Pearson CBT exam interface practice

[dilleyb72]

Does anyone know of somewhere where you can practice or see how the Pearson CBT testing environment works? Specifically related to the (NEC) reference, code book searching.

I mostly want to set up my PC/monitor in the same way and practice the code book problems in the same manner. The "searchable PDF" felt very cumbersome to me on my 1st pass at the exam. I am studying for my 2nd pass now. For those of you who haven't taken the exam yet, it seems like a very sub-standard interface to me. I know how the code book is laid out and where to find most subjects. I passed the code book part but it took me too long on that part, because I was searching for too long. Every time I would go to i.e.) 250.95 and try to scroll down to find a topic, it would take like 1-2 seconds to load every new page. Therefore, I need to dial in my search way more tight and I need practice in that way. I was practicing with NFPA link (NFPA LiNK®) which I love for daily use but was NO help on the exam. I literally could have found them quicker using the card catalog in the 1980's! See attached image for what it looked like...

 

[asad17]

Hi @dilleyb72 ,

I just took the FE exam last month. I don't know if there is a place to see the exact CBT testing environment but I will try to describe it as best as I can remember.

• The layout itself was pretty similar to your screenshot, two "windows" side by side, except there was no clutter (taskbar, other windows etc.) and the interface itself is slightly different because they use their proprietary software (as far as I could tell), with less buttons. Basically only what you would need.
• The search function for the PDF is more like the (CTRL+SHIFT+F) function in Adobe, not (CTRL+F), in terms of how the search results are displayed. However, I think they index the pdfs differently so you will need to be a little more precise with what you search.
• The GUI seemed a little outdated to me (similar to Windows XP). Just wanted to highlight this since I wasn't aware of it going into the exam.
• I found the zoom function to be a little weird. From what I remember, I couldn't just use Ctrl + mouse wheel to get to a point I like. Had to use buttons on the software to adjust the zoom.
• One thing I had major issues with was the mouse, they didn't have mousepads and the mouse, at least the one I had, had a tough time tracking properly right on the desk. I got used to it after about 20 mins but it was still annoying to deal with. I didn't want to waste any of my exam time to get this sorted so I just went with it. Might be worth asking them about this before you officially begin the exam.

Tip: If you can, and if its applicable to your field, memorize page numbers for any charts or tables that you think are used more often. This will help save a lot of time, if you don't have to search for a term to get to those tables.

Hope this helps.