October 2009 Electrical Power Exam

[MSEE_PE]

Hey, I took the PE exam in Electrical Power Module last Friday (October 23rd, 2009)......I am really pissed cause I studied really hard for that exam and I solved at least about 400 questions during my preparation and practice for the real test, and still I feel I did really bad and I have a feeling I will not pass. I have a few questions that I still can't understand from the NCEES website

1) Am I the only one who did bad ? or there are others who share the same point of view that the exam is much harder than April's exam and that the most of the ideas in the exam weren't in any of the NCEES practice books.

2) Can anyone explain to me how the passing score is determined ? Is it 0.7*80 = 56 questions ? or is it 56 minus the flawed questions minus the psychometric analysis problems ?

PE_2_B

 

[Twofrogs]

Hey, I took the PE exam in Electrical Power Module last Friday (October 23rd, 2009)......I am really pissed cause I studied really hard for that exam and I solved at least about 400 questions and still I feel I did really bad and I have a feeling I didn't pass. I have a few questions that I still can't understand from the NCEES website
1) Am I the only one who did bad ? or there are others who share the same point of view that the exam is much harder than April's exam and that the most of the ideas in the exam weren't in any of the NCEES practice books.

2) Can anyone explain to me how the passing score is determined ? Is it 0.7*80 = 56 questions ? or is it 56 minus the flawed questions minus the psychometric analysis problems ?

PE_2_B

I humbly believe I probably got 58 out of 80, guessed on three and the rest could be 50/50. It was hard, but within the realm of power engineering...my impression is the difficulty level was slightly higher than the sample exam.

 

[benbo]

Hey, I took the PE exam in Electrical Power Module last Friday (October 23rd, 2009)......I am really pissed cause I studied really hard for that exam and I solved at least about 400 questions during my preparation and practice for the real test, and still I feel I did really bad and I have a feeling I will not pass. I have a few questions that I still can't understand from the NCEES website
1) Am I the only one who did bad ? or there are others who share the same point of view that the exam is much harder than April's exam and that the most of the ideas in the exam weren't in any of the NCEES practice books.

2) Can anyone explain to me how the passing score is determined ? Is it 0.7*80 = 56 questions ? or is it 56 minus the flawed questions minus the psychometric analysis problems ?

PE_2_B

I didn't take the test this time but -

1. I'm sure you are not the only one who thought they did badly. When I took it I was sure I failed and I passed.

2. Nobody knows what the cut score is. Nobody. But there probably won't be any flawed questions. If they don't discard any, they count all the others.

 

[nmh0408]

Hey, I took the PE exam in Electrical Power Module last Friday (October 23rd, 2009)......I am really pissed cause I studied really hard for that exam and I solved at least about 400 questions during my preparation and practice for the real test, and still I feel I did really bad and I have a feeling I will not pass. I have a few questions that I still can't understand from the NCEES website
1) Am I the only one who did bad ? or there are others who share the same point of view that the exam is much harder than April's exam and that the most of the ideas in the exam weren't in any of the NCEES practice books.

2) Can anyone explain to me how the passing score is determined ? Is it 0.7*80 = 56 questions ? or is it 56 minus the flawed questions minus the psychometric analysis problems ?

PE_2_B

I concurr the morning session was extreemly hard , I did much better in the afternoon one. In General this exam was much harder than the April one. We'll keep our fingers crossed!

 

[Kaldric]

I felt the morning section was much more difficult than the afternoon. If I failed this exam, it is definitely because of the morning part.

 

[z06dustin]

I also agree the morning was harder than the afternoon, and I'll say it again, I'm frustrated that NCEES says two subjects in one area will account for X% of the test, then only has one subject in that area represented and it accounts for more than X% of the questions on the test. If they aren't going to at least losely follow their own rules, they shouldn't post them.

 

[MSEE_PE]

I also agree the morning was harder than the afternoon, and I'll say it again, I'm frustrated that NCEES says two subjects in one area will account for X% of the test, then only has one subject in that area represented and it accounts for more than X% of the questions on the test. If they aren't going to at least losely follow their own rules, they shouldn't post them.

Let me also add that we had almost 15 NEC questions (between morning and afternoon), which is about 18.75% not 12.5% as stated in the exam description.

 

[benbo]

Let me also add that we had almost 15 NEC questions (between morning and afternoon), which is about 18.75% not 12.5% as stated in the exam description.

I dislike and have difficulty with power in general which is why when I took the test I took the ECC. But to me the NEC is impossible. Unless you use it regularly or study it extensively it is really hard to find stuff. I'd need a day to look up 5 things, and even then I'm not sure I'd find the right standards.

 

[z06dustin]

I dislike and have difficulty with power in general which is why when I took the test I took the ECC. But to me the NEC is impossible. Unless you use it regularly or study it extensively it is really hard to find stuff. I'd need a day to look up 5 things, and even then I'm not sure I'd find the right standards.

I'm scared to mention anything even close to what was on the exam, so without confirming or denying that what I was bitching about above was the NEC, and in a completely unrelated post / topic, not even confirming or acknowledging that the NEC is mentioned on the test....

The NEC is impossible. I read several sections that were mentioned on the practice exam, in hopes that I would be prepared, and I dreamt up imaginary problems and looked in the index and the table of context, found the problem, etc. Yet I still got killed on the test because of tables which had related clarifications which were buried some place else in the Code. I don't think that specific Code questions should be included so in depth on the exam, I never use the NEC in my work and while I realize that some engineers certainly do, other power engineers never see them... and the two universities I've attended for grad and undergrad power engineering neither mentioned/taught on the NEC, just the NESC. But I guess this is why they don't ask me to write the exam.

 

[latecommer]

This was my first time and I never thought the exam would be tough like this. I believe there was at least one question that can not be solved from the given information. Morning session definitely was much harder compare to aftornoon session.

 

[jbachoua]

I work with the NEC on a daily basis...Thought the morning session was simple...Afternoon was much harder for me...I would post more info but I dont know what to say without getting in trouble...

The % issue sucks...

 

[MSEE_PE]

I work with the NEC on a daily basis...Thought the morning session was simple...Afternoon was much harder for me...I would post more info but I dont know what to say without getting in trouble...
The % issue sucks...

It's a good idea not to mention any problem in particular or even something remotely related.....don't risk it..

 

[TxAg02]

Wow, I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought the morning session was much more difficult than the afternoon. I'm not sure how I did; I wouldn't be suprised to be taking it again in April 2010, but I sure pray and hope that I'm not - that test was a beast.

 

[MSEE_PE]

Wow, I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought the morning session was much more difficult than the afternoon. I'm not sure how I did; I wouldn't be suprised to be taking it again in April 2010, but I sure pray and hope that I'm not - that test was a beast.

Well, does anyone know someone in one of the States that got the results ? How did the Power People do ? Just say for instance " I know 4 people who took the exam, 3 of them passed"

 

[z06dustin]

Wow, I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought the morning session was much more difficult than the afternoon. I'm not sure how I did; I wouldn't be suprised to be taking it again in April 2010, but I sure pray and hope that I'm not - that test was a beast.

Well, does anyone know someone in one of the States that got the results ? How did the Power People do ? Just say for instance " I know 4 people who took the exam, 3 of them passed"

Personally I know 3 people who took it, 1 passed.

 

[MSEE_PE]

Wow, I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought the morning session was much more difficult than the afternoon. I'm not sure how I did; I wouldn't be suprised to be taking it again in April 2010, but I sure pray and hope that I'm not - that test was a beast.

Well, does anyone know someone in one of the States that got the results ? How did the Power People do ? Just say for instance " I know 4 people who took the exam, 3 of them passed"

Personally I know 3 people who took it, 1 passed.

Hmmmm....Not a very encouraging percentage !

 

[str1ve13]

Wow, I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought the morning session was much more difficult than the afternoon. I'm not sure how I did; I wouldn't be suprised to be taking it again in April 2010, but I sure pray and hope that I'm not - that test was a beast.

Well, does anyone know someone in one of the States that got the results ? How did the Power People do ? Just say for instance " I know 4 people who took the exam, 3 of them passed"

Personally I know 3 people who took it, 1 passed.

Hmmmm....Not a very encouraging percentage !

I got my results back, Fail. Pretty much most of my work involves the NEC and I thought the morning session was easier than the afternoon, but all in all I have heard that this one was harder than the April exam. I do feel more confident now though after seeing the format of the test. Just sucks I have to sit through 8 hours again. -_- . If the grading is how the OP said it is I didn't miss passing by much based on the category percentages I received, which would also suck.

 

[Kaldric]

I personally know one person who took the Power exam in October. He passed.

That was me. :multiplespotting:

I got my results yesterday, and I'm still smiling. That test was brutal, and I'm glad I don't have to take it again.

 

[MSEE_PE]

I personally know one person who took the Power exam in October. He passed.
That was me. :multiplespotting:

I got my results yesterday, and I'm still smiling. That test was brutal, and I'm glad I don't have to take it again.

That's Great Congrats Man...

We are still waiting over here in freezing MN....We are waiting for the snail mail

 

[Kaldric]

I personally know one person who took the Power exam in October. He passed.
That was me. :multiplespotting:

I got my results yesterday, and I'm still smiling. That test was brutal, and I'm glad I don't have to take it again.

That's Great Congrats Man...

We are still waiting over here in freezing MN....We are waiting for the snail mail

Thanks. Hopefully it doesn't take too long for your results. Too bad about the snail mail. I got an email notification and had my results only minutes later.