takes an additional bruising...

I feel your pain, structural I believe was 66% last cycle.

 

[nickknightt]

Not sure how WRE is always constant at 70%, repeat takers is definitely higher at 42%, think it was around 30% for Fall 2016.

 

[Jeepmaster5000]

I feel like ME Mechanical Systems is usually at the bottom of these for the ME series.  Looks like Thermal Fluids took the cake this round.

 

[Aldo87]

I feel like ME Mechanical Systems is usually at the bottom of these for the ME series.  Looks like Thermal Fluids took the cake this round.

Glad I knew that I passed before they published the pass rates (TFS)! 

 

[youngmotivatedengineer]

Not sure how WRE is always constant at 70%, repeat takers is definitely higher at 42%, think it was around 30% for Fall 2016.

Do they decide on cut score based on how well people did? Meaning the better the group did the higher cut score so that there is a certain percentage that gets the license?

 

[Jeepmaster5000]

Glad I knew that I passed before they published the pass rates (TFS)! 

No kidding!

 

[J_MEC]

I took the Machine Design/Mechanical systems test also. Pretty crazy to think 1 out of 4 people who took it failed

I hope everyone still waiting on results gets there's today!

 

[MEinMN]

I took the Machine Design/Mechanical systems test also. Pretty crazy to think 3 out of 4 people who took it failed

I hope everyone still waiting on results gets there's today!

You mean 1 out of 4 people failed?

 

[RBHeadge PE]

Do they decide on cut score based on how well people did? Meaning the better the group did the higher cut score so that there is a certain percentage that gets the license?

No, it is not tied to a curve or a threshold of people passing.

The cut score is unique to each test and session. The cut score is based on the number of questions a qualified PE would be expected to answer correctly. The methodology for determining the number will vary across the tests though.

 

[J_MEC]

You mean 1 out of 4 people failed?

Yes, my bad. Edited the original post.

 

[nickknightt]

No, it is not tied to a curve or a threshold of people passing.

The cut score is unique to each test and session. The cut score is based on the number of questions a qualified PE would be expected to answer correctly. The methodology for determining the number will vary across the tests though.

Agreed, that's what is known about the scoring process. But the question still remains, how are the cut scores always such that exactly 70 percent people pass WRE every year?

 

[RBHeadge PE]

Agreed, that's what is known about the scoring process. But the question still remains, how are the cut scores always such that exactly 70 percent people pass WRE every year?

Where are you getting exactly 70%? A quick scan of previous session results for first time WRE shows:

Oct16: 71%

Apr16: 68%

Oct15: ?

Apr15: 71%

Oct14: 72%

Most exams* hover around the 60-80% first-time pass range. At first glance WRE has a tighter bound like the most other CE exams, but that by itself doesn't mean anything.

*With the exceptions being the lesser taken tests like Nuclear, Petroleum, and Software

 

[nickknightt]

Where are you getting exactly 70%? A quick scan of previous session results for first time WRE shows:

Oct16: 71%

Apr16: 68%

Oct15: ?

Apr15: 71%

Oct14: 72%

Most exams* hover around the 60-80% first-time pass range. At first glance WRE has a tighter bound like the most other CE exams, but that by itself doesn't mean anything.

*With the exceptions being the lesser taken tests like Nuclear, Petroleum, and Software

Maybe I had the wrong figures, I was going from memory for the last two exams as I was following at the time.